Barnabas

Barnabas is remembered for associating closely with members of the Jesus movement in Jerusalem, collaborating with Paul, and serving as a bridge between diverse groups of believers. Information about Barnabas is scattered across Paul’s letters and the Acts of the Apostles.

Who was Barnabas?

Barnabas was an important figure in Jerusalem during the initial decades of the Christian movement. A Jewish man whose roots stemmed from the tribe of Levi, his family came from the island of Cyprus before he moved to Jerusalem and was associated with the Jesus movement (Acts 4:36–37). Although his given name was Joseph, a folk etymology explains the name by which he was better known. He was “Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means ‘son of encouragement’)” (Acts 4:36 NRSVue). While Barnabas’s activity ranged widely across neighboring regions around the Mediterranean, he is best remembered for his close relationship with Paul and his mediating work on behalf of diverse groups of Jesus followers.

What was Barnabas’s relationship with Paul like?

Barnabas and Paul collaborated in spreading the message of Jesus across the eastern Mediterranean world. An early reference to Barnabas comes from Paul as he recounts Barnabas’s presence on a journey that Paul and Titus took to Jerusalem (Gal 2:1). A key purpose of the meeting was to allow leaders in Jerusalem to determine the legitimacy of Paul’s mission to non-Jews. The Jerusalem authorities confirmed the mission along with Paul and Barnabas’s place in the community by giving them “the right hand of fellowship” (Gal 2:9).

Barnabas’s collaboration with Paul did not preclude disagreement. Barnabas joined Peter against Paul in eating only with ethnic Jews at Antioch (Gal 2:11–14), while he also insisted on taking John Mark with them on the next leg of their journey (Acts 15:36–41). Paul’s objections to the latter led to a split between the two, at least for a time. Despite these tensions, their relationship can fairly be characterized as close. Paul could still cite Barnabas as an example of hard work in service of the ministry to which they felt they had been appointed by Jesus (1 Cor 9:6).

How is Barnabas’s mediation recounted?

Barnabas’s work as an intermediary is likewise vital to how he is remembered among early Christians. He introduced Paul to the Jerusalem authorities in the early days of Paul’s transition from zealot against the Jesus movement to one of its most strident proponents (Acts 9:27). The Jerusalem authorities were initially reticent to meet a former persecutor, but Barnabas’s support of Paul was instrumental to Paul’s acceptance by the Jerusalem leaders. As a result of Barnabas’s mediation, Paul “went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord” (Acts 9:28).

When non-Jewish residents in Antioch began to join Jewish believers in the city, Barnabas was appointed by authorities in Jerusalem to investigate (Acts 11:22–24). Barnabas brought Paul from Tarsus to Antioch (Acts 11:25–30). He thus linked Jerusalem with Antioch and Paul with a teaching ministry. He was remembered alongside Paul as a teacher in Antioch (Acts 13:1). Barnabas eventually reported back to the Jerusalem authorities with Paul on the status of non-Jews in early communities of Jesus followers (Acts 15:2, 12). Barnabas thus provided a key link connecting Jerusalem leaders with believers in neighboring regions during a time of rapid change.