Good morning. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, we read Juliet’s words of woe that her true love, Romeo, bears the last name of her own family’s enemy:
‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What’s Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
What’s in a name? In the small town where I grew up there were classmates that were virtually cursed because they bore the name of a family of bad reputation. It didn’t matter so much what was the nature of the child in question, their family name went a long way to determine whether he (or she) should be considered acceptable. On the other hand, there were classmates who came from the families that were considered good and worthy. The first group needed to prove beyond all doubt that they were good people because the family name they bore led to expectations of bad behavior. The second group were just the opposite. They were always given the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise because of reputation of their parents or siblings. It wasn’t fair, but I expect that such attitudes were “normal” or at least wide spread.
The Bible character I would share with you today was born with the name of Joses, or Joseph in the Greek form. He probably came from a “good” family, or at least I would suspect as much, because he was well thought of and wealthy. This man, Joseph, was a fine Jew and Levite from the Isle of Cyprus. In Acts 4:36, his name is one of the first that we read of in the early church other than those of Jesus’ immediate disciples and family. We learn of him in the context of the unity of the church in its infancy, and I would like to share the entire passage of Acts 4:32-37 to bring him into clearer focus: Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
This is our Bible character today, and what a name is his! Though the name his parents gave him was Joseph (Joses) the name he was known by among the believers was Barnabas “Son of Encouragement.” Juliet may have asked “What’s in a name?” but when it comes to this man, his name is pretty great! What a wonderful thing to be known as, “son of encouragement.”
We don’t hear much more about Barnabas until the 11th chapter of Acts. By this time, there were some from the Gentile world that had come to believe in Christ. We read this in Acts 11:22-24: The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
But God wasn’t done with Barnabas. We read on in verses 25-26: So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.
Saul, the persecutor of the church who had been confronted by Christ Jesus, was ready to become Paul the evangelist. The son of encouragement found Paul the evangelist and a match that was truly made in heaven was begun. They served together for years, bringing the Gospel message to the Gentile world. Their partnership wasn’t without conflict, but the cause of Christ was greater than any personal differences.
Barnabas, the son of encouragement, is a model that we should aspire to. He was a friend, a warrior for Christ, an evangelist and church planter, and is even referred to as an apostle in Acts 14:14. This means that he would have had a first-hand experience and a relationship with Jesus. He was a Christian, a servant of Jesus Christ.
Barnabas, a name to admire!
Vern