Barnabas of Cyprus: Apple of your eye

Those who are taught the word of God should provide for their teachers, sharing all good things with them. Galatians 6:6

“Do not be one who reaches out your hands to receive but draws them back from giving. Love like the apple of your eye everyone who speaks the word of the Lord to you.”

Joseph (died A.D. 61) a.k.a. Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus in the Epistle of Barnabas 19:9.

Barnabas applies an amazing word picture to describe reaching out and not drawing back in our giving: “Love like the apple of your eye everyone who speaks the word of the Lord to you.”

Notice how that echoes the sentiment in Galatians. Remember, Paul did the first missionary journey to Galatia with Barnabas. We can imagine them teaching people to bless those who speak the Word of the Lord to them.

Today, I am having lunch with a man who is like Barnabas to me. He saw me as the apple of his eye and did not hold back but gave the lead gift to launch GTP. I will never forget that day.

We have not had meal together for some time. I can’t wait to fellowship, to hear what God is teaching him and to share what God has been teaching me. And I will thank him for sharing so generously with me.

Is there a Barnabas in your life that you need to thank? Do it today! Or are you Barnabas to someone like Paul? If so, don’t hold back in giving but make that person the apple of your eye.

All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 4:32-37

“Share all things with your neighbor and do not say that anything is your own. For if you are partners in what is imperishable, how much more in what is perishable? Do not be garrulous, for the mouth is a deadly trap. In so far as you are able, be pure within.”

Joseph (died A.D. 61) a.k.a. Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus in the Epistle of Barnabas 19:8.

In today’s excerpt from Barnabas, we hear an echo of today’s Scripture.

Barnabas connects two ideas we don’t often connect. He urges us not to claim ownership of anything and not to be garrulous, which means not to talk too much.

So the sharing the “son of encouragement” beckons us to share through actions rather than words. And he then connects this behavior with purity or consistency within.

Imagine if every disciple of Christ followed this example. I think God’s grace would work among us with the same power it did in the early church.

God help us share what is perishable with fellow believers because we are both partakers of the imperishable, namely, Christ. By this way, make our lives pure to reflect a consistent witness. Amen.

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried repeatedly to associate with the disciples; and yet they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was a disciple. Acts 9:26

“Do not desire your neighbor’s be­ longings; do not be greedy. Do not join forces with the high and mighty but associate with the humble and upright. Welcome whatever happens to you as good, knowing that nothing occurs apart from God.”

Joseph (died A.D. 61) a.k.a. Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus in the Epistle of Barnabas 19:6.

I changed the header photo. People have asked where I am. Notice the flag blowing on my daily walk with the dog. I am stateside this month, inviting people to give to GTP and preparing for work in India in June.

As we continue reading the epistle ascribed to Barnabas, we find interesting imperatives in the exhortation section. Today let’s consider today’s Scripture the terms “associate” and “welcome.”

When Saul, who would become known as Paul, met Jesus on the road and began to follow him, many doubted whether he was a disciple. Saul tried to “associate” with them but did not find warm “welcome.”

As the story unfolds, Barnabas would be the guy who puts his arm around Saul and associates with him and welcomes him. Just think about the generosity and grace he exhibited in doing this.

Our temptation in life is to desire things and money and to join forces with the high and mighty. We do this because there’s power in all these things. That’s not the way of Jesus. He wants us to associate with the humble and upright.

And we get to welcome whatever happens knowing that nothing happens to us apart from God. Let us give thanks for His generosity toward us and pledge our trust afresh to Him today.

And when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised. They asked only one thing, that we remember the poor, which was actually what I was eager to do. Galatians 2:9-10

“And so he speaks to them again concerning these things, “Why do you fast for me, says the Lord, so that your voice is heard crying out today? This is not the fast I have chosen, says the Lord — not a person humbling his soul. Not even if you bend your neck into a circle and put on sackcloth and make for yourself a bed of ashes — not even so should you call this a proper fast.”

But he says to us, “See, this is the fast I have chosen, says the Lord. Loosen every bond of injustice; unravel the strangle-hold of coercive agreements; send forth in forgiveness those who are downtrodden; tear up every unfair con­tract. Break your bread for the hungry, and provide clothing for anyone you see naked. Bring the homeless under your roof. And if you see anyone who has been humbled, do not despise him—neither you nor anyone from your children’s household.

Then your light will burst forth at dawn, your garments will quickly rise up, your righteousness will go forth before you, and the glory of God will clothe you. Then you will cry out and God will hear you. While you are still speaking he will say, ‘See! Here I am!’ — if, that is, you remove from yourself bondage, the threatening gesture, and the word of com­plaint, and from your heart you give your bread to the poor and show mercy to the person who has been humbled.”

The one who is patient anticipated, brothers, that the people he prepared in his beloved would believe, in a state of innocence. And so he revealed all things to us in advance, that we not be dashed against their law as newcomers.

Joseph (died A.D. 61) a.k.a. Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus in the Epistle of Barnabas 3:1-6.

Today, Barnabas quotes Isaiah 58:3-5 and then Isaiah 58:6-10 in declaring the motivation behind his patient and generous service to the poor. This should inspire us to study the Old Testament as the backdrop for the generous examples we see, like Barnabas, in the New Testament.

These early followers had the Law and the Prophets. They understood their fulfillment in Jesus. They then walked in His footsteps. Our Lord connected the dots for them. They believed and translated their belief into concrete, humble, and patient action toward the poor.

God caused their light to shine and wants to do the same for us today. Regardless of their ministry focus in the early church, as today’s Scripture notes, every served the poor. Do that with GTP. Don’t give people in need a handout. Be like the Barnabas. Give them a hand up. Click here to give.

One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world (This happened during the reign of Claudius). The disciples, as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. Acts 11:28-30

“Since, then, the days are evil and the one who is at work holds sway, we should commit ourselves to seeking after the righteous acts of the Lord. Reverential awe and endurance assist our faith, and patience and self-restraint do battle on our side. And so while these things remain in a holy state before the Lord, wisdom, understanding, perception, and knowl­ edge rejoice together with them.

For through all the prophets he has shown us that he has no need of sacri­fices, whole burnt offerings, or regular offerings. For he says in one place, “What is the multitude of your sac­rifices to me? says the Lord. I am sated with whole burnt offerings, and have no desire for the fat of lambs, the blood of bulls and goats—not even if you should come to appear before me. For who sought these things from your hands? Trample my court no longer. If you bring fine flour, it is futile; incense is loathsome to me. I cannot stand your new moons and sabbaths.”

And again he says to them, “Did I command your fathers who came out from the land of Egypt to offer whole burnt offerings and sacrifices to me?” “No, this is what I commanded them: Let none of you bear a grudge against your neighbor in your heart, and do not love a false oath.”

And so, since we are not ignorant, we should perceive the good intention of our Father. For he is speaking to us, want­ing us to seek how to make an offering to him without being deceived like them. And so he says to us: “A sacrifice to the Lord is a crushed heart; a sweet fragrance to the Lord is a heart that glo­rifies the one who made it.” And so, brothers, we ought to learn clearly about our salvation, to keep the Evil One from hurling us away from our life after bring­ing error in through the backdoor.”

Joseph (died A.D. 61) a.k.a. Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus in the Epistle of Barnabas 2:1-10.

Barnabas knows his Old Testament. He quotes Isaiah 1:11-13, Jeremiah 7:22, Zechariah 8:17, and Psalm 51:17. And from that knowledge he reminds us to have a humble heart toward God and show love toward others.

From there, he talks about the sacrifices God likes and where bad thinking comes from. He urges us to have a broken heart and to watch out for error coming from the Evil One through the backdoor.

This reminds us, on this Lord’s day, that God does not need our money; He wants our hearts. We show He has our hearts by how we relate to others and by not giving any space for the error of the Evil One.

Imagine a conversation with this disciple. He numbered among the 70 with Jesus. He traveled on missionary journeys with Paul. And if you had coffee with Him, this is likely what He would say to you.

Study the Scriptures so you know the heart of God. With a broken heart, approach Him to learn more about your salvation and avoid allowing any error to sneak in from the Evil One. Lock the backdoor of your heart.

And, inspired by today’s Scripture, I think he would conclude, “When you hear of needs, give as generously as you are able to show God’s love to a watching world. Offer to deliver it to those in need and discover unspeakable joy.”

After this the Lord appointed seventa others and sent them on ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Luke 10:1-2

“I have thus come to realize that I will be rewarded for serving spirits like yours, if I care for you enough to hand over a portion of what I have received. I have hastened, then, to send you a brief letter, that you may have perfect knowledge to accompany your faith.

There are three firm teachings of the Lord of life: hope, which is the beginning and end of our faith; righteousness, which is the beginning and end of judg­ment; and love, which is a testament to our joy and gladness in upright deeds.

For through the prophets the Master has made known to us what has happened and what now is; and he has given us the first fruits of the taste of what is yet to be. And as we see that each and every thing has happened just as he indicated, we should make a more abundant and exalted offering in awe of him.

But I will show a few matters to you, not as a teacher but as one of your own; these will gladden your hearts in the pres­ent circumstances.”

Joseph (died A.D. 61) a.k.a. Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus in the Epistle of Barnabas 1:5-8.

As we continue reading the Epistle of Barnabas today, we reflect on the clue that Barnabas gives us that Jesus made known to him what has happened, what is, and showed the first fruits of what is yet to be.

According to the ancient list of the 70 by Hippolytus of Rome in his work, On the end of the world, Barnabas is mentioned. He was with Jesus as one of the 70, and scholars place him later as becoming the bishop of Milan.

Why reflect on this today?

Barnabas heard Jesus talk about rewards. He heard our Lord teach about of hope, righteousness, and love. And in response, he aimed only to model these through his deeds. And he knew that the fruit of obedience was reward. So, he passed on words of encouragement to us, not as a teacher, but to gladden our hearts where we are.

Friends, we too must live like the teachings of Jesus are real. We must spread hope, righteousness (which means obedient actions), and love wherever we go. We should, as Barnabas wrote, “make a more abundant and exalted offering in awe of him” in response to His blessings to us. Barnabas was known for giving encouragement and resources.

Let’s follow suit. Let’s spread hope, righteousness, and love.

In response today, what would it look like for you to spread hope, righteousness, and love and to make a more abundant and exalted offering in awe of our Lord Jesus Christ and in anticipation of reward?

Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet. Acts 4:36-37

“Greetings, sons and daughters, in the name of the Lord who loved us, in peace. So great and abundant are the righteous acts of God toward you that I am exceedingly overjoyed, beyond measure, by your blessed and glorious spirits. For you have received such a measure of his grace planted within you, the spiritual gift! And so I share your joy all the more within myself, hoping to be saved; for truly I see that, in your midst, the Spirit has been poured out upon you from the abundance of the Lord’s fountain—so amazed have I been by the sight of your face, which I have so desired. And so, since I have been persuaded about this and realize that I who have spoken to you know many things (since the Lord has traveled along with me in the path of righteousness), I have also felt fully compelled to love you more than my own soul. For a great faith and love dwell within you in the hope of his life.”

Joseph (died A.D. 61) a.k.a. Barnabas, a Levite from Cyprus in the Epistle of Barnabas 1:1-4.

Don’t you love the use of the term “abundant” and “abundance” by Barnabas associated with the Lord’s righteous acts and His fountain of blessing to us.

Why does this matter? How does it relate to our generosity?

Barnabas was an encourager in word and works. We have no record of him speaking in Scripture, but he’s called “son of encouraagement.” This excerpt from the epistle attributed to him reflects that.

But what we do know is that he did something that few people are willing to do.

He did not give from his income, but gave his income producing asset to advance the Lord’s work. Most people treat a portion of their income as belonging to God and treat the rest along with their assets as theirs.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Everything we have belongs to the Lord.

Barnabas lives in light of this reality, I think, because he knows this about the Lord. The Lord is abundant in his righteous acts and abundance flows from the Lord’s fountain.

We only give assets when we live in light of the reality that everything belongs to our abundant Lord and His ability to supply our needs is abundant.

After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:7-10

“The love of money is the beginning of all difficulties. And so, since we know that we brought nothing into the world and can take nothing out of it, we should arm ourselves with the weapons of righteousness and teach one another, first of all, to walk in the commandment of the Lord.

Then we should teach our wives to walk in the faith given them and in love and purity; to be affectionate toward their own husbands in all truth; to love everyone equally, with all self-restraint; and to discipline their children in the reverential fear of God.

We should teach the widows to be self-controlled with respect to faith in the Lord, to pray without ceasing for everyone, and to be distant from all libel, slander, false witness, love of money, and all evil, knowing they are God’s altar and that each offering is inspected for a blemish, and that nothing escapes His notice, whether thoughts, ideas, or any of the things hidden in the heart.”

Ignatius of Antioch (c. 50-c. 110) in his Letter to the Philadelphians 3:1-3.

Scholars estimate that the Apostle Paul wrote 1 Timothy around A.D. 64-65. Notice that Ignatius echoes the words of Paul in his letter to the church in Philadelphia around A.D. 108.

This provides evidence that the early followers of Christ shared copies of the correspondence of His apostles with each other and inspired each other to walk in the commandment of the Lord.

They did not all have Bibles in their homes and on their phones, so it seems that the Bishops of prominent cities may have had copies of the first epistles to relay the teaching to the people.

Remember the 27 books that we refer to as the New Testament were not canonized as such until the Councils of Hippo (A.D. 393) and Carthage (A.D. 397) in North Africa.

But going back to today’s post, it leads each of us to ask multiple layers of questions of ourselves.

Is my life free of the love of money, which is the beginning of all difficulties? Am I walking according to my culture (which serves money) or according to the commandment of the Lord?

And for wives and widows, does your life match the exhortations of Ignatius which echo other New Testament texts? Notice that widows can be tempted by the love of money.

If you are a widow, don’t put your trust in holding on to money. Be like the widow in Mark 12:41-44. Give God everything, all you have to live on. You will thank me someday as “nothing escapes His notice.”

Part of the reason we give generously is that it shows where are trust is. The other part is that we cannot take the resources we have with us when we die. We leave the world like we came, with nothing. So, make your own hands your executors.

Live on a mina (3 months income). Store up the rest in heaven. If you hold treasure here your heart will follow. This leads to all kinds of trouble. Don’t heap difficulties on yourself.

Click here to become a monthly giver to GTP today. Spreading of this teaching on money to all the world.

To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: “These are the words of Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.

I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God.

Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:7-13

“I have learned that your bishop did not obtain his ministry to the community from himself, nor through humans, nor according to pure vanity, but by the love of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I have been amazed at his gentleness; by being silent he can do more than those who speak idle thoughts.

For he is attuned to the commandments like a lyre to the strings. For this reason my soul blesses his mind fixed in God – knowing it to be virtuous and perfect – along with his solid and anger-free character, manifest in all gentleness which comes from the living God.”

Ignatius of Antioch (c. 50-c. 110) in his Letter to the Philadelphians 1:1-2.

We don’t know what year John wrote the book of Revelation. Scholars place it sometime in the 90’s. So this message to the church in Philadelphia happened sometime before that.

And around the year A.D. 108, Ignatius of Antioch met with the church on his way to Rome where he was martyred. And this account reflects back on his interaction with the bishop.

It made me think about the impressions we can have on people. The impact that our life on life interaction can have. For Ignatius, the bishop embodied the “pillar” in today’s Scripture.

He was depicted as gentle, virtuous and perfect (or mature), with anger-free character. How would people describe you? Would they use these attributes? Would generous make the list?

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

“Be eager, therefore, to come together more frequently to give thanks and glory to God. For when you frequently gather as a congregation, the powers of Satan are destroyed, and his destructive force is vanquished by the harmony of your faith. Nothing is better than peace, by which every battle is abolished, whether waged by those in heaven or by those on earth.”

Ignatius of Antioch (c. 50-c. 110) in his Letter to the Ephesians 12:1-2.

As I stated over the past three days, the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians around the year A.D. 60 and Ignatius penned his around A.D. 108.

Today it’s interesting that he calls us twice to gather frequently to give thanks and glory to God. We don’t often think of this as part of our giving. We must.

Gathering frequently to give thanks and glory to God strengthens the faith of everyone involved and brings peace to the community of faith as God works “immeasurably more” among us.

When we facilitate the frequent gathering of God’s people for worship, Bible study, prayer, and any kind of giving thanks and glory to God it strengthens us.

Facing challenges? Fighting battles with Satan? How might you add this type of generosity – gathering frequently – to your living, giving, serving and loving on a regular basis?