Acts 4:36

Act_4:36-37

Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas.

Barnabas

Surnames become necessary as soon as men form themselves into societies. They are then no longer adequately distinguished by the simple James or John, for others also bear the same name. Some personal characteristic, therefore, has to be selected: the trade, stature, complexion, or disposition of the man will suggest a title for him; he becomes known as James the Smith, or as John the Black, and probably transmits the surname to his posterity. When our Lord chooses His apostles they have to be distinguished in this way. There is Judas Iscariot, and Judas the brother of James. There is Simon Zelotes, and Simon surnamed Peter, etc. The apostles in their turn give surnames, and in the present instance the second name thrust the first out of recollection. Joses is from this time known as Barnabas alone. Our English translation interprets the name as the son of consolation. Take consolation in a strong sense, and that is right. The word is elsewhere rendered exhortation. It answers to the old English use of comfort, in the sense of strengthening, as well as soothing, as we have it in the phrase, the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost.

I. We shall best understand the nacre by surveying the history. We know little of the antecedents of Barnabas. He was a native of Cyprus, the first stepping-stone across the great sea to the lands of the Gentiles. Its population was partly Greek, partly Oriental; and the kind of education which such a society would afford may have helped to make Barnabas a broader man than his brethren who had been born and bred in the closer atmosphere of Jerusalem. Tradition marks him out as among the seventy sent forth by Christ. Or he may have been one of the fruits of Pentecost. Some of those converts, we know, were men of Cyprus and Cyrene. His first appearance has more of action in it than of speech. It was at the moment when, under the fresh impulses of their awakening, the disciples who had houses or lands were parting with them for the relief of their poorer brethren. Conspicuous among them was Barnabas. It was a good beginning for a Christian ministry. Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. The interest deepens as we proceed. Six or seven years pass, and an unlooked-for and almost unwelcome proselyte presents himself. It is Saul, who finds himself an object of alarm and undisguised mistrust. The way is opening for a schism between them and this last of the apostles, who seeks their sympathy, but who can dispense with it, strong in his own independent authority, and in the promised presence of the Lord. There was needed at that moment some well-known and trusted leader, large-hearted enough to become surety for the former persecutor, and to stand his friend. This friend was found in Barnabas. It was he who joined Peters hands with Pauls, and who told the tale of the wonderful conversion in such a manner as to dissolve all doubt. The son of consolation appears here at his appropriate work, reconciling those opposing forces with the sweet reasonableness of his own gentler spirit. He was selected, shortly afterwards, for a mission in which the same spirit would find scope. Tidings had reached the apostles of strange successes attending the gospel in Antioch, and they were not prepared for such an event. The baptism of Cornelius was in obedience to a direct revelation from heaven, but this larger movement appeared unauthorised, and might prove unwarranted. Barnabas was accordingly chosen to visit the spot and make inquiry. Now it is not altogether easy for any man to give unstinted commendation to a work in which he himself has had no share. He is apt to point out what might have been done better, rather than what has been done well. Finely in contrast with that tendency stands out the candid and generous behaviour of Barnabas. He saw the grace of God, was glad, and expressed himself in terms of warm congratulation and approval. Nay, he threw his own energies into the glorious enterprise, and exhorted them all that with purpose of heart they would cleave to the Lord. When he departed he left many further converts added to the infant Church, and the impression that he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith. Next we find that by his urgency Paul was brought from the seclusion of Tarsus, and introduced to the field of work which lay ready for him in Antioch. It was through his generous co-operation that the ministry of the apostle of the Gentiles found favourable opportunities of exercise. But from that hour the lustre of his name begins to pale beside the fervent and forward energy of his incomparable companion. We find in the history no trace of any jealousy; but rather tokens of a noble modesty, akin to that of the Baptist when he drew back into the shade before the perfect light of Christ. This man, who, when others shunned Paul, had become his patron and protector, laying him under no common obligation, is now content to yield the precedence, and to walk loyally and lovingly at his side. When the missionaries differed--if we have to choose between the two--surely it was Barnabas who erred upon the generous side; for what he did was to take a faint-hearted brother whom Paul was too impatient to endure, and to give him that fresh chance of honourable service which made Mark profitable ever afterwards to Christ and to His Church.

II. All will acknowledge the peculiar charm which attaches to the true son of consolation. There are men who everywhere leave behind them a sense of irritation, like winds that blow dust into face and eyes. They are the opposites to Barnabas. There was sunshine where he came. At his approach the feeble gathered strength, and trembling souls crept out of their hiding toward the light. Hard words were hushed in his company; the sternest grew gentle, and the very churl tried to be liberal. Yet it would be a mistake to suspect him of moral weakness and irresolution. The sunshine has its strength, as well as the wind, though it makes much less noise. Barnabas was once, to Pauls great wonder, carried away by the dissimulation of others; but his very wonder--even Barnabas!--shows how unusual the symptom was. For sons of consolation are also sons of strong encouragement, who can themselves burn against injustice or hypocrisy, and inspire others with a kindred zeal. It is significant that heathen men called Barnabas Jupiter, the name that embodied their poor conceptions of what was greatest and best, most fatherly, and most benignant. We recognise the presence of such men in our own generation. The temper of the moment may not tend to exalt them, or to press their example on our imitation. The sterner gifts may be mostly in request. We watch with mingled awe and admiration as some impetuous missionary spirit sweeps by, rousing the dull Church to a measure of its own activity. We applaud the controversialists, who contend for separate sides of truth, or for principles which they reckon overlooked. No doubt there is great need of them. Is there not need also of the son of consolation, and may he not do as good a work as they? Surely it is not below the ambition of the strongest to play the part of Barnabas among the Churches of to-day. As long as so many timid, undecided souls remain, needing the tenderest touch and a patience almost motherlike to bring them to decision; as long as there are little children to be drawn into the Saviours arms; as long as the Church has her backsliders to reclaim, and her doubters to direct and encourage; so long there will be ample occupation for such a man, and abundant reward. Nor will he live in vain, but rather to the highest purpose, if he be made instrumental, like Barnabas, in dissipating suspicions, and confirming friendships, between Christian brethren. (W. Brock.)

A son of consolation

While some good people are overpraised, there are others who hardly get their dues. One of these too much neglected worthies is Barnabas, the son of consolation, or son of exhortation, as some Bible scholars prefer to render it. How seldom do we hear his name mentioned either in the pulpit or the lecture-hall or anywhere else! Yet, to my fancy, he is one of the very noblest of the New Testament heroes. As a blind person may detect the presence of a rose by its fragrance, so this good mans character exhales a peculiarly sweet perfume of godliness to those who will study it. He was just the sort of Christian needed in all our Churches in these days. The Bible is very chary of eulogies; but it does not hesitate to call him a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit. In some vital points he is a Christian to be copied.

1. He was a native of the island of Cyprus, which was renowned for the worship of Venus, and the very name Cyprian is still a synonym of impurity. But, as the brightest light is kindled on a point that comes out of a bed of charcoal, so this light-bearer of the gospel came out of a very dark region of debauchery and idolatry. His original name was Joseph; but another name was given him after his conversion to Christ. They christened him Barnabas, the son of consolation. That is a name to be proud of, and it comprehends a vast deal; it signifies a helper of the weak, a guide to the wanderer, a comforter of the sad, a succourer of the perishing, with an eye to discover misery and a hand to relieve it. My old friend William Arnot has well said that this name bespeaks a fine character. To possess consolation is to give it; not to give it is not to possess it. The more of it you have, the more you may give; and the more you give to others, the more you retain for your own use. This circle, when it is set a-going, moves perpetually, like the sea giving out its waters to the sky, and the sky sending back the boon by rain and the rivers to the sea again. The power of this man lay in the same quality that characterised nearly all those first converts to Christianity, and that was their superabounding sympathy. Barnabas, if in New York or Brooklyn or London now, would likely be found in a mission church for the half or the whole of every Sabbath. He would show us how to bridge the chasm between wealth and poverty, and between Christian culture and city heathenism. On many an evening during she week he `would be found beside the squalid bed of sickness, or amid the swarming outcasts of the slums. When the members of our Churches become sons of consolation in the broadest sense of the word, bestowing not merely their dollars, but their time, their presence, and the sympathy of their hearts upon the unchristianised masses, we shall have a primitive and Pentecostal revival. Personal sympathy is worth more to the poor, the suffering, and the neglected than silver and gold. Pulpits speak only for an hour or two, and then only to those who fill pews before them; it is by sermons in shoes--and plenty of them--that the suffering and the sinning only can be reached. The curse of too much of what passes for Christianity is itself selfishness.

2. There is another plume in the coronet of Barnabas. He was the father of systematic beneficence. We are told that having land he sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet. Having given his heart to Christ, he consecrated a goodly portion of his property to his Masters service. Some others of the new converts may have done this as soon as he; but he is the first one mentioned. He is, therefore, to be regarded as the pioneer in that long procession of systematic givers which reaches on to our times, and numbers in its ranks the Nathaniel Ripley Cobbs and James Lenoxes and William E. Dodges, and many other bountiful stewards of the Lord; and not only they who gave of their abundance, but every conscientious Christian who gives according to his means--however humble--and gives spontaneously. Barnabas did more than fling loose money into Christs treasury. He sold real estate and contributed the proceeds. That looks as if there were real self-denial in the transaction, and that the man would stand a pinch for Christs sake. When he was converted, the work reached not only the bottom of his heart, but the bottom of his pocket. (T. L. Cuyler.)

A son of consolation

Who is the man who, in his bereavement or pain, receiving comfort from God, radiates it, so that the world is richer by the help the Lord has given him? It is the reverent, the unselfish, and the humble man. The sunlight falls upon a clod, and the clod drinks it in, is warmed by it itself, but lies as black as ever, and sheds no light. But the sun touches a diamond, and the diamond almost chills itself as it sends out in radiance on every side the light that has fallen on it. So God helps one man bear his pain, and nobody but that one man is a whit the richer. God comes to another sufferer, reverent, unselfish, humble, and the lame leap, and the dumb speak, and the wretched are comforted all around by the radiated comfort of that happy soul.

A son of consolation

I. Barnabas was a Levite, yet he possessed land, which was contrary to the old law of Israel, but probably on account of great and frequent changes it was found impossible to maintain the ancient constitution in its integrity. Barnabas was a good name; but how rife is its opposite--the son of complaint, of gloom. To such a man everything appears in its darkest colours. He sees no green on the earth, and in the heavens no blue--all is seen through the medium of a jaundiced eye. Barnabas had much comfort himself because he had much to bestow on others. If we see streams flowing to refresh a neighbourhood we argue that the spring is full. His great contributions did not embitter his spirit. The flow of bounty from that mans hand acted as the flow of water from the drain on a ploughed field--it sweetened and made fertile the whole breadth of his life. It is the gorging up of water for want of outlet that makes the land sour and leaves it barren. Barnabas was a rich man, and therefore able to bestow practical consolation; but in thus expending his wealth he acquired the better and more enduring riches.

II. Barnabas was a Levite, yet he was a son of consolation--how unlike many of the class to which he belonged, who despised others. See, e.g., the parable of the Good Samaritan, Yet is not this note added to show that an order must not be blamed for the vices of individual members? Levi had a remote descendant called Caiaphas; he had another surnamed Barnabas. Let those who assail the ministry and other professions remember this.

III. Barnabas was a Levite--a religious teacher. He could administer comfort from his lips as well as from his purse. Many can only give lip comfort; what we have, then, let us give cheerfully. (W. Arnot.)

Of the country of Cyprus.--

Cyprus

An island in the Mediterranean, one hundred and sixty miles long by fifty broad. A range of mountains runs through its entire length, called Oympus by the ancients, but now known by several names. Salamis, afterwards called Constantia, was one of the principal cities, and Paphos another. The island was colonised by Phoenicians at a remote period, and afterwards divided among petty tyrants when it became subject to the Persian yoke. Next it fell under the sway of Alexander, upon whose death it fell, with Egypt, to the share of Ptolemy Lagos. In the course of time it passed over to Rome, in whose hands it was during the New Testament period. Paul and Barnabas visited the island, and preached at Salamis and Paphos, where they left Christian Churches. When the empire was divided, Cyprus became part of the Eastern section. Richard

I. took it in 1191, and sold it to the Templars, whose oppression drove the people into revolt. Richard resumed the sovereignty, and gave it to Guy of Lusignan, the expelled king of Jerusalem, in 1192. The Lusignans retained it for nearly three centuries, which was a flourishing period for Cyprus. The Venetians were its next masters, but in 1470 Selim

II. seized it. No grass grows where the Turk sets his hoof, and ever since ruthless despotism has wasted the fair island, so that from 1,000,000 in the days of Barnabas, the population has dwindled to 100,000. Now under British protection, and with British enterprise, capital, and missionary zeal, Cyprus may become prosperous once more. (F. A. Warrington.)

Having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet.--

Practical Christian beneficence

The good Duchess of Gordon set her heart upon the erection of a school and chapel in a needy district of her neighbourhood. The Gordon estates at the time were so encumbered that she did not know where to find the necessary funds. In a letter to her friend Miss Howe, she described some of her efforts and the consequences. I took up to London, she says, a gold vase that cost about £1,200 in hopes of selling it, but could not find a purchaser even at half price. I have still left it to be disposed of. The Duchess of Beaufort, hearing of my vase, thought of her diamond earrings, which she got me to dispose of, for a chapel in Wales, and her diamonds made me think of my jewels; and as the Duke has always been most anxious for the chapel, he agreed with me that stones were much prettier in a chapel wall than round ones neck, and so he allowed me to sell £600 worth, or, rather, what brought that, for they cost me more than double. The chapel is going on nicely, and I have still enough jewels left to help to endow it, if no other way should open. I do think I may with confidence hope for a blessing on this. It is no sacrifice to me whatever, except as it is one to the Duke, who is very fond of seeing me fine, and was brought up to think it right. The chapel cost rather more than was expected, and the Duke, following up his wifes example, offered of his own accord to sell some of his own horses to make up the deficiency. (A. Moody Stuart, D. D.)

The profit and rule of Christian beneficence

Since I began to obey the law, said a thriving merchant to me, I have not only been greatly prospered, but I have found my ability to give somewhat largely the greatest luxury of my life. The money is laid by; the call comes, and I am not tempted to the baseness of inventing excuses; I generally have something, not always enough, for every deserving appeal; I make short work of it, for time I cannot spare, and as soon as I get the facts, and am sure as to the claimant, I give him cheerfully what I think I owe to his cause. I know another and a wealthier man, who said he and his wife had an understanding. When his wife thought they were rich enough to set up their carriage, the answer was, Yes, my dear; it will cost just so much a year; we can afford it, and you deserve it if you approve my increasing my charities by an equal sum. Is not this the law of Christian luxury? I can buy such a picture, or give such an entertainment, only when I give an equivalent to Christs poor and to the glory of His cross and crown. (Bp. Cleveland Coxe.)

.

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 4:36-37. And Joses — Among the rest of those primitive converts who so generously contributed of their substance for the relief and subsistence of the poor believers, in these extraordinary circumstances, there was one Joses, by the apostles surnamed Barnabas, The son of consolation — Not only on account of his so largely assisting the poor with his fortune, but also of those peculiar gifts of the Spirit whereby he was so well qualified both to comfort and exhort. A Levite — And yet so far from being prejudiced against this new religion, which might seem to oppose his temporal interest, that he gladly devoted himself to its service; of the country of Cyprus — Where, it seems, he was born and brought up. Having land, sold it — As he was a Levite, he could not have sold, or alienated, his paternal inheritance; (see Lev 25:34;) but the land or estate here spoken of, might either have been some legacy, or purchased land, in Judea, to which he might have a title till the next jubilee, or, perhaps, some land in Cyprus. And we may suppose it mentioned, either as the first foreign estate sold, or as of some extraordinary value.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Subdivision 5. (Act 4:36-37; Act 5:1-11.)

The Government of God over those with Him.

We have now to see the government of God over His own, now separated as a distinct company from the mass of Israel, although one could not say, as yet, from Israel itself. The trial of the nation as such is not yet ended. Meanwhile we are called away from this to see the attempt of the enemy against this new beginning, and the solemn judgment of God by which it is defeated. Yet on the other hand, we are not to overlook the divine appreciation of the fruits of the Spirit, where they are found, as in the case of Joseph, surnamed Barnabas, who by his ministry in self-sacrificing love to the need of the saints "purchases to himself a good degree" (1Ti 3:13), and we bear of him accordingly, in the after history. His name answers to his character here, -"one who adds," -and he becomes indeed a "son of consolation," -meriting his surname.

In terrible contrast to him is Ananias ("Jah has shown grace") but who abuses grace to his own destruction. The good report of Barnabas, if we may judge by the connection, seems to have moved him; but only with an ungodly emulation. He covets the reputation and influence; with perhaps much greater things following, as the movement spreads; but he has no thought, even for this, of making the sacrifice demanded. Outwardly he must do it, while his heart refuses; and thus, in conjunction with his wife, he forms a deliberate plan to deceive, -leaving God out. He actually sells his possession, and professedly brings the whole purchase-money, to lay it down at the apostles’ feet. But he has not brought the whole: he reserves a part for himself, and in the midst of the divine power working (only in grace as yet, which probably he misinterprets, to his ruin,) does not fear to offer this imitation of the fruit of divine love, -in fact, a fraudulent attempt to buy for himself what alone be values. Satan was thus working from inside the assembly, to destroy truth and holiness, and thus early to introduce into it the worldly elements which, by and by, alas, were to gain open allowance. But the Spirit of God, as yet ungrieved, forbids the intrusion of the evil; and judgment swift and terrible smites down the transgressor. His unhappy wife, coming in afterwards, and deliberately reaffirming her husband’s falsehood, shares his punishment. And fear falls upon all the assembly, and upon all that hear these things.

Thus we have indicated to us the evils which, from within as well as from without, threatened the infant Church. It is in a hostile world. It carries the fatal seeds of corruption in its own bosom. For in this respect the community can only be as those who compose it. The exercise as to evil and the struggle with it we are not yet, in the wisdom of God, delivered from; although the final deliverance is completely secured. God is training us for eternity, and to bring us into full participation in His apprehension of it. For this He would have us see it as those who are partakers of the divine nature, and yet linked with that flesh in which "dwelleth no good thing." Responsible to be its masters, we may yet degrade ourselves to do its will, and need at all times to be on the watch against it; while the world around appeals to it, and incites it to activity, and Satan with all the cunning of four thousand years’ acquirement is "the prince of this world," proved so by the Cross! So thoroughly are we intended, it is plain, to learn the painful -and yet, it must be, salutary -lesson of the nature of that which exhibits the ruin of the creature fallen away from God! But this is also the background of the divine glory in redemption, in which He is displayed in His mastery over it, and thus we are held fast to Him forever.

F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Chapter 11

HONESTY AND PRETENCE IN THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH

Act_4:36-37; Act_6:1-6

THE exact period in the history of the apostolic Church at which we have now arrived is a most interesting one. We stand at the very first origin of a new development in Christian life and thought. Let us observe it well, for the whole future of the Church is bound up with it. Christianity was at the beginning simply a sect, of Judaism. It is plain that the Apostles at first thus regarded it. They observed Jewish rites, they joined in the temple and synagogue worship, they restricted salvation and Gods favour to the children of Abraham, and merely added belief in Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah to the common Jewish faith. The spirit of God was indeed speaking through the Apostles, leading them, as it led St. Peter on the day of Pentecost, to speak words with a meaning and scope far beyond their thoughts. They, like the prophets of old, knew not as yet what manner, of things the Spirit which was in them did signify.

"As little children lisp, and tell of Heaven, So thoughts beyond their thought to those high bards were given."

Their speech had a grander and wider application than they themselves dreamt of; but the power of prejudice and education was far too great even for the Apostles, and so, though the nobility and profuseness of Gods mercy were revealed and the plenteousness of His grace was announced by St. Peter himself, yet the glory of the Divine gift was still unrecognised. Jerusalem, the Temple, the Old Covenant, Israel after the flesh, -these things as yet bounded and limited the horizon of Christs Church. How were the new ideas to gain an entrance? How was the Church to rise to a sense of the magnificence and universality of its mission? Joseph, who by the Apostles was surnamed Barnabas, emerges upon the scene and supplies the answer, proving himself in very deed a son of consolation, because he became the occasion of consoling the masses of mankind with that truest comfort, the peace of God which passes all understanding. Let us see how this came about.

I. The Christian leaders belonged originally to the extreme party in Judaism. The Jews were at this time divided into two sections. There was the Hebrew party on the one hand; extreme Nationalists as we might call them. They hated everything foreign. They clung to the soil of Palestine, to its language and to its customs. They trained up their children in an abhorrence of Greek civilisation, and could see nothing good in it. This party was very unprogressive, very narrow-minded, and, therefore, unfit to recognise the developments of Gods purposes. The Galileans were very prominent among them. They lived in a provincial district, remote from the influences of the great centres of thought and life, and missed, therefore, the revelations of Gods mind which He is evermore making through the course of His providential dealings with mankind. The Galileans furnished the majority of the earliest Christian leaders, and they were not fitted from their narowness to grasp the Divine intentions with respect to Christianity and its mission. What a lesson for every age do we behold in this intellectual and spiritual defect of the Galileans. They were conscientious, earnest, devout, spiritually-minded men. Christ loved them as such, and devoted Himself to their instruction. But they were one-sided and illiberal. Their very provincialism, which had sheltered them from Sadduceism and unbelief, had filled them with blind prejudices, and as the result had rendered them unable to read aright the mind of God and the development of His purposes. Man, alas! is a very weak creature, and human nature is very narrow. Piety is no guarantee for wisdom and breadth, and strong faith in Gods dealings in the past often hinders men from realising and obeying the Divine guidance and the evolution of His purposes amid the changed circumstances of the present. The Galilean leaders were best fitted to testify with unfaltering zeal to the miracles and resurrection of Christ. They were not best fitted to lead the Church into the possession of the Gentiles.

There was another party among the Jews whom God had trained by the guidance of His providence for this purpose. The Acts of the Apostles casts a strong and comforting light back upon the history of the Lords dealings with the Jews ever since the days of the Babylonish Captivity. We can see in the story told in the Acts the reason why God permitted the overthrow of Jerusalem by the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, and the apparent defeat for the time of His own designs towards the chosen people. The story of the dispersion is a standing example how wonderfully God evolves good out of seeming ill, making all things work together for the good of His Church. The dispersion prepared a section of the Jews, by travel, by foreign civilisation, by culture, and by that breadth of mind and sympathy which is thereby produced, to be mediators between the Hebrew party with all their narrowness and the masses of the Gentile world whom the strict Jews would fain have shut out from the hope of Gods mercy. This liberal and progressive party is called in the Acts of the Apostles the Hellenists. They were looked at askance by the more old-fashioned Hebrews. They were Jews, children of Abraham indeed, of the genuine stock of Israel. As such they had a true standing-ground within the Jewish fold, and as true Jews could exercise their influence from within much more effectually than if they stood without; for it has been well remarked by a shrewd observer, that every party, religious or political, is much more powerfully affected by movements springing from within than by attacks directed from without. An explosive operates with much more destructive force when acting from within or underneath a fortification than when brought into play from outside. Such was the Hellenistic party. No one could deny their true Jewish character, but they had been liberalised by their heaven-sent contact with foreigners and foreign lands; and hence it is that we discern in the Hellenistic party, and specially in Joseph, who by the Apostles was surnamed Barnabas, the beginnings of the glorious ingathering of the Gentiles, the very first rift in the thick dark cloud of prejudice which as yet kept back even the Apostles themselves from realising the great object of the gospel dispensation.

The Hellenists, with their wealth, their culture, their new ideas, their sense and value of Greek thought, were the bridge by which the spiritual life, hitherto wrapped in Jewish swaddling clothes, was to pass over to the masses of the Gentile world. The community of goods led Joseph Barnabas to dedicate his substance to the same noble cause of unselfishness. That dedication led to disputes between Hellenists and Hebrews, and these disputes occasioned the election of the seven deacons, who, in part, at least, belonged to the more liberal section. Among these deacons we find St. Stephen, whose teaching and martyrdom were directly followed by St. Paul and his conversion, and St. Paul was the Apostle of the Gentiles and the vindicator of Christian freedom and Christian liberty. St. Barnabas and his act of self-denial and self-sacrifice in surrendering his landed estate are thus immediately connected with St. Paul by direct historic contact, even if they had not been subsequently associated as joint Apostles and messengers of the Churches in their first missionary journeys; while again the mistaken policy of communism is overruled to the worlds abiding benefit and blessing. How wonderful, indeed, are the Lords doings towards the children of men!

II. We have thus suggested one of the main lines of thought which run through the first half of this book of the Acts. Let us now look a little more particularly at this Joseph Barnabas who was the occasion of this great, this new departure. We learn then, upon consulting the sacred text, that Joseph was a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race; he belonged, that is, to the class among the Jews whose interests were bound up with the maintenance of the existing order of things; and yet he had become a convert to the belief proclaimed by the Apostles. At the same time, while we give full credit to this Levite for his action, we must not imagine that either priests or Levites or Jews at that period fully realised all the consequences of their decisions. We find that men at every age take steps blindly, without thoroughly realising all the results which logically and necessarily flow forth from them. Men in religious, political, social matters are blind and cannot see afar off. It is only step by step that the purposes of God dawn upon them, and Joseph Barnabas, the Levite of Cyprus, was no exception to this universal rule. He was not only a Levite, but a native of Cyprus, for Cyprus was then a great stronghold and resort of the Jewish race. It continued to be a great centre of Jewish influence for long afterwards. In the next century, for instance, a great Jewish rebellion burst forth wherever the Jews were strong enough. They rose in Palestine against the power of the Emperor Hadrian, and under their leader Barcochba vindicated the ancient reputation of the nation for desperate and daring courage; while, in sympathy with their brethren on the mainland, the Jews in Cyprus seized their arms and massacred a vast multitude of the Greek and Roman settlers, numbering, it is said, two hundred and forty thousand persons. The concourse of Jews to Cyprus in the time of the Apostles is easily explained. Augustus Caesar was a great friend and patron of Herod the Great, and he leased the great copper mines of the island to that Herod, exacting a royalty upon their produce as we learn from Josephus, the well-known Jewish historian (Antiqq., 16. 4:5). It was only to be expected, then, that when a Jewish monarch was leasehoulder and manager of the great mining industry of the island, his Jewish subjects should flock thither, and it was very natural that amongst the crowds who sought Cyprus there should be found a minister of the Jewish faith whose tribal descent as a Levite reminded them of Palestine, and of the City of God, and of the Temple of Jehovah, and of its solemn, stately worship. This residence of Barnabas in Cyprus accounts for his landed property, which he had the right to sell just as he liked. A Levite in Palestine could not, according to the law of Moses when strictly construed, possess any private landed estate save in a Levitical city. Meyer, a German commentator of great reputation, has indeed suggested that Jer_32:7, where Jeremiah is asked to redeem his cousins field in the suburbs of Anathoth, proves that a member of the tribe of Levi could possess landed estate in Palestine. He therefore concludes that the old explanation that the landed property of Barnabas was in Cyprus, not in Palestine, could not stand. But the simple fact is that even the cleverest German expositors are not familiar with the text of their Bibles, for had Meyer been thus familiar he would have remembered that Anathoth was a city belonging to the priests and the tribe of Levi, and that the circumstance of Jeremiah the priest possessing a right to landed property in Anathoth was no proof whatsoever that he could hold landed property anywhere else, and, above all, affords no ground for the conclusion that he could dispose of it in the absolute style which Barnabas here displayed. We conclude then that the action of Barnabas on this occasion dealt with his landed estate in Cyprus, the country where he was born, where he was well-known, and where his memory is even still cherished on account of the work he there performed in conjunction with St. Paul.

III. Let us see what else we can glean concerning this person thus prominent in the early Church, first for his generosity, and then for his missionary character and success. It is indeed one of the most fruitful and interesting lines upon which Bible study can be pursued thus to trace the scattered features of the less known and less prominent characters of Scripture, and see wherein Gods grace specially abounded in them.

The very personal appearance of Barnabas can be recalled by the careful student of this book. Though it lies a little out of our way, we shall note the circumstance, as it will help us to form a more lively image of Barnabas, the Son of Consolation. The two Apostles, Paul and Barnabas, were on their first missionary tour when they came to the city of Lystra in Lycaonia. There the multitude, astonished at the miracle wrought upon the cripple by St. Paul, attempted to pay. divine honours to the two Christian missionaries. "They called Barnabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker." It must have been their physical characteristics as well as the mode of address used by the Apostles which led to these names; and from the extant records of antiquity we know that Jupiter was always depicted as a man with a fine commanding presence, while Mercury, the god of eloquent speech, was a more insignificant figure. Jupiter, therefore, struck the Lycaonian people as the fittest name for the taller and more imposing-looking Apostle, while St. Paul, who was in bodily presence contemptible, was designated by the name of the active and restless Mercury. His character again shines through every recorded action of St. Barnabas. He was a thoroughly sympathetic man, and, like all such characters, he was ever swept along by the prevailing wave of thought or action, without allowing that supreme place to the judgment and the natural powers which they should always hold if the feelings and sympathies are not to land us in positions involving dire ruin and loss. He was carried away by the enthusiasm for Christian communism which now seized upon the Jerusalem Church. He was influenced by the Judaising movement at Antioch, so that "even Barnabas was carried away with the Petrine dissimulation." His sympathies got the better of his judgment in the matter of St. Marks conduct in abandoning the ministry to which St. Paul had called him. His heart was stronger, in fact, than his head. And yet this very weakness qualified him to be the Son of Consolation. A question has, indeed, been raised, whether he should be called the Son of Consolation or the Son of Exhortation, but practically, there is no difference. His consolations were administered through his exhortations. His speech and his advice were of a consoling, healing, comforting kind. There are still such men to be found in the Church. Just as all other apostolic graces and characteristics are still manifested, -the eloquence of a Paul, the courage of a Peter, the speculative flights of a John, - so the sympathetic power of Barnabas is granted to some. And a very precious gift it is. There are some good men whose very tone of voice and bodily attitudes-their heads thrown back and their arms akimbo and their aggressive walk-at once provoke opposition. They are pugnacious Christians, ever on the lookout for some topic of blame and controversy. There are others, like this Barnabas, whose voices bring consolation, and whose words, even when not the clearest or the most practical, speak counsels of peace, and come to us thick-laden with the blessed dews of charity. Their advice, is not, indeed, always the wisest. Their ardent cry is always, Peace, peace. Such a man on the political stage was the celebrated Lucius Carey, Lord Falkland, in the days of the great civil war, who, though he adhered to the royalist cause, seemed, as the historian tells us, to have utterly lost all heart once that active hostilities commenced. Men of this type appear in times of great religious strife. Erasmus, for instance, at the time of the Reformation, possessed a good deal of this spirit which is devoted to compromise, and ever inclined to place the interests of peace and charity above those of truth; and principle, just as Barnabas would have done at Antioch were it not for the protest of his stronger and sterner friend St. Paul. And yet such men, with their sympathetic hearts and speech, have their own great use, infusing a healing, consoling tone into seasons of strife, when others are only too apt to lose sight of the sweet image of Christian love in pursuit of what they consider the supreme interests of religious or political truth. Such a man was Barnabas all his life, and such we behold him on his first visible entrance upon the stage of Church history, when his sympathies and his generosity led him to consecrate his independent property in Cyprus to his brethrens support, and to bring the money and lay it down at the Apostles feet.

IV. Now for the contrast drawn for us by the inspired pen of St. Luke, a contrast we find oft repeating itself in Church history. Here we have the generous, sympathetic Son of Consolation on the one side, and here, too, we have a warning and a type for all time that the tares must evermore be mingled with the wheat, the false with the true, the hypocrites with real servants of God, even until the final separation. The accidental division of the book into chapters hinders casual readers from noticing that the action of Ananias and his wife is set by the writer over against that of Barnabas. Barnabas sold his estate and brought the price, the whole price, and surrendered it as an offering to the Church. The spirit of enthusiastic giving was abroad, and had seized upon the community; and Barnabas sympathised with it. Ananias and Sapphira were carried away too, but their spirits were meaner. They desired to have all the credit the Church would give them for acting as generously as Barnabas did, and yet, while getting credit for unselfish and unstinting liberality, to be able to enjoy in private somewhat of that which they were believed to have surrendered. And their calculations were terribly disappointed. They tried to play the hypocrites part on most dangerous ground just when the Divine Spirit of purity, sincerity, and truth had been abundantly poured out, and when the spirit of deceit and hypocrisy was therefore at once recognised. It was with the Apostles and their spiritual natures then as it is with ourselves and our physical natures still. When we are living in a crowded city we notice not strange scents and ill odours and foul gases: our senses are dulled, and our perceptive powers are rendered obtuse because the whole atmosphere is a tainted one. But when we dwell in the pure. air of the country, and the glorious breezes from mountain and moor blow round us fresh and free, then we detect at once, and at a long distance, the slightest ill-odour or the least trace of offensive gas. The outpoured presence of the Spirit, and the abounding love which was produced thereby, quickened the perception of St. Peter. He recognised the hypocrisy, characterised the sin of Ananias as a lie against the Holy Ghost; and then the Spirit and Giver of life, seconding and supporting the words of St. Peter, withdrew His support from the human frame of the sinner, and Ananias ceased to live, just as Sapphira, his partner in deceit, ceased to live a few hours later. The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira have been ofttimes the subject of much criticism and objection, on the part of persons who do not realise the awfulness of their position, the full depths of their hypocrisy, and the importance of the lesson taught by their punishment to the Church of every age. Their position was a specially awful one, for they were brought into closest contact, as no Christian can now be brought, with the powers of the world to come. The Spirit was vouchsafed during those earliest days of the Church in a manner and style which we hear nothing of during the later years of the Apostles. He proved His presence by physical manifestations, as when the whole house was shaken where the Apostles were assembled; a phenomenon of which we read nothing in the latter portion of the Acts. By the gift of tongues, by miracles of healing, by abounding spiritual life and discernment, by physical manifestations, the most careless and thoughtless in the Christian community were compelled to feel that a supernatural power was present in their midst and specially resting upon the Apostles. Yet it was into such an atmosphere that the spirit of hypocrisy and of covetousness, the two vices to which Christianity was specially opposed, and which the great Master had specially denounced, obtruded itself as Satan gained entrance into Eden, to defile with their foul presence the chosen dwelling-place of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost vindicated His authority therefore, because, as it must be observed, it was not St. Peter sentenced Ananias to death. No one may have been more surprised than St. Peter himself at the consequences which followed his stern rebuke. St. Peter merely declared his sin, "Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God"; and then it is expressly said, "Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost." It was a stern action indeed; but then all Gods judgments have a stern side. Ananias and Sapphira were cut off in their sins, but men are every day summoned into eternity in precisely the same state and the same way, and the only difference is that in the case of Ananias we see the sin which provoked the punishment and then we see the punishment immediately following. Men object to this narrative simply because they have a one-sided conception of Christianity such as this period of the worlds history delights in. They would make it a religion of pure, unmitigated love; they would eliminate from it every trace of sternness, and would thus leave it a poor, weak, flabby thing, without backbone or earnestness, and utterly unlike all other dispensations of the Lord, which have their stern sides and aspects as well as their loving.

It may well have been that this incident was inserted in this typical church history to correct a false idea which would otherwise have grown up. The Jews were quite well accustomed to regard the Almighty as a God of judgment as well as a God of love. Perhaps we might even say that they viewed Him more in the former light than in the latter. Our Lord was obliged, in fact, to direct some of His most searching discourses to rebuke this very tendency. The Galileans, whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices, the men upon whom the tower of Siloam fell-neither party were sinners above all that were at Jerusalem, or were punished as such. Such was His teaching in opposition to the popular idea. The Apostles were once quite ready to ascribe the infirmity of the man born blind to the direct judgment of the Almighty upon himself or upon his parents. But men are apt to rush from one extreme to another. The Apostles and their followers were now realising their freedom in the Spirit; and some were inclined to run into licentiousness as the result of that same freedom. They were realising, too, their relationship to God as one of pure filial love, and they were in great danger of forgetting that God was a God of justice and judgment as well, till this stern dispensation recalled them to a sense of the fact that eternal love is also eternal purity and eternal truth, and will by no means clear the guilty. This is a lesson very necessary for every age of the Church. Men are always inclined, and never, perhaps, so much as at the present time, to look away from the severe side of religion, or even to deny that religion can have a severe side at all. This tendency in religious matters is indeed simply an exhibition of the spirit of the age. It is a time of great material prosperity and comfort, when pain is regarded as the greatest possible evil, softness, ease, and enjoyment the greatest possible good. Men shrink from the infliction of pain even upon the greatest criminals; and this spirit infects their religion, which they would fain turn into a mere matter of weakly sentiment. Against such a notion the judicial action of the Holy Ghost in this. case raises an eternal protest, warning the Church against one-sided and partial views of truth, and bidding her never to lower her standard at the worlds call. Men may ignore the fact that God has His severe aspect and His stern dispensations in nature, but yet the fact remains. And as it is in nature so is it in grace: God is. merciful and loving to the penitent, but towards the hypocritical and covetous He is a stern judge, as the punishment of Ananias and Sapphira proved.

V. This seems one of the great permanent lessons for the Church of every age which this passage embodies, but it is not the only one. There are many others, and they most important. An eminent modern commentator and expositor has drawn out at great length, and with many modern applications and illustrations, four great lessons which may be derived from this transaction. We shall just note them, giving a brief analysis of each.

(1) There is such a thing as acting as well as telling a falsehood. Ananias did not say that the money he brought was the whole price of his land; he simply allowed men to draw this conclusion for themselves, suggesting merely by his conduct that he was doing exactly the same as Barnabas. There was no science of casuistry in the apostolic Church, teaching how near to the borders of a lie a man may go without actually being guilty of lying. The lie of Ananias was a spiritual act, a piece of deception attempted in the abyss of the human soul, and perpetrated, or attempted rather, upon the Holy Spirit. How often men lie after the same example. They do not speak a lie, but they act a lie, throwing dust into the eyes of others as to their real motives and objects, as Ananias did here. He sold his estate, brought the money to the Apostles, and would fain have got the character of a man of extraordinary liberality and unselfishness, just like others who truly sacrificed their all, while he enjoyed in private the portion which he had kept back. Ananias wished to make the best of both worlds, and failed in his object. He sought to obtain a great reputation among men, but had no regard to the secret eye and judgment of the Almighty. Alas! how many of our actions, how much of our piety and of our almsgiving are tainted by precisely the same vice. Our good. works are done with a view to mans approbation, and not as in the sight of the Eternal God.

(2) What an illustration we find in this passage of the saying of the Apostle, "The love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves with many sorrows!" The other scriptures are full of warnings against this vice of covetousness; and so this typical history does not leave the Church without an illustration of its power and danger. Surely if at a time when the supernatural forces of the unseen life were specially manifested, this vice intruded into the special sphere of their influence, the Church of every age should be on its perpetual guard against this spirit of covetousness which the Bible characterises as idolatry.

(3) What a responsibility is involved in being brought near to God as members of His Sons Church below! There were hypocrites in abundance at Jerusalem at that time, but they had not been blessed as Ananias had been, and therefore were not punished as he. There is a reality in our connection with Christ which must tell upon us, if not for good, then inevitably for evil. Christ is either the savour of life unto life or else the savour of death unto death unto all brought into contact with Him. In a far more awful sense than for the Jews the words of the prophet Ezekiel are true, "That which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone"; {Eze_20:32} or as the poet of the "Christian Year" has well put it in his hymn for the eighteenth Sunday after Trinity:-

"Fain would our lawless hearts escape, And with the heathen be, To worship every monstrous shape In fancied darkness free."

"Vain thought, that shall not be at all, Refuse we or obey; Our ears have heard th Almightys call, We cannot be as they."

"We cannot hope the heathens doom To whom Gods Son is given, Whose eyes have seen beyond the tomb, Who have the key of Heaven."

(4) Lastly, let us learn from this history how to cast out the fear of one another by the greater and more awful fear of God. The fear of man is a good thing in a degree. We should have respect to the opinion of our fellows, and strive to win it in a legitimate way. But Ananias and his consort desired the good opinion of the Christian community regardless of the approval or the watchful eye of the Supreme Judge, who interposed to teach His people by an awful example that in the new dispensation of Love, as well as in the old dispensation of Law, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and that they and they alone have a good understanding who order their lives according to that fear, whether in their secret thoughts or in their public actions.

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

4:36-37 Barnabas is held up as an example of generous, unselfish giving in response to the genuine needs in the Christian community.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act 4:36. Ὁ ἐπικληθεὶς, who was surnamed) A new specimen of the apostles’ high dignity, to give surnames to believers.—υἱὸς παρακλήσεως, the Son of consolation) A Gospel surname. De Dieu on this passage, and Hiller, Onom. p. 300, explain the etymology.[39]—ΛΕΥΐΤΗς, a Levite) Instead of Levitical ordinances, those of Christianity flourish. The priests also follow, ch. Act 6:7, “A great company of the priests was obedient to the faith.”—Κύπριος τῷ γένει) So ΠΟΝΤΙΚῸς Τῷ ΓΈΝΕΙ, ἈΛΕΞΑΝΔΡΕῪς Τῷ ΓΈΝΕΙ, ch. Act 18:2; Act 18:24.

[39] The παρακλήσεως has evident reference to the Παράκλητος, alluded to in ver. 31.—E. and T.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_4:36-37. Δέ] autem, introduces, in contradistinction to what has been summarily stated in Act_4:34-35, the concrete individual case of an honourably known man, who acted thus with his landed property. The idea in the δέ is: All acted thus, and in keeping with it was the conduct of Joses.

ἀπό (see the critical remarks)]: as at Act_2:22.

υἱὸς παρακλήσ.] בַּר נְבוּאָה, son of prophetic address, i.e. an inspired instigator, exhorter. Barnabas was a prophet (Act_13:1), and it is probable that (at a later period) he received this surname on the occasion of some specially energetic and awakening address which he delivered; hence Luke did not interpret the name generally by υἱὸς προφητείας, but, because the προφητεία had been displayed precisely in the characteristic form of παράκλησις (comp. 1Co_14:3), by υἱὸς παρακλ. At Act_11:23 also, παράκλησις appears as a characteristic of Barnabas. We may add, that the more precise description of him in this passage points forward to his labours afterwards to be related.

Λευΐτης] Jer_32:7 proves that Levites might possess lands in Palestine. See Ewald, Alterth. p. 406. Hence the field is not to be considered as beyond the bounds of the land (Bengel).

ὑπάρχ. αὐτ. ἀγροῦ] Genitive absolute.

τὸ χρῆμα] in the singular: the sum of money, the money proceeds, the amount received. Herod, iii. 38; Poll. 9. 87; Wesseling, ad Diod. Sic. v. p. 436.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 4:36 . Ἰωσῆς δὲ : δέ introduces the special case of Barnabas after the general statement in Act 4:34 . ὁ ἐπικ ., cf. Act 1:23 . On what occasion this surname was conferred by the Apostles nothing certain is known ( ἀπό as often for ὑπό , Act 2:22 ), although the fact that it was conferred by them may indicate that he owed his conversion to them. Possibly it may not have been bestowed until later, and reference may here be made to it simply to identify him (Nösgen). βαρνάβας : most commonly derived from בַּר נְבוּאָה (“quod neque ad sensum neque ad litteras prorsus convenit,” Blass) = properly υἱὸς προφητείας . But St. Luke, it is argued, renders this υἱὸς παρακλήσεως , because under the threefold uses of prophecy, 1Co 14:3 , the special gift of παράκλησις distinguished Barnabas, cf. Act 11:23 . So Harnack (whose full article “Barnabas” should be consulted, Real-Encyclopädie für prot. Theol. und Kirche ,” xv., 410) explains it as indicating a prophet in the sense in which the word was used in the early Church, Act 15:32 (Act 11:23 ), παράκλησις = edifying exhortation. But not only is בַּר an Aramaic word, whilst נבואה is Hebrew, but the above solution of St. Luke’s translation is by no means satisfactory (see Zöckler, in loco ). In 1Co 14:3 παράκ . might equally mean consolation, cf. 2Co 1:3-7 , and it is translated “comfort” (not “exhortation”) in the R.V. In St. Luke’s Gospel the word is used twice, Luk 2:25 , Luk 6:24 , and in both passages it means comfort, consolation, cf. the cognate verb in Act 16:25 . Another derivation has been suggested by Klostermann, Probleme im Aposteltexte , pp. 8 14. He maintains that both parts of the word are Aramaic, בר and נְוָחָא , solatium , and that therefore St. Luke’s translation is quite justified. Blass however points out that as in the former derivation so here there is a difficulty in the connection between βαρνάβας and the somewhat obscure Aramaic word. In the conversion of Barnabas, the first man whose heart was so touched as to join him, in spite of his Levitical status and culture, to ignorant and unlettered men, the Apostles might well see a source of hope and comfort ( cf. Gen 5:29 ), Klostermann, p. 13. It is also worthy of note that the LXX frequently uses παράκλησις as a translation of the common Hebrew words for comfort or consolation; cf. Job 21:2 , Ps. 93:19, Isa 57:8 , Jer 16:17 , etc., and cf. Psalms of Solomon 13, title, παράκλησις τῶν δικαίων . On the whole question, Deissmann, Bibelstudien , p. 175 ff., should be consulted. Deissmann, referring to an inscription recently discovered in Northern Syria, in the old Nicopolis, probably of the third or fourth century A.D., explains the word as follows: The inscription contains the name βαρνεβοῦν , which . considers rightly = Son of Nebo; cf., e.g. , Symmachus, Isa 46:1 , who renders נְבוֹ , Nebo (transcribed by the LXX, Aquila and Theodotion, Ναβώ ), by Νεβοῦς . The view of the connection or identity of βαρνάβας with βαρνεβοῦς is facilitated by the fact that in other words the ε sound in Nebo is replaced by [167] ; cf. Ne buchadnezar = LXX Ναβουχοδονοσορ , so Ne buzaradan = LXX Ναβουζαρδαν . Very probably therefore βαρναβοῦς will occur instead of βαρνεβοῦς and the Jews themselves might easily have converted βαρναβοῦς into βαρναβᾶς ας being the constant termination of Greek names. In his Neue Bibelstudien , p. 16, Deissmann is able to refer to an Aramaic inscription from Palmyra, dating 114 A.D., with the word Barnebo, and cf. also Enc. Bibl. , i., 484. Λευεΐτης : although the Levites were not allowed to hold possessions in land, since God Himself was their portion (Num 18:20 , Deu 10:9 ), yet they could do so by purchase or inheritance, cf. Jer 32:7-12 , or it is possible that the field of Barnabas may not have been in Palestine at all (see Bengel, but, on the other hand, Wendt, in loco ), and that the same Messianic regulations may not have applied to the Levites in other countries (Wetstein). It would also seem that after the Captivity the distribution of land, according to the Mosaic Law, was no longer strictly observed (Overbeck, Hackett (Hastings’ B.D.), “Barnabas,” e.g. , Josephus, a Levite and Priest, has lands in the vicinity of Jerusalem, and gains others in exchange for them from Vespasian, Vita , 76. Κύπριος τῷ γένει : soon after the time of Alexander, and possibly before it, Jews had settled in Cyprus, and 1Ma 15:23 indicates that they were there in good numbers. This is the first mention of it in the N.T.; see also Act 11:19-20 , Act 13:4-13 , Act 15:39 , Act 20:16 , and the geographical notices in Act 21:3 , Act 27:4 . From the neighbouring island, Cyprus, Barnabas might well have been sent to the famous University of Tarsus, and so have made the acquaintance of Saul. In this way the previous acquaintance between the two men goes far to explain succeeding events, Act 9:27 : see “Cyprus,” B.D. (Hastings), Hamburger, Real-Encyclopädie des Judentums , i. 2, 216. γένει , “a man of Cyprus by race,” R.V. not “of the country of Cyprus”: γένει refers to his parentage and descent, cf. Act 18:2 ; Act 18:24 .

[167] A(ntiochena), in Blass, a fair rough copy of St. Luke.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joses, &c.--This is specified merely as an eminent example of that spirit of generous sacrifice which pervaded all.

son of consolation--no doubt so surnamed from the character of his ministry.

a Levite--who, though as a tribe having no inheritance, might and did acquire property as individuals (Deu 18:8).

Cyprus--a well-known island in the Mediterranean.

Next: Acts Chapter 5

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 36. Joses] Or, Joseph, as many excellent MSS. read; but who he was, farther than what is here said, we know not.

Surnamed Barnabas] Or, Barsabbas, according to the Coptic.

The son of consolation] υιοςπαρακλησεως; As παρακλησις signifies exhortation, as well as consolation, and is indeed distinguished from the latter, 1Co 14:3, the original name was probably בר נבא Bar naba, or בר נביא Bar nebia, which signifies the son of prophecy or exhortation; and this is certainly one sense which prophecy has in the New Testament; and in this way Barnabas distinguished himself among the apostles. See Ac 11:23. And Barnabas EXHORTED them all that with purpose of heart they should cleave unto the Lord.

A Levite, and of the country of Cyprus] Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea, off Cilicia, and not very distant from the Jewish coast. The Jews were very numerous in that island: see Dion. Cas. lib. 68, 69. Though he was a Levite, he might have had land of his own by private purchase. The Levites, as a tribe, had no land in Israel; but the individuals certainly might make purchases any where in the country: but, as Barnabas was of Cyprus, his land probably lay there; and as it is likely that he was one of those strangers that came up to Jerusalem to the late feast, and was there converted, he might have sold his land in the island to some of his own countrymen who were at Jerusalem at this time; and so, being called to the work of the ministry, continued to associate with the apostles, travelling every where, and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God. He was the constant companion of St. Paul, till the separation took place on account of John Mark, mentioned Ac 15:36-39.

IT is worthy of remark that the two apostles of the Gentiles, though of Jewish extraction, were both born in Gentile countries; Paul in Cilicia, Barnabas in Cyprus: this gave them many advantages; served to remove prejudices from the heathens; and gave them no doubt much facility in the Greek tongue, without which they could have done but little in Asia Minor, nor in most parts of the Roman empire where they travelled. How admirably does God determine even the place of our birth, and the bounds of our habitation! When under the influence of the grace of Christ, every thing is turned to a man's advantage. The man whom he calls to his work he will take care to endue with every necessary qualification. And is it too much to say that God never did call a man to preach the Gospel whom he did not qualify in such a manner that both the workman and the work should appear to be of God?

Some have said that ignorance is the mother of devotion. Devotion and religion are both scandalized by the saying. Enlightened piety has ever been the most sincere, steady, and active. God makes those wise who turn unto him; and by experimental religion all the powers of the mind are greatly improved. Every genuine minister of Christ has an enlightened heart; and, to this, it is his duty to add a well-cultivated mind. Ex quovis ligno Mercurius non fit: A blockhead never did, and never can, make a minister.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(36) And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas.—The better MSS. give the name as Joseph. It is possible, as Rabbinic writers often give Jose for Joseph, that both were but different forms, like Simon and Simeon, of the same name. The later friendship between the Levite of Cyprus and St. Paul makes it probable that there had been some previous companionship (see Notes on Act_9:27; Act_11:25), and it may well have been that he was sent from Cyprus to receive his education in the famous schools of Tarsus, or practised with Saul in early life the craft of tent-making, for which Tarsus was famous, and in which they were afterwards fellow-labourers (1Co_9:6). As a Levite he had probably taken his place in the ministries of the Temple, and may, therefore, have been among our Lord’s actual hearers. His relation Mary, the mother of John surnamed Marcus, was, we know, living at Jerusalem. (See Note on Act_12:12; Col_4:10.) A tradition, as early as Clement of Alexandria (Strom. ii. § 116), makes him one of the Seventy, and this agrees with the prophetic character which we have seen reason to think of as attaching to that body. (See. Note on Luk_10:1.) The new name which the Apostles gave him, literally, if we look to its Hebrew etymology, The son of prophecy, or, taking St. Luke’s translation, The son of counsel, implies the possession of a special gift of persuasive utterance, in which the Apostles recognised the work of the Spirit. The Paraclete had endowed him with the gift of paraclesis, in the sense in which that word included counsel, comfort, admonition, application of divine truth to the spiritual necessities of men. (See Excursus G. on St. John’s Gospel.) In Act_11:23, we find him exhorting the Gentile converts at Antioch, the verb being that from which paraclesis is derived. He was, i.e., conspicuous for the gift of prophecy as that gift is described in 1Co_14:3. The several stages in his life come before us later. An Epistle bearing his name, and recognised as his by Clement of Alexandria and Origen, is still extant, but its authenticity is, to say the least, questionable. It consists mainly of allegorical interpretations of Old Testament narratives. Some critics have assigned the Epistle to the Hebrews to his authorship, as the expounder of St. Paul’s thoughts. It should be noted that a little further on his kinswoman Mary’s house is the chief meeting-place of the Church of Jerusalem (Act_12:12), and that her son John, surnamed Mark, is mentioned by St. Peter (“Marcus my son,” 1Pe_5:13) in words which make it almost certain that he was converted by that Apostle.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

36. And Joses] The same name as Joseph, which form the oldest MSS. give.

who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas] He was the companion of St Paul in his first missionary journey (Act_13:2), and is often mentioned by St Luke. He was invited by St Paul to join him on his second journey, but as they disagreed about taking John Mark with them, they did not labour again, as far as we know, in the same field, and the writer leaves Barnabas (Act_15:39) with the mention that “he took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.”

which is, being interpreted] The explanation is added for the sake of Theophilus, who may have had no knowledge of the Hebrew (see Act_1:19).

son of consolation] More probably, son of exhortation. The Greek may be thus rendered, and the Hebrew noun nebuah is from the same root as the common word for prophet. The title may have been given to Barnabas from his ability as a preacher (Act_11:23), though in this he seems (Act_14:12) to have been less prominent than St Paul, as most men must have been. In describing the work of Barnabas in Act_11:23 the verb used, “he exhorted,” is that from which the noun in this verse is derived, and is akin to the word “Paraclete,” which is so often translated “Comforter” when applied to the Holy Ghost, but rendered “advocate” in 1Jn_2:1 when used of the intercession of Jesus.

a Levite] The Levites in the Holy Land had no inheritance given to them, but were scattered through all the tribes; the same regulation may not, however, have applied to the Levites in other countries; and we are not informed where the field was situated which Barnabas sold. He may also have been a married man, and have held lands from his marriage.

of the country of Cyprus] The island still so called in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. We find Jews settled there in the Maccabean times (1Ma_15:23). It was one of the places to which Paul and Barnabas went in their missionary journey, and it had been previously visited by some of the Christian teachers who were driven from Jerusalem by the persecution which succeeded the death of Stephen (Act_11:19).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Joses,.... The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions, read "Joseph", and so do Beza's most ancient copy, and two of his manuscripts, and the Alexandrian copy, and others; for "Jose", or "Joses", is only an abbreviation or contraction of "Joseph"; though according to others it is the same with "Josiah": there is one of this name, who was the sort of Alphaeus, and brother to two of the apostles, James and Jude, Mat 13:55 and another called "Joses Barsabas"; and it may be to distinguish the one from the other this is called "Joses Barnabas"; for so it follows,

who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas: his name before his conversion was "Joses", or "Joseph", or "Josiah"; and afterwards, or at least after he came to be acquainted with the apostles, and to be in their company, they called him "Barnabas", The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "who was of the apostles"; and so Barnabas is spoken of as if he was an apostle, Co1 9:5

which is, being interpreted, the son of consolation; or "of exhortation"; from the excellent gift and talent he had at exhorting; see Act 11:23 and from the use he was of for the comforting of distressed minds; for "Naba, to prophesy", includes both exhortation and comfort; and he having the gift of prophecy or preaching the Gospel, was called "Barnabas", a son of comfort, or a comforter, or an exhorter: and so Jerom (r) interprets it, "the son of a prophet". Drusius conjectures that his right name was , "Bar Nachama", and by contraction "Barnama", and with a Greek termination "Barnamas"; which properly signifies, in the Chaldee and Syriac languages, "the son of consolation", as it is here interpreted; and he observes, that the letters "M" and "B" are sometimes used one for an other: thus one and the same man is called "Berodach" and "Merodach", Kg2 20:12 and the same river is called "Abana", Kg2 5:12 and in the margent "Amana"; but others think he had his name from the same word that Noah had his, and which signifies rest and comfort, as appears from the reason of his name. "This same shall comfort us", &c. And so the name of this man in the Chaldee or Syriac language was , which may be literally rendered "the son of the fathers' rest", or "comfort". And this man is said to be

a Levite; of the tribe of Levi, and of the priestly race:

and of the country of Cyprus; or "by birth", or "nation, a Cyprian"; for though he was a Jew, as is clear from his being of the tribe of Levi, and was born of Jewish parents, yet in Cyprus, and so was a native of that place. The Ethiopic version renders it, "of the city of Cyprus"; but Cyprus was not a city, but a country; wherefore the Syriac version renders it, "of the place, or country of Cyprus", as we do: it was an island in the further part of the Mediterranean sea; it had its name from the plant Cyprus, and is now by the Turks called "Kibris". According to Pliny (s), it lay to the east and west of Cilicia, and was opposite Syria, and was formerly the seat of nine kingdoms; its circumference was three hundred and seventy miles, and had been called by various names; as Acamantis, Cerastis, Aspella, Amathusia, Macaria, Crypton, and Colinia; in it were fifteen towns or cities, which wcre Paphos, Palsepaphos, Curias, Citium, Corineum, Salamis, Amethus, Lapethos, Solce, Tamaseus, Epidarum, Chytri, Arsinoe, Carpasium, and Golgi. According to the same writer (t), it was by an earthquake divided from Syria; and that part of it which lay to the east from Syria, is said to be less than a hundred miles distant from it. And according to Mela (u), its chief cities were Salamis and Paphos, mentioned in Act 13:5. And according to Ptolomy (w), it had on the west Pamphylia, on the south the Egyptian and Syrian seas, and on the east the Syrian sea, and on the north the straits of Cilicia: it was inhabited by people of various nations, and, among the rest, by Jews; and R. Benjamin makes mention of Jewish Rubbans in Cyprus, in his time (x).

(r) De Nominibus Hebraicis, fol. 105. I. (s) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 31. (t) Ib. l. 2. c. 88. (u) De Orbis Situ, l. 2. p. 66. (w) Geograph. l. 5. c. 14. (x) Itinerar. p. 30.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

Ver. 36. Surnamed Barnabas] {See Trapp on "Act 1:23"} {See Trapp on "Phm 1:7"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Joses - Many manuscripts, instead of “Joses,” here read “Joseph.” The reasons why this individual is selected and specified particularly were, doubtless, because he was a foreigner; because it was a remarkable instance of liberality; and because he subsequently distinguished himself in the work of the ministry. He gave himself, his property, his all, to the service of the Lord Jesus, and went forth to the self-denying labors of the gospel. He is mentioned elsewhere with honor in the New Testament Act 11:24, Act 11:30, and usually as the companion of the apostle Paul. The occasion on which he became connected with Paul in the ministry was when he himself was sent forth by the church at Jerusalem to Antioch. There, it seems, he heard of the fame of Paul and went to Tarsus to seek him, and brought him with him to Antioch, Act 11:22-26. Before this he had been acquainted with him, and had introduced him to the other apostles at a time when they were afraid of Paul, and unwilling to acknowledge him as an apostle, Act 9:26-27. At Antioch, Barnabas was led into dissimulation by Peter in regard to the Gentiles, and was reproved by his friend and companion, Paul, Gal 2:13. He and Paul continued to travel in fellowship until a dispute arose at Antioch about Mark, and they separated, Paul going with Silas through Syria and Cilicia, and Barnabas, with Mark, sailing for his native place, Cyprus, Act 15:35-41. See the following places for particulars of his history: Act 11:22, Act 11:25, Act 11:30; Act 12:25; Act 13:1-2, Act 13:50; Act 14:12; Act 15:12; 1Co 9:6; Gal 2:1, Gal 2:9.

Who by the apostles was surnamed ... - The practice of giving surnames, as expressive of character, was not uncommon. Thus, Simon was called Peter, or Cephas, Joh 1:44; and thus James and John were surnamed Boanerges, Mar 3:17.

Barnabas, which is ... - This word properly denotes “the son of prophecy.” It is compounded of two Syriac words, the one meaning “son,” and the other “prophecy.” The Greek word which is used to interpret this παράκλησις paraklēsis, translated “consolation,” means properly exhortation, entreaty, petition, or advocacy. It also means “consolation or solace”; and from this meaning the interpretation has been given to the word “Barnabas,” but with evident impropriety. It does not appear that the name was bestowed on account of this, though it is probable that he possessed the qualification for administering comfort or consolation in an eminent degree, but on account of his talent for “speaking,” or “exhorting” the people to holiness, and his success in preaching. Compare Act 11:23.

A Levite - One of the descendants of Levi employed in the lower services of the temple. The whole tribe of Levi was set apart to the service of religion. It was divided into priests and Levites. The three sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Of the family of “Kohath” Aaron was descended, who was the first high priest. His oldest son succeeded him, and the remainder of his sons were “priests.” All the others of the tribe of Levi were called “Levites,” and were employed in the work of the temple, in assisting the priests in performing sacred music, etc., Num. 3; Deu 12:18-19; Deu 18:6-8; 1Ch 23:24.

Of the country of Cyprus - Cyprus is the largest island in the Mediterranean; an island extremely fertile, abounding in wine, honey, oil, wool, etc. It is mentioned in Act 13:4; Act 15:39. The island is near to Cicilia, and is not far from the Jewish coast. It is said by Dion Caccius (lib. 68, 69) that the Jews were very numerous in that island - Clark. Barnabas afterward became, with Paul, a distinguished preacher to the Gentiles. It is worthy of remark, that “both” were born in pagan countries, though by descent Jews; and as they were trained in pagan lands, they were better suited for their special work. The case of Barnabas is that of a man who had property when he entered the ministry, and who gave up all for the Lord Jesus. The great mass of ministers, like very many who have been distinguished in other professions, have been taken from among the poor, and from humble ranks in life. But all have not been. Many have been wealthy, and have devoted all to Christ; and in regard to others, it is to be remarked, that a very considerable proportion of them could have gained more “wealth” in some other profession than they do in the ministry. The ministry is a work of self-denial, and none should enter it who are not prepared to devote all to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Joseph ... surnamed Barnabas, the son of consolation, &c. He seems to be mentioned as the first that sold all he had, and brought the price, and laid it at the feet of the apostles. (Witham) --- There was at that time a great number of Jews established in this city. (Bible de Vence)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Joses; some read Joseph; the Hebrew names, when turned into Greek, meet with divers terminations or endings.

Surnamed Barnabas; full of consolation; not only in that he gave so liberally towards the relief of the poor, parting with his possessions for them; but that he excelled in propounding inward and spiritual comfort unto poor and rich, being of a mild disposition, and fitted to handle gently such wounds as the terrors of the law had made.

Though a Levite he might have land, either in right of his wife, or given to him and his ancestors; as we read was to Phinehas, Jos 24:33; otherwise the Lord was the Levites’ portion in an especial manner.

The Jews being dispersed all over the known world, some dwelt in Cyprus, as Joses’s parents; Saul’s parents dwelt at Tarsus; though at this time both Saul and Joses dwell in Jerusalem.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

36. Joses—Joseph.

Barnabas—Where a man had so ordinary a name as Joseph he needed a second name to individualize him. But this surname honoured as well as individualized its receiver.

Son of consolation— Perhaps more properly son of prophecy or preaching. Act_13:1, he is called a prophet. The epithet was probably a testimony from the apostles to his sacred eloquence. Eusebius says he was one of the seventy. An Epistle said to be by Barnabas, and certainly of very early antiquity, is still extant.

A Levite—The Levites had no share in the division of Canaan to the twelve tribes, yet could own land within the precincts of the Levitical cities. But Barnabas may have owned land in his native Cyprus and have sold it in Jerusalem.

Of the country of Cyprus—Literally, by birth a Cyprian—Barnabas, the Cyprian, with his Levitical rank and training, his sacred eloquence, his wealth, and his noble presence, that made the Lystrans identify him with Jove, is here signalized among the many both on account of his future eminence, and for the purpose of picturing him in contrast with the unhappy pair next to be narrated. Barnabas becomes a star of the firmament, while Ananias goes down in darkness.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joseph for Joses, A.V., as Act_1:23; Son of exhortation for The son of consolation, A.V.; a man of Cyprus by race for and of the country of Cyprus, A.V. Joseph. In the variation of manuscripts it is difficult to say which is right. Some (Grotius, Alford, etc.) consider the two forms as mere variations in writing the name Joseph. But it seems more probable that Joses is the same name as Josiah, only without the addition of the Divine Name (Jab) at the end (see Simon, "Onomast."). It is found as a proper name in the T.R. of Mat_13:55 Mat_27:56; Mar_6:3 15:40, 47; Luk_3:29 (Jose) and is not likely to have been substituted for the common name of Joseph. The Codex Sinaiticus has Joses only in Mar_15:40. The R.V. has Joseph in Mat_13:55, and Joses in Mat_27:56; Mar_6:3 15:40, 47. in Luk_3:29 the R.V. has Jesus. But Joses is probably right both here and in the above-cited passages. Barnabas; literally, son of prophecy; i.e. a prophet, as he is called in Act_18:1. Probably his exhortations under the influence of the Holy Spirit in the Church assemblies were particularly stirring and edifying. The Greek version of the name, uiJosewv, should be rendered, as in R.V, Son of exhortation, for "son of consolation? is a meaning which can hardly be got out of the Hebrew. The apostles seem here to have followed our Lord"s example in naming the sons of Zebedee, sons of thunder. A man of Cyprus by race. The A.V. is less accurate, but it gives the sense better. Cyprus was the country where he was born and lived, as, it is likely, his fathers had done before him. But he was hardly, in our sense of the words, a Cypriot by race. We know that a great many Jews were settled in Cyprus; (Philo, "Leg. ad Caium., Josephus, "Ant.," 13:4; Alford, on Act_11:19) and we learn from Act_13:5 that in Salamis alone there were several synagogues.

Vers. 36, 37. A great example of spiritual excellence.

The intention of the writer is to set in contrast the work of the Spirit in Barnabas and the work of the devil in the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira, as also to show to us the relation of character and life to one another; the blessing on those that obey the Spirit, the curse on those that lie against the Holy Ghost and resist the will of God in his Church. The difference of meaning in "paraklesis," according to some "exhortation," according to others "consolation," helps us to keep in mind that the exhortation was consolation; that those who preached appeared among men not as mere dry exhorters and teachers, but as proclaiming a kingdom which is "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

I THE CHANGE WROUGHT in Joseph Barnabas.

1. A Levite, but not passing by the fallen and dying humanity. Notice the contrast between the priesthood of the, old covenant and the priesthood of the new; between the man of a corrupt and decaying system and the new man in Christ.

2. A Cypriot from a country noted for its self-indulgent luxury and sensuality, yet by the Spirit of Christ delivered from selfishness.

3. A man of some wealth, becoming poor for Christ"s sake and the gospel"s, and subjecting himself to the new law of the apostles. The wonders of the Middle Ages anticipated. Yet our aim should not be to fill the Church"s treasuries, but to bless the world with the spirit of self-sacrifice. The abuses of the ecclesiastics have always been their not being true sons of exhortation and consolation, but greedy of filthy lucre.

II THE ILLUSTRATION OF GOSPEL PRINCIPLES.

1. Counting all things loss for Christ. Losing life to find it. The Church, as well as the individual, is richest and happiest when it reckons its whole self as devoted to the work of helping others.

2. The sons of exhortation and consolation, i.e. the messengers of mercy, must be examples of self-sacrifice, and enforce their precepts with public deeds of generosity, and manifestation of the work of the Spirit in their own lives. The preaching of the Church will never much affect the world so long as it does not lay its wealth at the feet of Christ.

3. The true law of Christ"s kingdom is not "Each one for himself and by himself," but all faithful to the vocation of the Church. "At the apostles" feet." He was a rich man, and probably a highly educated man, but he did not set up a Church for himself. He recognized Christ"s rule. He was willing to be a servant that he might fulfill his ministry of consolation to the world, and so he was immediately recognized by those who represented the Master surnamed by the apostles.

4. The stamp of special, solemn approval is set on faithfulness to conscience in the money matters of the Church. There is an eye watching our hand. The money brought should be not merely what the world expects to be brought, or what will satisfy the demands of the time and maintain our reputation with fellow-Christians, but what the "law of Christ" dictates, which is the law of absolute self-denial, and overflowing brotherly affection. We may not be a Paul, or an Apollos, or a Peter, or a John, lacking qualifications for such eminence, but we may emulate the example of Joseph Barnabas, and be sons of consolation, channels of blessing and comfort to the world. If we would be so, let us lay what we have at the feet of the apostles, avoiding caprice, self-will, disorder, heresy, strife, self-exaltation. There is a true apostolic doctrine and fellowship in the world. Cling to it, and cast all to it. R.

Act_5:11The earliest of the tares, in the field of the Church.

The age of the Church numbered as yet only its days. The "good seed" had been sown in the field by "the Son of man" but a few hours, yet "the enemy the devil" had found a prized opportunity to "sow tares," and uses it not in vain. The names and history of Ananias and Sapphira are among the best known of all those imbedded in Scripture. When the striking episode, however, is detached from its proper place, it loses very much of its significance and force. But, taking the time and place of it into account, the episode is in the highest degree dramatic. And the reality of the history which it recounts, it is which exalts it to that height. It is one of those unwelcome products of human nature which mean, in equal proportions, three things the painful, the startling, and the too true. A very crisis of glory is dashed by an incident of darkness, sin, and shame. It is dashed thus, however, in the present instance for "about the space of three hours" only, when the majesty and integrity of truth are terribly vindicated. Let us consider

I THE SIN HERE RECORDED. Though it may seem desirable to supplement the words of the narrative, the thought and intent of it want nothing. Thus, though it is not so worded in the case of Ananias, it is plain that when he brought what any way portended to be the full price of his vended "possession" and "laid it at the apostles" feet," either interrogated or without interrogation he gave it to be understood that it really was the full price. The ground of Peter"s suspicion on the matter is not stated. But a choice of explanations of it can easily be offered. Something in the manner of the man, even possibly some needless asseveration of the entirety of the price, or something disproportionately small in the price brought as the equivalent of the "possession" parted with, or the discernment of the inspired and spiritually sensitive apostle, not set in motion by any external cause, may quite account for it. In this last supposition Peter will remind us, not unworthily, of Peter"s loved Master, in the exercise of a certain spontaneous detection, and in preventing any greater mischief by a certain promptness of anticipation. Be this as it may, in the analysis of the sin under consideration it must be that:

1. The first constituent of it is a capital falsehood, and this needs no further comment.

2. Falsehood the deceiving purpose of which suffers no little aggravation from the cruel affront it offers a new-born loving, holy little society, and the august representatives and leaders of it, now known for their inspiration and for the miracles they had wrought.

3. Falsehood in the matter of a religious and voluntary service.

4. Falsehood that was intended to win for those guilty of it a reputation for zeal toward God and enthusiasm of liberal love toward man, when neither the one nor the other was there.

5. Falsehood that meantime was covering, or seeking to cover, no higher style of character than this, viz. to save stealthily something from (what is inwardly regarded as) the wreck for self, and yet share the contributed beneficence of others. The case was presumably this a man, under the cover of religious motive and resolve, professes to sell all and give all, forsooth that he may secretly store some, and be placed at an advantage for getting more. The rich young ruler was sincerity, honesty, and enthusiasm, all to perfection, in comparison of this exhibition.

6. Falsehood that was deliberate. It was not the result of any sudden gust of temptation. It was deliberate to the extent of being concerted between two. The unhallowed imagination, thought, resolve, of one heart soon grows into the unhallowed covenant of two hearts. Alas, for the suggested picture, for the mournful portraiture of human nature, for the dark interior, too faithfully drawn, of that household! To sum up, then, what has gone before, the direct falsehood of Ananias and Sapphira (to call them for the moment one) was not the whole sin, but, bad as it was in itself, was but the outside covering of sins, too strong nevertheless to be held of it. "Some men"s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some they follow after". (1Ti_5:24) The delicacy and exquisiteness of all the fellowship of circumstance amid which the sin of Ananias and Sapphira saw the light, measure the extent of the affront it dared to offer to truth, and augur the fearfulness of the doom that should visit that affront. Hence it comes that we do instinctively understand Peter"s inspired estimate of it that it is a "lie unto the Holy Ghost unto God," and a "tempting ofthe Spirit of the Lord." And in thus estimating the sin, in "the light of God"s light," Peter reminds us of David, who, bowed in deepest anguish for the sins of murder and adultery, nevertheless cries to God, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned!

II PETER"S OWN DIAGNOSIS OF THIS SIN THAT NOW PRESENTED ITSELF TO VIEW. There is manifestly a deeper treatment of such a presentation of human nature open to us; but especially was it open to the inspired apostle. Let us follow his guidance more exclusively. It was given to him to conduct us deeper down into the retreats of human hearts, and we do well to use our opportunity to follow him. Peter indisputably finds these three things. He finds:

1. A proffered interference of Satan.

2. An accepted interference of him, on the part of Ananias.

3. The issue a lie to the Holy Ghost.

We touch here distinctly the things characteristic of revelation. They are, it must be noted, the things resented not by the scoffer only, but by the rationalist, and by science, simply quoad science. The provinces of revelation and science in human life, however, are neither contradictory nor mutually exclusive, but they are complementary. And the Christian is the rich man because he feels and knows them such. We have then here, from the lips of Peter, the first introduction, since the ascension of Christ and the descent of the Holy Ghost, of the personality of Satan as the antagonist of the Holy Ghost. His work is immediately what reproduces itself through the human heart, as not merely "a lie," but a "lie to the Holy Ghost." So much for the intrinsic work and the presumably most prized object of Satan. But, again, it is not now Satan, but Ananias, who is standing at the bar of Peter Peter, an inspired apostle, and laden with the significant attestation of miracle. And the crucial question upon which Peter arraigns Ananias, and is going to found very shortly his stern condemnation of him, is this (though somewhat obscured in Authorized Version): "How is it that Satan has won what ought to be the stronghold of your heart, so that you have "lied to the Holy Ghost"? No physical necessity, no moral necessity, no necessity whatever, was laid on you to sell your possession at all. And yet you have taken in hand to do this, and "taken into your heart" to do it, with such superadded suggestion of Satan, that you have made your deed the vehicle of a "lie to the Holy Ghost," and of sharp death to yourself." The supreme event follows for Ananias close upon the word of Peter. And a certain irresistible conclusion also for us follows close upon the word of Peter that either we are reading a fable and a lie, or that Ananias was the tool of Satan, and was held responsible for becoming so! This is among the very first lessons, in the matter of the spiritual relationships and facts of human hearts, taught under the emphatic "dispensation of the Spirit." And he can scarcely be envied who risks his own opinion against such a lesson. We cannot consent to suppose (though some have supposed, it) that Peter"s meaning simply amounted to this, that Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost because he lied to him, who was inspired of the Holy Ghost. No; Ananias lied to the Holy Ghost in three degrees. He lied to him in being false to any genuine impulse that he had at first experienced from him; in being false still when he knew that he had forsaken his guidance and yet pretended to be moved practically to join the new society by selling and giving; and, lastly and this consummates and sufficiently expresses all in electing to cast in his lot with Satan, in his capacity of arch-antagonist of the Holy Ghost. Upon the whole consideration of the sin of Ananias, it must be concluded that, by human analysis of it, they must indeed be "fools" who "make a mock of sin." Yet, under the searching and deep cutting of Divine analysis as expressed in Scripture, is not the same conclusion reached with tenfold impressiveness?

III THE DIVINE WITNESS AGAINST THIS SIN.

1. It was "a swift witness." The tares are emphatically not allowed to grow with the wheat and abide a later judgment. The reason for delay (Mat_13:29) did not exist here.

(1) An unerring eye detects the bad seed.

(2) A steady, unerring hand can uproot the ill growth without uprooting also the good growth.

1. It was a witness so swift that no time for repentance," no interval of grace, is granted possibly because there was literally no place of repentance. (Heb_12:17) Was it now that a real instance was found of the "sin against the Holy Ghost," to be "forgiven, neither in this world, neither in the world to come"? (Mat_12:32)

2. It was a redoubled witness. The second instance following so close on the first and in its exact track made impressiveness itself yet more impressive, as the rapid redoubled peal of thunder strikes a tenfold terror into the heart.

3. The witness was timed with a precision that examples how closely the eye, the ear, the hand itself of the supreme Ruler of mankind may be always upon the track of human individual life. That eye sees all and to the time. That ear hears all and to the time. That hand is close upon all and to the moment of perpetration, and might stay the deed, or at once reward it or visit it with swift retribution. This is not what is generally and to practical purpose believed. The absolute, physical proof of it would manifestly take off all its strain from faith, and reduce to nothing the moral government of the world. It is enough if example be given, and if the veil now and then be drawn aside, or, as in this instance, suddenly rent to the revealing of that which is behind.

IV THE SPECIALTY OBSERVABLE IN THE TREATMENT OF THIS SERF. The swift and conclusive visitation of this sin, with arraignment, punishment, and judgment all in one, was a method new for anything done as under the Spirit of Christ. During the personal ministry of Christ on earth nothing can be instanced to resemble it, except the withering of the fig tree, and that does not resemble it. Christ refused to call fire from heaven or to permit a sword in the hand of a disciple. And when the unregenerate impetuosity of Peter did use the sword, Christ went so far as to undo what it had done. Forbearance and long-suffering were unfailing watchwords with Jesus. Let us observe that:

1. One thing justifies this summary treatment, namely, that the agent in it is without doubt none other than the Spirit of detection, of conviction, of unerring discernment, of perfect knowledge. Whether this sovereign Spirit, the Holy Spirit, led the way rapidly through the instrumentality of Peter, or finally, without any use of even the lip of Peter himself, executed swift sentence, the entire responsibility rested with that same eternal Spirit.

2. One thing may with but little less hesitation be counted to explain the reason of this unusual "course of the Spirit," namely, the exact crisis at which the tender young society had arrived in certain moral aspects. The prompt and peremptory course of the Spirit" on this occasion was not for any external defense of the body of the infant Church, but for the inner defense of it, of its very heart, of its self. In this swift visitation, whatever of kindness there was, that the communion of the true should not be poisoned by the presence of the false, and whatever of stern example there was to operate as an immediate counteractive and deterrent, alike the one and the other meant mercy and consideration toward an infant heart. The elements which went to make that heart just what it now was have already been passed under review. We know full well that the Church was not permitted to depend long for its purity upon such witness as this. Nevertheless, the memory of it and of the principle contained in it has ever lived, lives still a powerful witness in itself, both for the Church and for the world.

V LASTLY, THE IMPRESSION PRODUCED BY THE JUDGMENT OF THIS SIN. "Great fear came on all them that heard these things" (ver. 5); "Great fear came upon all the Church, and upon as many as heard these things" (ver. 11).

1. The impression that was produced was one of a healthful sort. Many times as fear finds false occasion, this was an occasion most just. Human hearts need betimes such rousing. "Since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation of the world" (2Pe_3:4) is the languid complaint of the life of far more than those from whose lip it is heard. When God is "strict to mark iniquity" now, men begin to fear, and they think, and they believe, for an hour at least, in the reality of moral distinctions. Pity anal shame it is that men do not understand and believe that there is a sense in which God assuredly is and will ever be "strict to mark iniquity," so that they should "fear before him all the day." It is God"s mercy which wakes fear betimes by methods such as that under consideration; for that fear is helpful to remind, and to arrest attention, and to suggest onward thinking. And it is not less God"s mercy that he does not use such method very often. For it would make harder those who will be hard. And it would deprive the willing and obedient of the opportunity

(1) of testifying what faith they have, and

(2) of testing that faith, and

(3) of getting greater strength to it.

2. The impression was one that wrought on saint and sinner, on the Church and on "all that heard" of what had transpired. The Divine judgment no doubt aimed at this twofold ministry, in one and the same providence.

(1) Though the fear" were of the nature of a shock to the disciples that formed that cheerful and holy society, yet it tended in the directest manner possible to recover them from the greater shock of such a sight as this, falsehood and hypocrisy and unreality triumphing, or even permitted to breathe amongst them. And

(2) because the "fear" was of the nature of a shock, it worked caution and the awe of reverence on the part of those who were outside the Church. These were very forcibly reminded that to be true disciples meant something more and deeper than in an hour"s enthusiasm joining themselves to a happy company, whose very earnestness had it in it to enlist a natural sympathy. The sympathy that joins any man to the Church of Jesus Christ must be something different from a natural sympathy. It must be an inward, deepest sympathy wrought by the Spirit. B.

Vers. 36, 37. The power of a high example.

That of Joses, or Barnabas. This man was the companion of St. Paul in his first missionary journey. (Act_13:2) For his character, position, and influence in the Church, etc., see the Commentary. His was by no means the only case of self-sacrifice, but it was, for some unexplained reasons, the most striking case, and it was regarded as a typical one. Possibly the subsequent influence gained by Barnabas led to the preservation of this narrative of his noble self-denial. And we may learn from him what a mission opens for those who can make great sacrifices for Christ.

I RICHES ARE OFTEN A RELIGIOUS HINDRANCE. Illustrate from our Lord"s teaching respecting the "camel and the needle"s eye." "How hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of God!" "Not many mighty, not many noble, are called." The poor in this world are often the "rich in faith." Barnabas"s property might have kept him from Christ, or made him only such a timid and weak disciple as rich Nicodemus and rich Joseph of Arimathaea were.

II RICHES OFTEN BECOME A TEST OF RELIGIOUS FEELING. Illustrate from the case of the "rich young ruler," who had some feelings and desires, but could not wholly follow them. Love of position and of wealth was stronger even than longing for "eternal life." Compare Demas.

III RICHES MAY BECOME A MEDIUM OF RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION, AND SO A MEANS OF RELIGIOUS CULTURE. It did in the case of Barnabas. He used his talents and his gifts for Christ"s service and his Church"s good, and he further found out how he might, for the same purposes, use his money and his lands. He was both blessed in himself and a means of blessing to others in so doing. Still those who have the trust of riches need the impulse of the example of Barnabas, and may even reach towards the completeness of his serf-sacrifice. Explain that there is sometimes an exaggeration in the surrender of all property, and assumption of voluntary poverty, which is in no sense commended by this example. To use our property wisely and well in the service of Christ is a far nobler thing than to shirk our personal responsibility by surrendering it all to others. The lesson to learn from the record concerning Barnabas is that we should hold all we have riches, talents, position, influence, everything at the call and service of our living Savior, and be ready even to sacrifice it all, if in that form we are required to testify our "zeal for the Lord." But the imitation of a high example has this peril. It may be merely the imitation of the act, and not an act dictated by the same motives and done in the same spirit. The followers of "them who through faith and patience inherit the promises" are those, and those only, who act in the hallowing and ennobling influences of the same "constraining love." We must yield and give only for Christ"s sake. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A son of consolation - Not only on account of his so largely assisting the poor with his fortune; but also of those peculiar gifts of the Spirit, whereby he was so well qualified both to comfort and to exhort.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

36, 37. After stating that many brethren who had property sold it, and gave up the proceeds, Luke now gives an individual instance of this liberality, introduced, no doubt, on account of the subsequent celebrity of the individual. (36) " Now Joses, who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles, (which is, when translated, son of exhortation,) a Levite, a Cyprian by birth, (37) having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the feet of the apostles. " This surname was given to Joses on account of his excellence in horatory address, and not on account of the consolation which he afforded by his liberality. The original term paraklesis, rendered consolation in the common version, is a verbal noun used to express both the act of the verb parakalein and the effect produced by it. We have no one word in English to represent it in these two senses; but exhortation expresses the act, and consolation the effect. We have, therefore, exhortation eight times in the common version, when the paraklesis is connected with the agent, but always consolation when the reference is to the recipient. As Barnabas is contemplated at the agent, in this case, it should be exhortation, not consolation. This criticism is confirmed by the history of Barnabas. When the Church in Jerusalem heard that a congregation was planted in Antioch, they sent Barnabas thither, who " exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they should cleave to the Lord." This exhorting being the object for which he was sent, his selection for the mission indicates his superiority in that kind of talent. Perhaps it was chiefly on account of this talent, in which Paul was deficient, that Barnabas became the traveling companion of this apostle. It is a talent much more rare than mere logical power, and has always been highly prized by the Churches.

It is quite probable that the land sold by Barnabas constituted his whole estate. Having no family dependent on him, he consecrated his life to unrequited missionary labor.

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

36, 37. Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas. His name was Joses; but the apostles from some feature of his character called him Barnabas, “the son of exhortation” (see Revision). A Levite. Of the sacred tribe. Of the country of Cyprus. The famous island of the Mediterranean. He and Paul afterwards carried the gospel there.

Having land. Possibly a possession somewhere in Judea. See Num. 35:1–8 and Deut. 10:8, 9. As a Levite, Barnabas would have rights in the Levitical possessions. This is the first mention of this celebrated companion of Paul's missionary labors. He next appears on a mission to Antioch (chap. 11:22).

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

General Information:

Luke introduces Barnabas into the story. (See: Introduction of New and Old Participants)

Son of Encouragement

The apostles used this name to show that Joseph was a person who encouraged others. "Son of" is an idiom used to describe a person's behavior or character. AT: "Encourager" or "one who encourages" (See: Idiom)

laid it at the apostles' feet

This means that they presented to money to the apostles. See how you translated this in Acts 4:35. AT: "presented it to the apostles" or "gave it to the apostles" (See: Idiom)

translationWords

Levi

Cyprus

apostle

Barnabas

son

courage

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

36. Ἰωσὴφ with אABDE and Vulg., also several cursives and some other versions.

36. Ἰωσήφ. The oldest MSS. give this as the form of the word. Barnabas, who was so called, was afterwards the companion of St Paul in his first missionary journey (Act 13:2), and is often mentioned by St Luke. He was invited by St Paul to join him on his second journey, but as they disagreed about taking John Mark with them, they did not labour again, as far as we know, in the same field, and the writer leaves Barnabas (Act 15:39) with the mention that ‘he took Mark and sailed to Cyprus.’

μεθερμηνευόμενον. The interpretation is added for the sake of Theophilus, who may have had no knowledge of Hebrew (see on Act 1:19).

υἱὸς παρακλήσεως. Probably, son of exhortation, rather than, of consolation. The Hebrew noun nebuah is from the same root as the common word for prophet. The title may have been given to Barnabas from his ability as a preacher (Act 9:23), though in this he seems (Act 14:12) to have been less prominent than St Paul, as most men must have been. In describing the work of Barnabas in Act 11:23 the verb used (παρεκάλει), ‘he exhorted,’ is that from which the noun in this verse is derived, and is akin to the word παράκλητος, which is so often translated ‘Comforter’ when applied to the Holy Ghost, but rendered ‘advocate’ in 1Jn 2:1 when used of the intercession of Jesus.

Λευΐτης, a Levite. In the Holy Land, the Levites had no portion assigned unto them, but were scattered through all the tribes; the same regulation may not, however, have applied to the Levites in other countries; and we are not informed where the field was situated which Barnabas sold. He may also have been a married man, and have held lands from his marriage.

Κύπριος. The island of Cyprus, still called by the same name, is in the Eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. We find Jews settled there in the Maccabean times (1Ma 15:23). It was one of the places to which Paul and Barnabas went in their missionary journey, and it had been previously visited by some of the Christian teachers who were driven from Jerusalem by the persecution which succeeded the death of Stephen (Act 11:19).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

36.] Barnabas, בַּר נְבוּאָה, is υἱὸς προφητείας—and the interpretation has been generally made good by taking παράκλησις as included in προφητεία, and as in the sense of exhortation: see ch. 11:23.

Λευεΐτης] The Levites might possess land at all times within the precincts of the Levitical cities: such was the case, e.g., in Jer 32:7. At the division of the kingdoms, the priests and Levites all resorted to Rehoboam in Judah (and Benjamin), 2Ch 11:13; from that time probably, but certainly after the captivity, when the Mosaic division of the land was no longer accurately observed, the possession of land by Levites seems to have been allowed. The whole subject is involved in some uncertainty: cf. Lev 25:32 ff.; Num 35:1-8; Deu 12:12; Deu 18:8, al.

Κύπριος] For the state of Cyprus at this time, see notes on ch. 11:19; 13:4-7.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.