“St. Barnabas”
by Anonymous (18th Century)
Photo Source: www.christianiconography.info
Although not an original apostle selected by Jesus, Barnabas is granted that title by Luke, the author of Acts and by the early church fathers. He was of the Levite tribe but born in Cyprus and originally named Joseph but that was changed to Barnabas, “man of encouragement.” Tradition holds that he and Paul/ Saul studied together under Gamaliel, the famous teacher of the Jewish Law, in Jerusalem. He appears as one of the first conversions to the fledging church in Acts 4:35-37 in which he sold a field he owned and laid all the money at the apostle’s feet, that in stark contrast to Ananias and Sapphira who sold a property, withheld some of the money and suffered death as the result. Saul, on the other hand, took the opposite tack and obtained a commission from the Jewish authorities to persecute the new church.
Ironically, both left Jerusalem, Paul going 200 miles to Damascus to persecute there while Barnabas went to 300 miles to Antioch, which had better conditions for the church to take root and grow. Indeed, Antioch was where the name Christian originated for the new faith. Here their lives become entwined: Paul has his conversion experience while Barnabas is picked to establish the new church in Antioch.
However, he finds he needs help and as Paul has returned to his native city of Tarsus, less than 100 miles from Antioch, and had been preaching in that area. He prevails on Saul, now called Paul, and both return to Antioch and spend a year in preaching the gospel. Then they visit Jerusalem wherein Barnabas vouches for Paul to allay fears that his conversion is only a ruse, and they bring a offering to allay the famine that had struck the Jerusalem church.
Now the salutation in Acts of Barnabas and Paul changes to Paul and Barnabas, indicating a shift in hierarchy and status during which time both undertake their first missionary journey in the mid-40s. It’s Barnabas in Acts 11:22; Barnabas and Saul in Acts 11:30; Barnabas and Saul in Acts 13:1-3; then Paul and Barnabas in in the rest of Acts 13 (except for two references that can be explained away). That would continue until both spilt over the issue of John Mark who had le_ part way through the first missionary journey. However, they did join forces over the controversial issue circumcision, and the Judaizers, which required the Jerusalem council to decide in 49AD. (By the 60s, however, all seemed to be reconciled to each other and any division or ill will not apparent).
Afterwards, planning started for a second missionary journey, but Paul didn’t want John Mark included though Barnabas did; they could not agree so Barnabas with John Mark, went to Cyprus and that’s where his record ends in the New Testament. (However, Paul picked Silas and later Timothy for his second missionary trip).
Subsequently, his record is questionable. He reportedly traveled to Rome, being perhaps the first to preach Christ there, and founded the episcopal see of Milan. Returning to Cyprus, he enraged a contingent of Jewish leaders from the mainland over his successful preaching and they, in turn, incited the pagans to stone him. Then they built a fire upon which to burn the body, but John Mark found it first, buried it in a cave, and placed a copy of the Gospel of Matthew that Barnabas had copied on his bosom. This supposedly occurred in 62AD when Barnabas was 76 years old. Over time, his burial site was forgotten but in 448AD Barnabas appeared three times in a dream to the Archbishop of Cyprus telling him where he was buried. They found him with an incorrupt body, clutching the Gospel to his chest, adding to his legacy as the traditional founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church.
Several works are attributed to him. Tertullian, the late second century church father, considered him the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The Epistle of Barnabas, a letter attributed to him by many church fathers, and debated by the church for several hundred years on whether to include it in the canon. It wasn’t and its date and place of writing was later held to be after 70AD, after the Temple’s destruction, but before 130AD, the Bar Kokhba revolt.
The Acts of Barnabas, with its authorship attributed to John Mark, purports to be an account of the travels and miracles of Barnabas, Paul and John Mark on their first missionary trip. It was subsequently held to be written in the 5th century. The Gospel of Barnabas is long, about 75,000 words, and appears written in the 13th to 15th centuries with an Islamic perspective: Jesus was not crucified, Judas Iscariot replaced him on the cross. For that reason, alone, it is not accepted by Christians.
Copyright © 2025 Jim Dewar
