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Imagine the surprise of the Jerusalem church when Saul, the persecutor, showed up in the city professing to be a follower of Christ. They were filled with fear and disbelief.(1) They thought his claim was a deception designed to entrap them. They knew him before he left Jerusalem over three years earlier and that he had gone to Damascus in order to arrest the believers there. They knew what he was capable of. There was no way he could be a follower of Jesus! And what’s more, he was claiming to be an apostle. Even if it was true that he was now a follower of Jesus, how could he possibly make claim to be an apostle? He hadn’t walked with Jesus—or so they thought. No, there was no way they were going to accept him into their fellowship!

That is, until a believer named Barnabas took action. Luke tells us that Barnabas “was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith.”(2) He demonstrated his selflessness and generosity by selling his property and giving all of the proceeds to the church.(3) He was quickly seen within the newly-developing church as a leader—but this “son of encouragement” was more than that—he was a leader-maker. He was willing to take a risk for the sake of the Kingdom. He was willing to take the risk and sell his property, and he was willing to take the risk and reach out to Saul. He was willing to put his riches and his reputation on the line for the cause of Christ. He not only reached out to Saul; he put his arm around him and drew him close.

If you have followed my blog or podcast for a while, you have probably heard me speak of a man by the name of Bryan Evans, who was a Barnabas in my life for a number of years. God brought Bryan into my life to be a part of the journey that led to my salvation in Christ. He reached out to me as a friend and a discipler. Initially, because of the place where i was walking, i saw him as somewhat extreme in his relationship with Christ, but i never questioned the genuineness of his faith.

When, as a new believer, i was seeking God’s direction for my life, Bryan volunteered to meet with me each morning before the crack of dawn to pray together. As i followed the Lord’s leading to enter into pastoral ministry, he was there to pray for me and encourage me every step of the way. When, as a pastor, i needed someone to lead through some challenging projects, he was there to stand in the gap with me and lead. i rarely saw Bryan when he wasn’t surrounded by several men in whom he was pouring his life. Bryan, like Barnabas, was a leader-maker—and though time and distance now separate us, i’m sure he still is!

Barnabas convinced Peter and James (the half-brother of Jesus) to meet with Saul. Saul tells us in his letter to the church in Galatia(4) that he did not meet with any of the other apostles at that time. But over a fifteen-day period, he told Peter, James, and Barnabas about the work that God had done in his life over the previous three years from the moment of his salvation until the current time. In particular, he told them about the time he had spent walking with Jesus in the wilderness of Arabia.

Bear in mind, there is no indication that Jesus appeared to him bodily or in any way other than how he appeared to him on the Road to Damascus. However, Jesus discipled Saul—in whatever way He chose to do so—in the truths that He had taught the other apostles, and in the truths that the apostle He was sending to the Gentiles needed to know. By the conclusion of Saul’s time with Peter and James, they were convinced of the veracity of his testimony the genuineness of his transformation, and his apostleship.

Saul accompanied some of the leaders of the Jerusalem church—at least, Peter, James and Barnabas—as they went all around the city, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. Many of the Jews, especially the Hellenistic Jews who had engineered Stephen’s trial and death, recognized Saul. They began to debate with him, and he may have felt a need to take up Stephen’s witness, in whose death he had been complicit. The Jews soon began to formulate a plan to murder him, but God had other plans for Saul.

He tells us through Luke, “I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance. I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about Me.’ ‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You. And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’ But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’”(5)

Knowing the threat against Saul, the believers helped him make his way to Caesarea so he could sail to his hometown of Tarsus to tell his family and friends about Jesus. Though Scripture is silent on the point, i would conjecture that Barnabas was right there with him every step of the way—when the Jews were debating with him and accompanying Saul to the docks in Caesarea. Barnabas didn’t “make leaders” from a distance. He was there with him—with his arm around him—walking with him through “thick and thin”. Such was this son of encouragement!

Upon arrival in Tarsus, the city became Saul’s “base of ministry” as he began to carry the gospel to the Gentiles. He evangelized in the regions of Syria and Cilicia,(6) planting churches as he went.(7) It is very likely that some of the trials Saul writes about in his second letter to the church in Corinth(8) occurred during this period, including at least a half dozen beatings at the hands of the Jews, as well as the Romans (at the urging of the Jews). He apparently was shipwrecked twice during that period. Those seven years were anything but a “cakewalk”. Through those years, the gospel was being preached and the Kingdom advanced among the Gentiles long before he and Barnabas were reunited seven years later in Tarsus.(9)

Though Barnabas and Saul were apart for those seven years, God used Barnabas in the Lord’s perfect timing to encourage and help strengthen Saul in his faith. He introduced him to the apostles, enabling Saul to go out with the endorsement of the Jerusalem church. He had been the friend and companion Saul needed in that season—and he would be again.

That’s a good reminder for us: a “Barnabas” may not walk with us permanently, but his/her efforts on our behalf will always have a lasting impact. Everyone needs at least one Barnabas in their lives. Thankfully, often God brings more than one. And He, in turn, gives us the opportunity to be a Barnabas in others’ lives.

Be that Barnabas that God has equipped you to be, and called you to be. Step up boldly and courageously as He brings that one across your path, being that friend and that encourager who “sticks closer than a brother” or a sister.(10) God has ordered each of our journeys to prepare us as a Barnabas, and to bring that one across our path who is in need of a Barnabas. Let’s be alert and not miss the invitation!

Though the seven years that followed, while Saul was in Tarsus, Syria and Cilicia, was a time of “peace” in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, it wasn’t a season of complacency. The church grew and strengthened. God raised up new workers to continue the work. Barnabas was there in Jerusalem to encourage those new workers as well.

God is still raising up new workers today—workers for us to encourage! And He will continue to do so… until He returns.

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You can read about how God used Barnabas to disciple Saul in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Acts.

This post is taken from chapter 27 of my book, Until He Returns. For more information about the book, click here.

(1) Acts 9:26-31(NLT)

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He debated with some Greek-speaking Jews, but they tried to murder him.When the believers heard about this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus, his hometown.The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.

(2) Acts 11:24 (NLT)

(3) Acts 4:36-37

(4) Galatians 1:18

(5) Acts 22:17-21 (NLT)

(6) Galatians 1:21

(7) Acts 15:41

(8) 2 Corinthians 11:24-36

(9) Acts 11:25

(10) Proverbs 18:24 (NLT)

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