Living in the Image of God M05S11
The breakup of the Gospel alliance of Paul and Barnabas provides insights based on understanding options for satisfying competing interests in a disagreement within an alliance. If the options are compatible, the disagreement could be resolved by implementing measures to satisfy the competing interests simultaneously. If the options are incompatible, then a path to resolution could be to seek an amicable breakup that would satisfy the competing interests. In any case, the parties need to understand how their interests would be satisfied through the available options.
This bible study discusses the breakup of the Gospel alliance of Paul and Barnabas to provide insights for managing disagreements within an alliance. The alliance could be for a Christian mission directly or for other aspects of living. The alliance of Paul and Barnabas began with their collaboration in growing the church at Antioch and blossomed through the First Missionary Journey, when they established several churches in southern Europe and laid foundation for the growth of Christianity worldwide.
The alliance broke up as they discussed plans for the second missionary journey, because of a disagreement regarding their relationships with a younger apostle named John Mark, now better known as the author of the Gospel according to Mark. At that time, Barnabas wanted to work with John Mark to mentor him and proposed taking him along. In contrast, Paul was concerned that John Mark would not serve the mission well, because of a previous experience with him. He had abandoned them early in the First Missionary Journey and had not worked with them thereafter [Acts 15:37–38]: “Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.”
Paul and Barnabas broke up and did not proceed together to the second missionary journey [Acts 15:39–40]: “They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord.” Their breakup, however, led to two separate and successful Gospel ministries.
Additionally, the breakup provides insights for managing disagreements in an alliance, based on understanding the options for satisfying competing interests. If the options are compatible, the disagreement could be resolved by implementing measures to satisfy the competing interests simultaneously. If the options are incompatible, such as in the Paul-Barnabas example, then a path to resolution could be to seek an amicable breakup that would satisfy the competing interests. In any case, to find an amicable path to resolution, the parties need to understand how their interests would be satisfied through the available options.
Paul-Barnabas Alliance
The alliance of Paul and Barnabas began when they teamed up to grow the church in Antioch. The Jerusalem church had sent Barnabas to Antioch to work with the new believers there. After meeting with the believers, he decided he needed help and went to Tarsus to bring Saul. He and Saul worked together to establish and grow the church in Antioch [Acts 11:25–26]: “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.”
The alliance continued when the church at Antioch commissioned them to embark on the First Missionary Journey [Acts 13:2–3]: “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.”
The alliance blossomed through the First Missionary Journey. Their evangelism led to several churches in southern Europe and laid the foundation for the growth of Christianity worldwide [Acts 14:26–27]: “From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.”
Breakup of Paul-Barnabas Alliance
The breakup of the alliance started when Paul proposed that they should go and visit with the believers and churches they planted during the first missionary journey: “Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.’” [Acts 15:36].
At that time, Barnabas was interested in mentoring John Mark and proposed taking him along. However, Paul did not accept taking John Mark. He was concerned that John Mark would not serve the mission well, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia early in the first missionary journey, and had not worked with them again since then [Acts 15:37–38]: “Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.”
Paul and Barnabas parted company (i.e., the alliance broke up) over the disagreement regarding John Mark. Barnabas sailed to Cyprus with John Mark. Paul chose Silas as his new companion and went through Syria and Cilicia, to visit with the churches they planted during the first missionary journey.
Viewpoint of Barnabas in Understanding the Breakup
Let us consider the breakup from the viewpoint of Barnabas, based on analysis of information from the bible. Barnabas had determined that he needed to mentor John Mark and could lose the opportunity if he went with Paul without taking Mark with them. Further, he likely understood that Paul could find another companion of comparable competence.
He needed to choose between two physically incompatible options. One option was to follow Paul and abandon John Mark. The other was to stay with John Mark and leave Paul. He chose the second option, maybe recognizing that the other option would have led to an irreparable loss of opportunity to mentor Mark. Later events show that he made the right choice, such as John Mark being the author of the Gospel according to Mark.
Viewpoint of Paul in Understanding the Breakup
Now, let us consider the breakup from the viewpoint of Paul, based on analysis of information from the bible. Paul was concerned that he could not rely on John Mark to assist with the overall mission. He recognized that Barnabas was determined to work with John Mark, and decided to release Barnabas to focus on mentoring John Mark. Also, he likely understood that he could find another competent companion in the place of Barnabas.
Later events showed he made the right decision regarding both items. Mark’s success in authoring a book of the Gospel (Gospel According to Mark) bears witness to successful mentoring by Barnabas. Also, Paul was accompanied by Silas, Timothy, and others in a Gospel mission through Macedonia and Greece, which exceeded his original intent for the second missionary journey. Thus, the breakup led to two separate and successful Gospel ministries.
Insights Based on the Breakup
The breakup of the Gospel alliance of Paul and Barnabas provides insights for managing disagreements in an alliance, based on understanding the interests of the parties and options for satisfying competing interests. If the options are compatible, the disagreement could be resolved by implementing measures to satisfy the competing interests simultaneously. If the options are incompatible, such as in the Paul-Barnabas example, then a path to resolution could be to seek an amicable breakup that would satisfy the competing interests. In any case, to find an amicable path to resolution, the parties need to understand how their interests would be satisfied through the available options.
Summary of What We Learned
The alliance of Paul and Barnabas broke up over a disagreement regarding relationship with a younger apostle named John Mark, better known as the author of the Gospel according to Mark. The breakup occurred as they discussed plans for the second missionary journey. Barnabas had decided to begin mentoring John Mark and wanted to take him with them; but Paul did not accept taking John Mark, because he abandoned them early in the first missionary journey and had not worked with them thereafter. Barnabas chose to leave Paul and focus on mentoring John Mark. Paul teamed with Silas as his new companion. The breakup led to two separate and successful Gospel ministries.
Additionally, the breakup provides insights for managing disagreements in an alliance, based on understanding options for satisfying competing interests. If the options are compatible, the disagreement could be resolved by implementing measures to satisfy the competing interests simultaneously. If the options are incompatible, then a path to resolution could be to seek an amicable breakup that would satisfy the competing interests. In any case, the parties need to understand how their interests would be satisfied through the chosen option.