A Study in Acts
Part 19
We are now, in this study entering the period of Paul’s Second Missionary Journey. It is after Paul returns from Jerusalem with the letter from the church leaders regarding the question of circumcision.
Acts 15: 22, 27: Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. 27. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.
So, Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch with two members of the Jerusalem church Judas Barsabas and Silas. Judas returns to Jerusalem after this and is never mentioned in the New Testament again.
Acts 15: 32-41: 32. Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted the brethren with many words and strengthened them. 33. And after they had stayed there for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles. 34. However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there. 35. Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. 36. Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.'' 37. Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. 38. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. 39. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; 40. but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. 41. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
So, we see in verse 32 that Judas and Silas were considered New Testament prophets. The verse says they exhorted the brethren with many word and strengthen them.
Let’s discuss the office of prophet. I am using as a reference The Ministry Gifts by Kenneth Hagin. In Ephesians 4:11 we see prophets listed as the second office given by Christ.
Ephesians 4:8: 8. Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.'' So, the office of prophecy is a gift to men from Christ. For what purpose?
Ephesians 4:12-15: 12. for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13. till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14. that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, 15. but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ
Prophets are used today by the Holy Spirit to equip us for the ministry, to edify us. A prophet speaks by direct divine inspiration, a divine revelation form God. To walk in the office of prophet you must be a minister of the Word. This is not the same gift as prophesying. Lay people may prophesy but that does make him a prophet. Prophet is one of the ministry gifts and Judas and Silas walked in this gift. Silas is not one of the Apostles. He is a gifted minister of the Gospel sent from the church in Jerusalem. The Church in Antioch has now moved on from the distraction of circumcision. Judas and Silas have preached to the church and now Judas has decided to return to Jerusalem.
Act 15: 34. However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there. It doesn’t say Silas had a prophecy telling him to stay, or that God sent another prophet to tell him to stay. It seemed good. In his spirit, Silas felt led to stay in Antioch. If we are walking with the Lord, being led by the Holy Spirit as we should be, there should be times we just know, “it seemed good”. We hear people say things like, “I felt led to do … The Lord led me to…I just felt like I should do…” All of these things are the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives and we need to be mature enough to follow them. What if I am not hearing God? I can pretty much tell you anything the Holy Spirit tells you to do will glorify God. The Enemy will never tell you to do something that will lead to God getting the Glory. As we see here, Silas took one step at a time. It seemed good to stay. Nothing else. He didn’t run around seeking confirmation or asking others advice or opinion. He didn’t ask for an appointment with Paul or Barnabas seeking their advice. No, He is a mature man of God. He felt a leading in his spirit and he follow it. He did not need step two defined. He didn’t need God to tell him what the plan was or a road map. He knew it seem good and he acted on that.
As we read further, we see why this seemed good.
Acts 15: 35 -37: Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. 36. Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.'' 37. Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. 38. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work. 39. Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;
It does not say earlier, but we can assume that when they returned from Jerusalem Mark accompanied them. I just find this one of those interesting things. Things that are not necessarily explained fully but happened with the end result of expanding the knowledge of God. His restoration power, His healing power, His love, His goodness and mercy. His plan for us. We see this as things play our in the remainder of Paul’s ministry.
So, Paul says to Barnabas, “let’s go and see how our brethren are doing. What God is doing in their lives.
Let’s remember that Barnabas has a reconciling ministry. I can suspect that He spent time with Mark on the return from Jerusalem and afterwards in Antioch. We can also assume that Paul was observing Mark also.
Two different men, two different perspectives. We all encounter situations like this. We are both believers and members of Christ but have different interpretations and beliefs of situations. Two sides of the same coin. We generally agree to disagree in an attempt to stop discord etc. This does not always happen, thus offense and anger results, but that should always be our goal, to walk in love, speak the truth in love and follow what we believe the Holy Spirit is saying to us. Always in these situations pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit and do “what seems good to you.” That will result in a solution etc that gives glory to God.
We see here, that the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas was heated and sharp. I have read several commentaries on this, many say Paul felt Mark was not up to the journey because of the dangers Paul believed they would encounter, based on their last journey. I do not think this is the answer. Barnabas left on a journey which had the potential to be just as dangerous. I think more than likely Paul felt Mark betrayed His calling, or did not understand what the calling was and was not at the maturity level needed. We can only speculate on the reasons but know one thing for certain. God had a plan. It says the contention was so sharp, but we do not know what was said, etc. We do know that Barnabas left and took Mark and Paul left and took Silas. We can also assume from later accounts and letters written by Paul that he and Mark reconcile. We can infer that Barnabas mentored Mark and helped him grow and mature, as we will see in our further studies that Mark reunites with Paul. Many believe it is because Barnabas was dead, but there in no concrete proof of what happened to Barnabas. We can just conclude that God used the time with Barnabas to help mature Mark.
Acts 15: 40. but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God. 41. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
Let’s end this lesson with a brief look at Silas. We have already determined he was a minister and prophet. We have read that he was a leader in the church in Jerusalem, He was a good man, He was a minister and prophet. He followed the leading of the Holy Spirit so that he was where he needed to be at the time God needed him. Many would say that Silas was in the right place at the right time. I disagree. I believe He was in the right time according to God’s divine plan. Let us all strive to do what seems good and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in all things. Amen.