Almost everyone has faced the dilemma of deciding whether to trust someone with a difficult past, someone who has changed but whom others still regard with suspicion. That was exactly the risk Barnabas took more than once in his life, and each of those decisions changed the course of the church.
His name was Joseph, a Levite born in Cyprus. The apostles nicknamed him Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, because that is how he acted: he sold a field and handed over all the money to the community in Jerusalem, keeping nothing for himself (Acts 4:36-37).
When Saul, the church’s former persecutor, arrived in Jerusalem already converted, the disciples were afraid of him. Barnabas was the one who stood up for Saul, introduced him to the apostles, and told them how God had spoken to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:26-27).
Years later, the church in Jerusalem sent Barnabas to Antioch, where Gentiles were being converted in great numbers. Luke describes his character in a simple sentence: he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith (Acts 11:24). It was he who went to look for Saul in Tarsus so they could serve together in that work (Acts 11:25-26).
Barnabas and Paul set out together on the first missionary journey, set apart by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2-3), passing through Cyprus and cities in modern-day Turkey. In Lystra, the people mistook them for gods, calling Barnabas Zeus (Acts 14:12), a sign of how impressive his presence was.
But Barnabas’s generosity also had its cost. Before a new journey, he and Paul disagreed so firmly about taking John Mark that they parted ways, each continuing with a new companion (Acts 15:36-39). And, according to Paul himself, in Antioch Barnabas even let himself be swept along by Peter’s hypocrisy about eating with the Gentiles (Galatians 2:13).
Barnabas’s life shows that giving someone a second chance can cost reputation and friendships, but it can also open doors that no one else would have opened. Without him, the church might never have trusted Paul, nor sent the first two missionaries into the Gentile world.
