Joseph of Cyprus
So do you know -- just off the top of your head -- who I am going to write about? Really, there is only one verse where this man is referred to as "Joseph . . . from Cyprus", so this is a bit of a trick question. His story ~ or a bit of it ~ is told in the NEW Testament. He is one of my favorite characters in the post-gospels New Testament story: From Cyprus, a Levite who lived in Jerusalem --- Part of the early church --- Not one of the original 12 apostles --- World traveler . . . ? got it yet?
Barnabas.
"Barnabas" was a nickname. His given name was Joseph. He was a Levite, from Cyprus. The apostles nicknamed him Barnabas, which we are told in Acts 4, mean "Son of Encouragement". This translation ... Son of Encouragement is a translator's decision. The literal meaning is : Son of Prophecy.
NT:921 Barnabas (bar-nab'-as); of Aramaic origin
[OT:1247 and OT:5029]; son of Nabas (i.e. prophecy);
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance
with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994,
2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
My two cents on the choice to translate the nickname is ~ It seems to me...and I have no proof for this observation...that the choice of the word "Encouragement" (or "consolation" or "exhortation" in some versions) is an indication of what the translators felt/understand about the concept of the prophetic. I have a much bigger concept of the prophetic -- it INCLUDES being encouraging and full of exhortation, but it carries the meaning of hearing and knowing what God has to say and what He feels about any given person or situation or issue, and being able to impart that accurately. I think Barnabas was a prophet who was a giant of integrity, wisdom, and character. Of course he would be an encourager -- one who establishes or re-establishes courage in the hearts of those around him.
Most of the time the focus, for very understandable reasons, is put on the Paul side of the "Paul and Barnabas" team. But Barnabas caught my attention. When you read the potions of the NT that illuminate Barnabas, you see an amazing hero of the faith. We do not have information on the beginning or on the end of his story -- so -- what do we know?
1. Barnabas was a Levite. This indicates to me that Barnabas was pretty well educated. He, at the very least, would have been well educated in "the law and the prophets" -- the "Bible" of that day. In the Old Testament, the Levites (the people of the tribe of Levi: the 3rd son of Israel (Jacob) ) were the tribe chosen to be the priesthood. {Numbers 1:47-52; Numbers 3:5-15; Joshua 13:33; Deut 10:8-9) They were not given any allotment of land as a tribe, as did all the other tribes when Israel settled into the promised land. They did not get an inheritance in land since "the Lord is their inheritance". Traditionally, many commentators note, Levites did not own land. This must not have been true by Jesus' day because the first thing we are told about Barnabas is that he sold a piece of land and laid the proceeds from the sale of the land at the apostles feet. The context is a note regarding the early church that "there was no needy person among them" because from time to time someone would sell some land and give the money to the apostles for them to use to meet the needs of anyone in the church. So by the first verse about Barnabas we know he is a Levite, prophetic and generous, and that he is likely wealthy. We also know that he was not originally from Jerusalem, but by Acts 4, that is where he lives.
2. OK, all that from a very short note about him in Acts 4. We do not read anything about him again until Acts 9. A LOT happens between Acts 4 and 9: The death of Ananias and Sapphira which leads to some real intensity within the community, amazing growth in the church paralleled with lots more persecution, the set-up and murder of Stephen, the scattering of the believers because of the persecution, the fun "Phillip" stories, (they ARE fun: you should go read them -- Acts 8) and then the conversion of Saul/Paul. I bring all this up because I want to set the stage for what I am going to say about Barnabas. The context is significant if you are going to see my point. This was a season when there was amazing power of God being POURED out:
Acts 5:15-16
" ... people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed."
Acts 5:18-19
" ...They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out
Acts 6:8
" ... Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people."
Acts 8:5-8
" ... Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city.
Do you get it?
Peter's shadow passes over a blind man and as Peter simply walks by the man begins to scream: "I can see! I can see!" And by half an hour later EVERYONE in the crowd of people is whole, and well ~ ALL the sick, demon possessed, cancer ridden, blind, lame, etc. etc, ~ IMAGINE! This happened often enough that crowds of people got healed . . . not A crowd --> crowdS!
Angels show up and let men out of prison!
Stephen, a guy whose ministry was like "Meals on Wheels" to the over 70 set in the church, did GREAT signs and wonders -- so...all the old people's arthritis, cataracts, cancer ~ all healed!
But! While there was amazing power and miracles in this season, there was proportional persecution:
Acts 5:17-19
" ... Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
Acts 5:40
" ...They called the apostles in and had them flogged . Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Acts 7:54-58
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ...
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.
Acts 8:1-3
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
What does this have to do with Barnabas? Well, imagine a setting where people were so afraid that all the Christians in a town, except the pastors, MOVED to another city or state. This is not persecution like "you can't pray in school" ... it is soldiers show up and drag you off to jail, you minister to old people and it makes people so upset, so jealous that they have guys frame you with the kind lies that result in you being stoned to death ~ that is a crowd of people is so angry that they throw rocks at you until you DIE. It says "Saul began to destroy the church." He doesn't just keep his persecution confined to Jerusalem ... that would be bad enough. He goes throughout the whole country. Do you get what it means that he went to Damascus? It is like L.A. wasn't enough, he had authority and attacked the WHOLE church between L. A. in southern California and Seattle, Washington. You CAN'T move far enough away.
Then it is whispered that Saul is back in Jerusalem. There are rumors that he got saved while up in Damascus. That was not a day where there were T.V.'s or radios, or YouTube so you could go see what was being said, and find out if there was reality behind it. It was just people talking. So -- would you believe it? Your family had been dragged off in the middle of the night and thrown into a rat infested jail for the terrible crime of believing in Jesus. I mean really ... what better way to get intel on the now running and hiding community of believers than to infiltrate by pretending to have gotten saved?!? I mean read what happened when Saul did get saved and goes into Damascus. (Acts 9:10-19) God, Himself, speaks to a man named Ananias and tells him Saul has been saved. He tells Ananias to go pray for him and Ananias argues with God, Himself! He as much as tells God, "Have you not been paying attention? Saul -- saved? Yeah, right. God, you should go check your facts." So when Saul leaves Damascus...because the Jews in Damascus conspired to kill him...and goes down to Jerusalem ~
Acts 9:26
"When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple."
Ya think?!! The next words of the verse, for me, tell the story of Barnabas.
Acts 9:26-27
"But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus."
Barnabas faced the danger, and went and checked out the story. I wonder if he made the trip up to Damascus and chatted with Ananias and the church there ~ I think it is likely. I mean would he simply have taken Saul's word? At Barnabas's word the apostles accepted Saul. What kind of man must he have been that the apostles took Barnabas's word as enough? I mean think about it? Let's say a rumor hit that Osama bin Laden got saved. What man in the church has enough character, and reputation that AT HIS WORD the whole church world would accept bin Laden and come to hear him preach? Think about it...Barnabas says it is true so we are going to put our lives on the line cuz we know Barnabas and if he says it's true --- it IS true.
Next ~ Barnabas and Paul
Barnabas.
"Barnabas" was a nickname. His given name was Joseph. He was a Levite, from Cyprus. The apostles nicknamed him Barnabas, which we are told in Acts 4, mean "Son of Encouragement". This translation ... Son of Encouragement is a translator's decision. The literal meaning is : Son of Prophecy.
NT:921 Barnabas (bar-nab'-as); of Aramaic origin
[OT:1247 and OT:5029]; son of Nabas (i.e. prophecy);
(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance
with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994,
2003 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
My two cents on the choice to translate the nickname is ~ It seems to me...and I have no proof for this observation...that the choice of the word "Encouragement" (or "consolation" or "exhortation" in some versions) is an indication of what the translators felt/understand about the concept of the prophetic. I have a much bigger concept of the prophetic -- it INCLUDES being encouraging and full of exhortation, but it carries the meaning of hearing and knowing what God has to say and what He feels about any given person or situation or issue, and being able to impart that accurately. I think Barnabas was a prophet who was a giant of integrity, wisdom, and character. Of course he would be an encourager -- one who establishes or re-establishes courage in the hearts of those around him.
Most of the time the focus, for very understandable reasons, is put on the Paul side of the "Paul and Barnabas" team. But Barnabas caught my attention. When you read the potions of the NT that illuminate Barnabas, you see an amazing hero of the faith. We do not have information on the beginning or on the end of his story -- so -- what do we know?
1. Barnabas was a Levite. This indicates to me that Barnabas was pretty well educated. He, at the very least, would have been well educated in "the law and the prophets" -- the "Bible" of that day. In the Old Testament, the Levites (the people of the tribe of Levi: the 3rd son of Israel (Jacob) ) were the tribe chosen to be the priesthood. {Numbers 1:47-52; Numbers 3:5-15; Joshua 13:33; Deut 10:8-9) They were not given any allotment of land as a tribe, as did all the other tribes when Israel settled into the promised land. They did not get an inheritance in land since "the Lord is their inheritance". Traditionally, many commentators note, Levites did not own land. This must not have been true by Jesus' day because the first thing we are told about Barnabas is that he sold a piece of land and laid the proceeds from the sale of the land at the apostles feet. The context is a note regarding the early church that "there was no needy person among them" because from time to time someone would sell some land and give the money to the apostles for them to use to meet the needs of anyone in the church. So by the first verse about Barnabas we know he is a Levite, prophetic and generous, and that he is likely wealthy. We also know that he was not originally from Jerusalem, but by Acts 4, that is where he lives.
2. OK, all that from a very short note about him in Acts 4. We do not read anything about him again until Acts 9. A LOT happens between Acts 4 and 9: The death of Ananias and Sapphira which leads to some real intensity within the community, amazing growth in the church paralleled with lots more persecution, the set-up and murder of Stephen, the scattering of the believers because of the persecution, the fun "Phillip" stories, (they ARE fun: you should go read them -- Acts 8) and then the conversion of Saul/Paul. I bring all this up because I want to set the stage for what I am going to say about Barnabas. The context is significant if you are going to see my point. This was a season when there was amazing power of God being POURED out:
Acts 5:15-16
" ... people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by evil spirits, and all of them were healed."
Acts 5:18-19
" ...They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out
Acts 6:8
" ... Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people."
Acts 8:5-8
" ... Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city.
Do you get it?
Peter's shadow passes over a blind man and as Peter simply walks by the man begins to scream: "I can see! I can see!" And by half an hour later EVERYONE in the crowd of people is whole, and well ~ ALL the sick, demon possessed, cancer ridden, blind, lame, etc. etc, ~ IMAGINE! This happened often enough that crowds of people got healed . . . not A crowd --> crowdS!
Angels show up and let men out of prison!
Stephen, a guy whose ministry was like "Meals on Wheels" to the over 70 set in the church, did GREAT signs and wonders -- so...all the old people's arthritis, cataracts, cancer ~ all healed!
But! While there was amazing power and miracles in this season, there was proportional persecution:
Acts 5:17-19
" ... Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
Acts 5:40
" ...They called the apostles in and had them flogged . Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
Acts 7:54-58
When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. ...
At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.
Acts 8:1-3
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
What does this have to do with Barnabas? Well, imagine a setting where people were so afraid that all the Christians in a town, except the pastors, MOVED to another city or state. This is not persecution like "you can't pray in school" ... it is soldiers show up and drag you off to jail, you minister to old people and it makes people so upset, so jealous that they have guys frame you with the kind lies that result in you being stoned to death ~ that is a crowd of people is so angry that they throw rocks at you until you DIE. It says "Saul began to destroy the church." He doesn't just keep his persecution confined to Jerusalem ... that would be bad enough. He goes throughout the whole country. Do you get what it means that he went to Damascus? It is like L.A. wasn't enough, he had authority and attacked the WHOLE church between L. A. in southern California and Seattle, Washington. You CAN'T move far enough away.
Then it is whispered that Saul is back in Jerusalem. There are rumors that he got saved while up in Damascus. That was not a day where there were T.V.'s or radios, or YouTube so you could go see what was being said, and find out if there was reality behind it. It was just people talking. So -- would you believe it? Your family had been dragged off in the middle of the night and thrown into a rat infested jail for the terrible crime of believing in Jesus. I mean really ... what better way to get intel on the now running and hiding community of believers than to infiltrate by pretending to have gotten saved?!? I mean read what happened when Saul did get saved and goes into Damascus. (Acts 9:10-19) God, Himself, speaks to a man named Ananias and tells him Saul has been saved. He tells Ananias to go pray for him and Ananias argues with God, Himself! He as much as tells God, "Have you not been paying attention? Saul -- saved? Yeah, right. God, you should go check your facts." So when Saul leaves Damascus...because the Jews in Damascus conspired to kill him...and goes down to Jerusalem ~
Acts 9:26
"When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple."
Ya think?!! The next words of the verse, for me, tell the story of Barnabas.
Acts 9:26-27
"But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus."
Barnabas faced the danger, and went and checked out the story. I wonder if he made the trip up to Damascus and chatted with Ananias and the church there ~ I think it is likely. I mean would he simply have taken Saul's word? At Barnabas's word the apostles accepted Saul. What kind of man must he have been that the apostles took Barnabas's word as enough? I mean think about it? Let's say a rumor hit that Osama bin Laden got saved. What man in the church has enough character, and reputation that AT HIS WORD the whole church world would accept bin Laden and come to hear him preach? Think about it...Barnabas says it is true so we are going to put our lives on the line cuz we know Barnabas and if he says it's true --- it IS true.
Next ~ Barnabas and Paul
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