Was Galatians 2.11-14 A Problem?
Galatians 2.11-14 accounts for the time gap between Acts 15.35 and Acts 15.36, indicated by the words, “and after some days” in verse 36. This was the time immediately following the Jerusalem Council.
In Galatians 2.11-14 Paul writes,
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
So what happened? Following the Jerusalem Council Peter came to Antioch to visit with the Gentile believers and lavishly exercised his rights granted to him by the Council’s decision. He ate freely and enjoyed fellowship with the Gentile converts.
Not long after Peter’s arrival in Antioch there came a group of men from Jerusalem under the influence of the Judaizers, and when they arrived, Peter with his chronic insecurities, immediately ceased fellowship with the Gentiles. And not only did Peter exercise this lapse in judgment, but Barnabas was pulled down with him as well (Gal 2.13).
Paul confronted Peter regarding their regression from the Gentiles and a peaceful resolution followed. Peter and Barnabas admitted to the error of their ways and restored fellowship with the Gentiles.
Some might argue that ill feelings from this incident were still in play at the time of Paul and Barnabas’ disagreement in Acts 15.36-41 (our primary text), but because of the amicable nature of the resolution there is no reason to assume the existence of lingering negative feelings that would have any effect on this division between Paul and Barnabas.
Who Was Right Between Paul And Barnabas?
We have established that Paul sensed (or assumed) a character flaw within Mark that made him unfit for ministry at the time, and it’s likely Barnabas also recognized the flaw but wanted to grant Mark the chance to work through it. I don’t believe the debate here was over whether or not Mark committed an unacceptable act, but rather should he be given a chance at redemption.
Who was right? Barnabas or Paul? Some say Barnabas should have submitted to Paul’s apostolic authority, but Barnabas had some hefty credentials himself (which we’ll see a in just a bit). Also, at this time, Paul’s apostleship was not universally accepted among the other apostles and could have been more of a gray area than we are aware. (No, I’m not saying Paul was not an apostle–please don’t misquote me. I’m only stating that it took some time before everyone recognized him as such. Some of the other apostles needed to be convinced.)
From a maturity in the faith standpoint, I think Barnabas was right in not judging Mark based on his past. He rightly understood that walking with the Lord changes people and the more time they have to walk, the more time they have to change. It’s called sanctification.
Either way, Luke does not write this account in such a way that puts Paul in the right and Barnabas in the wrong, or vice versa. They made a mutual decision to split ways because neither could agree with the other. In a way, they both were right. It wouldn’t have been productive for Paul to take Mark when he didn’t trust him, but Barnabas saw the long-term potential in Mark and gave him another chance.
God Brings About Good From The Paul And Barnabas Split
It’s tough to grasp the idea that two of the most influential men in the establishment of the church could have such a heated (remember, violent outburst) disagreement, but at the same time we have the benefit of seeing the big picture. God worked a great deal of good from this situation.
The most obvious working of good is that two missionary journeys were launched rather than just one (Acts 15.39-41). Barnabas and Mark went to Cyprus. Paul and Silas traveled through Syria and Cilicia.
Also, Barnabas shows us a fantastic character lesson by refusing to use his clout to overrule or cause trouble for Paul. We are talking about a man (Barnabas) who led the church in its earliest days (Acts 11.22-24), brought Paul into the work (he was the teacher and Paul the apprentice at one time), lead the first missionary journey (Acts 13.2), and represented the church at the Jerusalem Council. You think Barnabas couldn’t have made trouble for Paul if he had so desired? He could have easily played the “church politics game” and created an even larger issue than it was already.
Though we don’t know the specifics, I believe Paul grew up some through the process as well. He learned how to show grace and forgiveness. We know that later in Paul’s life he commended the ministry of Barnabas (1 Cor 9.6).
And lastly, I want to designate a special section to the progression of John Mark through these events because it’s so good. God knew what he was doing when he sent Mark with Barnabas instead of Paul. Mark learned valuable lessons and apparently lived the latter part of his life in a manner worthy of forgiveness and redemption. Let’s take a look…
Dr. Zolisha L Ware
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