Second Chances
I love Barnabas.
He is largely an unknown man from the scripture. We aren’t told a ton about his background. We know hardly nothing about his family or his ministry. In fact, there is not one single quote from his lips recorded in scripture. His part in the story of the early church told in Acts is very short with only very limited details. But the things we are told are amazing. Here are just a few…
1. Barnabas was a “son of encouragement.”
His given name was Joseph, but we are told in Acts 4:36 that the Apostles in Jerusalem gave him the nickname Barnabas meaning “son of encouragement.” While we don’t know a ton about this man, that nickname tells us a lot. Barnabas must have been a deeply encouraging brother. When you’d speak with him, you’d walk away encouraged – wanting to love Jesus more.
2. Barnabas believed the best in people.
When God miraculously converts Saul on the road to Damascas in Acts 9, very few from the church believe that his story is sincere. They assume Saul is still trying to kill them – playing a double agent by “acting” like he’s on their side. In fact, none of the Apostles in Jerusalem will see him! But Barnabas goes – he’s willing to give him a chance. Believing the best, he goes to Saul in Acts 9:27 to hear his story, and then brings him back to meet the Apostles himself.
3. Barnabas was humble.
In Acts 11, when Barnabas is sent up to the church in Antioch to help it as it begins to grow, God blesses his work enormously. In the midst of all that success, though, Barnabas does not take the credit himself, swelling with the big head of pride. Instead, he recognizes that this growing church needs more solid leaders, and he departs on a journey to find help. Where does he go? To Tarsus, where Saul had been sent – to recruit this unlikely convert for Gospel ministry in Antioch (Acts 11:25). Barnabas was a humble man, totally willing to share the spotlight.
4. Barnabas believed in second chances.
In Acts 15, a sharp disagreement breaks out between Paul and Barnabas over a young man named John Mark. John Mark had joined them on an earlier missionary journey, but abandoned the work halfway through. Barnabas wanted to give John Mark another chance on this next journey, but Paul disagreed strongly. It was such a strong argument that Paul and Barnabas end up separating over the issue (acts 15:39). Barnabas believed in forgiveness and second chances that strongly – he was willing to fight in order to extend that forgiveness.
I think these are all vital qualities for followers of Jesus to embody. Barnabas in many ways showcases again and again the vital character of Christian love that the scriptures call all of us to share. We are to love one another sincerely from a pure heart (1 Peter 1:22), we are to bear with one another when they make mistakes (Colossians 3:13), and we are to forgive one another when we fall short – remembering our savior Jesus who has forgiven us (Ephesians 4:32). The Bible calls followers of Jesus to be people who give second chances to those who fail, and when necessary, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh chances too.
We live in a culture where forgiveness is way out of style. It teaches us that when people fail, we are to judge. It says that those who step out of line must be shamed and canceled to set an example for the rest. This unforgiving world teaches us to signal our virtues by disassociating from those who don’t share them.
But against all of this stands the call of scripture – we are to love, we are to forbear, and we are to forgive. We are to be like Barnabas, people who give second chances. For as we give forgiveness to others, we are showcasing the forgiveness of our Father who has in Christ forgiven us. We look the most like Jesus when we forgive.
Barnabas took a hard stand to give John Mark that second chance. Paul didn’t believe he deserved it, but Barnabas fought hard to make sure forgiveness won the day. And it turns out, it was worth it! While we don’t know his full story, we do know John Mark would end up writing one of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’s life. The Holy Spirit found this young man useful for His purposes, inspiring one of our four scriptural narratives of the life of Jesus as a result. God used Barnabas to give John Mark a second chance, and we are all benefited by His grace as a result.
Who in your life are you tempted to write off? Who right now has perhaps fallen out of your graces and is no longer receiving your friendship, help, and support because of their failures? What would it look like right now to take a step of effort to reach out to express the love, kindness, and forgiveness of Christ?
What might be the result if you did?
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.” Colossians 3:12–15 (ESV)