LIFE LESSONS
FRIEND OF PAUL: BARNABAS
DR. JIM DIXON
ACTS 4:32-37
JANUARY 15, 2006
In the 14th chapter of the Book of Acts we are told how the Apostle Paul, on his first missionary journey, was accompanied by his good friend Barnabas. They came to a city in Asia Minor that was called Leistra. As they came into the city of Leistra in Asia Minor, they began to tell the people about Jesus Christ resurrected and alive, Savior of the World, hope of the world. They shared the Gospel. The Holy Spirit came upon Paul and Barnabas in such power that they were able to work miracles. They healed a man who had been crippled from birth and had never walked in his life. They raised him up and the people of Leistra were stunned, and they were in awe. They came to the strange conclusion that Paul and Barnabas must be “gods come to earth,” and so they called Paul – Hermes or Mercury – from the Greek and Roman Pantheon, the “god of message” or the “messenger god” because Paul was the primary speaker. What did they call Barnabas? This is kind of the stunner. They called Barnabas “Jupiter Zeus.” In the Greek and the Roman Pantheon of gods, Jupiter or Zeus was chief of the gods and the creator of the worlds.
Of course we are not concerned with Greek and Roman mythology but how amazing it is that the people of Leistra would be so impressed with Barnabas as to refer to him as Jupiter Zeus. Of course today we look at Barnabas and we look at his life. From his life we have two life lessons, and the first life lesson concerns the subject of encouragement. Perhaps, as you have come here this morning, you feel the need for a little encouragement. Maybe something has kind of gone wrong in your life. Maybe you are going through a hard time. Maybe you are New England Patriot fan, but you need a little encouragement or maybe as you have come here this morning you actually believe that you have a special gift in encouraging other people, a very important gift in the life and the body of Christ.
The name Barnabas, we are told in Acts, chapter 4, means, “Son of Encouragement.” “Hooeos Paraclecios,” “Son of Encouragement.” That is the· Greek equivalent of the Aramaic Barnabas. So Barnabas was one who was able to encourage others.
There is an old love story from the 19th Century and perhaps some of you know it. It concerns a man named Henry and a woman names Frances. They loved each other very much. They loved to spend time together. They loved to laugh together. Frances thought that Henry was funny, and she laughed at his jokes and so, of course, Henry really liked Frances. They loved to have long conversations over coffee, and they loved to talk about kind of deep and profound things for they were both deep thinkers. They loved to talk about life and the complexity of issues in life and the meaning of life.
Henry was a professor at Harvard and both Henry and Frances were very wealthy. In the year 1843, Henry and Frances were married. They were happily married because they loved each other so, so much. They were happily married for 18 years and then, in 1861, in July, Henry was sitting in his study reading a little bit and Frances was in the library which was connected to the study. She was working on some keepsakes, and she was trying to put two locks of hair from her daughter in a book with hot wax and somehow, she set the book on fire and the fire spread. Pretty soon Frances was on fire. She was ablaze and she was screaming. Henry came from the study into the library and panicked to see the woman he loved with all of his heart on fire. In desperation and in a panic, Henry tried to put the fire out. He grabbed a throw rug on the floor, pulled it up and tried to wrap her in it but he could not get the fire out and the fire continued to burn, just taking life from her. Finally Frances just ran into Henry’s arms, ran into the arms of her husband, and he put the fire out with his own body. Henry was also burned badly but nothing like Frances.
The doctors came and they did what they could for Frances. The next morning she woke, and she asked for coffee. She looked at Henry and she said, “I love you” and those were the last words that she spoke. She slipped into a coma, and she died a day later. Henry would live another 21 years and he would never be the same. Henry would grow a beard to cover the scars that he had received from the fire. For that beard, Henry would become famous and of course Henry wrote narrative poetry such as “The Song of Hiawatha” or “The Courtship of Miles Standish.” He wrote historical poetry such as “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” – “Listen, my children, and you will hear – the midnight ride of Paul Revere. You know, I am sure that Henry was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of the greatest poets of American history. He died in 1882, 21 years after his beloved wife Frances died.
When Henry died, they went into his house, and they found an almost finished poem and that poem was called “The Cross of Snow.” Most literary scholars believe it is the greatest poem Henry ever wrote and it is all about Frances and how, after Frances died, for the rest of Henry’s life there was a cross of snow upon his heart. It was always winter. It was never summer, never spring, never fall – always winter. That is how Henry Wadsworth Longfellow felt.
Maybe some of you kind of feel that way. That would be sad but maybe some of you kind of feel like life is always winter – no summer, no spring, no fall – just winter. Maybe there’s a cross of snow upon your heart.
I know almost all of you, perhaps all of you, have heard of Martin Luther. Of course Martin Luther was the founder of the Protestant Reformation, and most historians regard him as one of the greatest individuals in world history. Martin Luther was a brilliant man, and he translated the Bible from the Latin Vulgate to the German language. He was a scholar and a priest.
He was not a perfect man. Martin Luther’s wife was a brew master. Sometimes Martin Luther drank more than he should. His language, Martin Luther’s language, was not always exemplary. His temper was not always under control, but he was a man of passion and also human. He had great passion for Jesus Christ and the cause of Christ on earth. Of course Martin Luther had great courage. That is how he was able to nail those 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg, standing against papal authority, a man of great courage. He was a man of great faith, and he combined his musical giftedness with his faith. He wrote that great hymn of the faith, “A. Mighty Fortress is our God.”
He was also a tenderhearted man. Martin Luther was tenderhearted. Many people believe that he wrote the words to “Away in a Manger,” a song which all of us have sung at Christmastime. Others believe maybe Martin Luther did not write those words, but the words DO fit his heart because Martin Luther loved kids. He loved children and most of all he loved his daughter, Magdalena. Martin Luther often said, “If he had lived a thousand years, God couldn’t have given him a greater gift than Magdalena, his daughter.” But she grew ill, gravely ill, and Martin Luther prayed in desperation that
Jesus would heal his daughter. But at the end, Martin Luther just said, “Not my will but Thy will be done.” His daughter slipped away, and the Lord took her home and Martin Luther was left in this world.
He had many more years in his life but no cross of snow. The rest of his life was not winter. Even though the loss was huge, he still had summer and spring and fall because, you see, he had Christ, and he had the people of Christ. The people of Christ came to him in encouragement and in consolation and in comfort. What an incredible thing that ministry of encouragement is. Barnabas, Hooeos Paraclecios. He was the Son of Encouragement. He had that ability, that desire, to come alongside people in the midst of their loss and to tarry with them and to comfort them and to lift them up, to bring a little summer, maybe a little spring, maybe a little fall into their life. That, you see, was Barnabas. What a great gift that is.
In the year 1981, a man named Stanley Reamer had a horrible stroke. It was massive and he slipped into a coma. It was a miracle that he was alive because for 21 minutes his heart did not beat, and they revived him. So he was in a coma and the doctors did not know whether Stanley Reamer would ever come out of a coma, but they believed that if he did, there had to be significant brain damage and Stanley Reamer would never be the same.
Stanley Reamer was a wealthy man in Southern California. He was married and his wife was at the hospital grieving by his bedside as he was in a coma. Now Stanley Reamer’s good friend was Robert Schuller, the Pastor of the Garden Grove Community Church, sometimes call the Crystal Cathedral. Robert Schuller went to see his friend Stanley Reamer in the hospital in a coma. Robert Schuller began to pray and as he prayed, he felt like God’s spirit came upon him and he was given a word of knowledge. He had never had anything like-that happen before, but Robert Schuller felt like God spoke to him and said, “I am going to heal your friend. He’s going to come out of coma and I’m going to make him normal and I’m going to completely heal him.”
Robert Schuller raced over to the hospital, and he was nervous and did not know what to say. He went into the room and the wife is there and she is glad to see him. He kneels by Stanley’s bed, takes Stanley Reamer’s hand, and he whispers in Stanley Reamer’s ear, “You’re going to live. God spoke to me and told me that you are going to live, and you are going to come out of a coma, and you are going to be healed and you are going to be completely normal” ‘The wife was stunned, and the nurses were stunned. It had to be just some crazy moments but then they all saw, in Stanley Reamer’s eye, a tear begin to form. The tear ran down his face and the doctors realized something inside of Stanley Reamer, somewhere, he had heard, and he had understood, and God did heal him, and he came out of the coma, and he was completely healed. He later became an elder at Garden Grove Community Church, Robert Schuller’s church.
I do not know what you think of Robert Schuller. I know he is kind of controversial and some of his ministry strategy has been questioned and perhaps some of his theology is controversial, but there is no denying this. Robert Schuller has the gift of encouragement, doesn’t he? Doesn’t he always have the gift of encouragement? Even the positive thinking deal, the possibility thinking deal… It is all about encouragement. He is always trying to lift somebody up and how desperately the body of Jesus Christ needs that. Lifting people up. Hooeos Paraclecios.
There is a deeper meaning to this title given to Barnabas. Son of Encouragement has a deeper meaning. It is perplexed scholars for centuries that Acts, chapter 4, translates the name Barnabas, Hooeos Paraclecios, Son of Encouragement, because the Aramaic name Barnabas is thought to come from Barnabee, son of a prophet, “Nabha” being prophet. Prophets were not really associated with encouragement, not normally. Prophets were not normally associated with comfort and consolation. That is not how Nabha was normally used so why does Barnabee, why does Barnabas, why is it rendered by the Greek, Hooeos Paraclecios, Son of Encouragement.
Scholars now understand as they have begun to examine the word, “paraclecios” and “paraclete” more carefully, there is a special kind of encouragement. I want you to see a clip from a movie called “Braveheart.” This clip shows Mel Gibson playing William Wallace and trying to rally the Scots to battle against the superior English forces, the force of Edward I. I want you to see this clip which illustrates the deeper meaning of encouragement.
William Wallace, as portrayed in that scene, could properly be called Barnabee, Hooeos Paraclecios, Son of Encouragement, Son of Prophesy.” What scholars have found as they examine the Hellenized world is that they found that this word “paraclete,” “paraclesios,” this word paraclete which means, “to come alongside,” does not simply mean, “to comfort and console.” It means, “to rally the heart.” It means, “to embolden.” It means, “to impart courage, strength and might.”
In the Hellenized world they discovered that when Roman or Greek armies went to war, the person who gave the speech to embolden the people was called a paraclete. A lot of coaches are paracletes when they give their talks before games or at half-time. They are trying to embolden the people.
If we do full justice to this title given to Barnabas, we must understand the Apostles gave a man named Joseph this name “Barnabas.” When they called him Barnabee, the meaning probably had to do with this capacity to impart courage to the people of Christ and to embolden them.
The old English word “encouragement” means, “to bring courage in.” Even the word comfort comes from the word, “fortus” and it means, “to come with fortus, with might, with strength.” We kind of change the words over time but to say Barnabas was the Son of Encouragement does not simply mean that he can comfort and console, which we all need, but that could embolden and impart courage and might and strength. 0The Body of Christ needs this.
Before you go into surgery, you need someone to come with courage, don’t you? Before I step up here to preach, I need someone to come with a little courage. As Christians, before we leave this place and go out into the world, we need someone to impart a little courage, a little boldness, a little strength, because the call of Christ is not easy. Judea-Christian values are eroding, and we have been called to stand. It is not easy to go forth and talk about Jesus when it is not politically correct to evangelize and so we need encouragers, Hooeos Paraclecios, Barnabee.
That is the first life lesson. There is not much time, but we have a brief second life lesson concerning Barnabas and it concerns the subject of giving – a life lesson on giving. In Acts 4, our passage of scripture for today, we are told that Barnabas was a property owner, and he was a Levite and of course the Levites received the tithes from the people. He was a property owner descended from Levi and he was a native of the island of Cyprus and a landowner. Whether he owned land on the island of Cyprus or in the Holy City of Jerusalem, we do not know, but we know he sold land. He sold his land, and he brought the money and laid it at the Apostles’ feet for the cause of the kingdom of heaven on earth and for the needs of the people of Jesus Christ.
He was an example for giving in the early church and of course Barnabas was not alone. There were other property owners in the early church and in the city of Jerusalem as described in Acts 4. Many of them sold their properties and their homes and they brought their proceeds, and they gave it to the Apostles and the cause of Christ in the community of believers. Radical, radical giving and I think, in the history of the Christian Church, sometimes we do not value enough the sacrifice of giving. We honor preaching. We honor missions and evangelism. W honor teachers and we honor counselors, and we honor so many things. But I think, maybe in the sight of God, nothing is more beautiful than sacrificial giving.
I know that most of you have heard of Oliver Hardy. Oliver Hardy was a famous comedian a few generations ago who made people laugh. Many of you surely have heard of Thomas Hardy, the famous author who wrote “Return of the Native” and “The Mayor of Casterbridge” and “Tess of the D’Urbervilles” – a famous author, but you have probably never heard of Alpheus Hardy, the least known of the Hardy Boys. Alpheus Hardy wanted to be a missionary. He loved Jesus Christ, but his health would not permit it. He could not endure travel to other lands. He was grieving and in prayer and he felt God speak to him. God said, “You don’t need to be a missionary to serve Me. You can serve Me as a businessman.” A radical thought. You can serve the Kingdom of Heaven as a businessman. I want you to go out and make money for the Kingdom. of Heaven. Alpheus Hardy did that and gave millions of dollars to the Church of Jesus Christ.
I am sure you have all heard of Mr. Welch who founded the Welch Grape Juice Company. You have all had Welch’s Grape Juice. He wanted to be a missionary. His health would not permit it. He became a businessman and made millions of dollars and gave it to Christ, radical giving. You have heard of Mr. Kraft who founded Kraft Cheese Company. He wanted to be a missionary. His health would not permit it and he became a businessman and gave millions of dollars to the cause of Christ. How about R.G. LeTourneau? Have you heard of him? He owned the largest earth-moving machinery company in the world. It was LeTourneau’s earth-moving machinery that helped storm the beaches of Normandy on D¬ Day. It was his earth-moving machinery that built the Alaskan Highway. It was LeTourneau’s earth¬ moving machinery that removed 5,000 acres of swamp and built the Kennedy International Airport.
When he was 34 years old, this man who had given his heart to Jesus, had a message from God. God said, “I want you to reverse tide. I want you to live on 10% and give 90% away.” That is what
R.G. Letourneau did. For the final four decades of his life, it was radical. Have you heard of H.P. Crowell? You probably have not but you have eaten some of his food because he was the founder of Quaker Oats. He wanted to be a missionary, but he had tuberculosis. He could not endure the rigors of the mission field. He became a businessman and for the last 40 years of his life he gave 70% of his income to Christ.
You might be thinking, “What does any of this have to do with me?’ because I cannot give like that and I do not make that much money but, you see, giving is precious to Jesus. Barb and I need to be givers and you need to be givers. We all need to be givers, and this is a life lesson from Barnabas and from the early church. Of course in our giving we also need to remember the poor. This church always has sought to give to the poor. You should want to be part of that.
It was Barnabas and Paul in Antioch who ministered there for a year, and they gathered the collections for the poor and brought them to Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul. When Barnabas and Paul, as recorded in Galatians, chapter 2, went to Jerusalem, met with the Jerusalem Council, met with the powers that be, met with Peter and James, Barnabas and Paul were given the right hand of fellowship and they were anointed as Apostles to the Gentiles, and they were given one charge – remember the poor. As you go forth with the Gospel of Christ, remember the poor.
I have been serving recently on a board with Mayor John Hickenlooper, Mayor of Denver. We have been working on this initiative to fight homelessness in Denver. Some people have said to me, “How can you serve with Mayor Hickenlooper? Aren’t you aware of the fact that he is a Democrat?” I remind folks that Jesus is neither a Democrat nor a Republican and it seems to me, at least, that the issue of poverty transcends politics. People have asked me, “Well, is John Hickenlooper a Christian?” I am not sure whether he is a follower of Jesus and whether he is committed his heart and soul. I know that his father was an Episcopalian and a Sunday School teacher, and his wife is a Quaker. I know this. I know that Mayor Hickenlooper believes that people of faith can make a difference for the poor.
This last Tuesday we had a little rally down at the Convention Center for pastors of congregations in metropolitan Denver. We had a couple of hundred pastors and churches represented there, trying to get each church to adopt a homeless family. There are 5,000 homeless people in the city of Denver, 10,000 people in metropolitan Denver but there are about a thousand homeless families. Maybe they have fallen on hard times. Maybe they are in some sense dysfunctional. Maybe it is a single mom but a thousand homeless families. We thought maybe we could get the churches to take that on. Wouldn’t that be great? So, I have not yet shared with you, my congregation and those whom I serve. I have not shared this yet, but I think if any church around town can adopt a homeless family, surely, we could adopt a number of them. Surely, we could.
What a great project for your small group! We have so many small groups in this church, hundreds of them. Are you looking for a ministry project that you can do together as a small group? This would be it. As a small group, adopt a homeless family. Maybe you are wanting to be part of it, and it does not relate to your small group. You can be part of this too.
By Mayor Hickenlooper’s design, we have connected with the Denver Rescue Mission. The Denver Rescue Mission is an evangelical Christian organization, and they do all the training. They will train you. It is just a commitment for four to six months. This is not an open-ended deal. You adopt a homeless family for four to six months. There is a limited number of meetings. They are all structured and you are trained. You can do this, and the Denver Rescue Mission will work along with you. We have tables out in the lobby where you can go. I will bet you are not surprised. You can go up to the table and you can volunteer. Maybe your small group would volunteer to adopt a homeless family.
This project Denver Rescue Mission is working with is very successful and over 80% of the families adopted are no longer homeless even a year out down the road. This works and you can be a blessing for Christ’s sake. You can be a Barnabas and you can give in every sense of the word- time, talent, treasure. You can be a giver and an encourager all at once. You can be a modern-day Barnabas. What an opportunity. Let us look to the Lord with a word of prayer.