Who is the Apostle Barnabas? We meet this name in the New Testament, in "Acts". He is a constant companion of the Apostle Paul, travels with him and preaches the faith of Christ. But there is not a word about him in the Gospels. Where did Barnabas come from? How did you become an apostle? Has he ever seen the Son of God? When did you start following him? This is what we will find out in this article. Let us study the biography (life), deeds and suffering for the faith (martyrdom) of this saint.
Apostle of the Seventy
All four canonical gospels mention that Jesus chose twelve disciples. The number 12 is so magical that when Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ, the other eleven apostles elevated Matthew to their rank to complete the number (Acts 1:26). But among these twelve there was no Barnabas. To understand how he became numbered among the apostles, you need to read chapter ten of the Gospel of Luke. In it, the Lord says: "There is a lot of harvest, but few workers in the field." After that, he choseout of a large number of his followers, seventy people, whom he sent two by two to "every place and every city where he himself intended to go." They were to proclaim to the inhabitants of those places the coming of the Messiah. These disciples are called "the apostles of the seventy." Among them is the apostle Barnabas. The selection of seventy disciples took place in the last year of Christ's activity on earth. The Lord gave them the same commandments as He gave the twelve apostles during the Sermon on the Mount. But because they were not chosen immediately, many of them failed to fully understand and accept the teachings of Christ. This is the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. When Christ said in Capernaum that He is the living bread that came down from heaven, and that whoever eats it will never die, many of the seventy “departed from Him and followed him no more.”
Student in faith
Was the Apostle Barnabas among these apostates? As we see from the further description of the life of the Church, no. He had a sharp mind and understood that the Lord is the Word of God. His commandments need to be absorbed by the heart (eat) and fulfill them in order to have eternal life. When Christ, after many of the seventy apostles had left Him, turned to the twelve: “Do you also wish to follow their example?” But Peter answered for everyone: “Where shall we go? For You, Lord, have the words of eternal life.” Thus, we see that Barnabas, along with the eleven apostles, remained with Jesus. He was a faithful disciple, although none of the Gospels mentions his name. Barnabas' activities"harvest worker" in the field of Christ is more fully set forth in the book of the New Testament following the Gospels. What can we know about his life? In "Acts" about this only grains of information. Let us turn to the Lives of the Saints, although this source cannot be completely trusted.
Apostle Barnabas: biography and deeds
The real name of the ascetic of the faith and companion of St. Paul was Joseph. He was born into a we althy Jewish family. We can say that he was a noble family: the Old Testament prophets - Aaron, Moses, Samuel - also came from the tribe of Levi. Barnabas is considered the uncle (or cousin) of the Evangelist Mark. According to other sources, he could also be a relative of Aristobulus. But Barnabas was born in Cyprus. His parents left for the island due to military unrest in Palestine. But they still had a house near Jerusalem. The Law of Moses commanded the Levitical men to know the Scriptures. While the boy Joseph was small, his father himself instructed him in the faith. And when he became a young man, his parents sent him for further education to Jerusalem, to the famous Torah expert Gamaliel. There, the future apostle Barnabas, whose life has now completely changed, met Paul (Saul in those days).
Role of Gamaliel
This character is also mentioned in Acts. You can read about it in Chapter 5 of this book. When the twelve apostles preached in Jerusalem, healing the sick, the Pharisees burned with malice and even thought of killing them. But at the meeting, Gamaliel, respected by all, took the floor. He gave historical examples when impostors,those who claimed to be messengers of God were defeated, and their disciples were scattered. He advised the Pharisees not to plot evil against the apostles. After all, what is conceived by people will collapse by itself. And if this is the work of God, then nothing and no one can resist it. You will only incur the wrath of the Lord. It was with such a teacher that the apostle Barnabas was brought up. St. Paul speaks about Gamaliel as an indisputable authority among the Jews. Emphasizing that he himself is not a stranger to the law of Moses, the Apostle says: "I am a Jew, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, carefully instructed in the faith, a zealot of God." Thus, we can conclude that the apprenticeship of this famous Pharisee prepared Barnabas for an unblinkered acceptance of the new teaching.
Coming to Christ
"Lives of the Saints" assure that the future apostle often went to pray in the vestibule of Solomon's temple. There he witnessed many miracles of healing that Christ performed in Jerusalem. Having believed, he fell at the feet of the Son of God and asked permission to follow him as a disciple. And when Christ left Jerusalem and retired to Galilee, Barnabas followed him. There he became one of the seventy apostles. He shared the teachings of the Lord and remained faithful to him to the end. According to John Chrysostom, Joseph had the gift of persuading people and comforting the mourners. Therefore, the apostles gave him another name - Barnabas. It means "Son of Comfort". And the holy apostle Barnabas showed his gift of persuasion by persuading the disciples of the Lord in Jerusalem not to be afraid of the former evil persecutor of Christians, Saul.
Starting missionary work
Neither the Gospels nor the "Acts" mention when and how the former Joseph of Cyprus joined the teachings of Christ. But one thing is certain: he did it earlier than his “schoolmate” Saul. Barnabas is first mentioned in Acts in chapter four. As befits a disciple of Christ, he sold his house and land, and put the money "at the feet of the apostles." The second time he is mentioned in Scripture is precisely in connection with Paul, the future pillar of the Church. When he was heading to Damascus to arrest Christians, Christ appeared to him with the question “Why are you persecuting Me?”. After that, the evil man turned and realized that he had previously been blind. In Damascus, Paul was instructed in the Christian faith by a certain Ananias. When the Pharisees of the city decided to kill the new convert, he was forced to flee to Jerusalem. But there the disciples of Christ were afraid to accept him, because he was famous as a persecutor of the new faith. And here in Acts Barnabas is again mentioned (9:27). He persuaded his brothers to accept the convert without fear. Since then, the Apostle Barnabas and the Apostle Paul have become almost inseparable.
Further activities
Both missionaries traveled extensively. They visited Antioch, Asia Minor, Cyprus, Greece. There they founded a huge number of Christian communities. When a famine broke out in Jerusalem, the Antiochian believers collected money and sent it with Barnabas and Paul to their needy brothers. As for this period (about 45 AD), the nameBarnabas is mentioned before Paul. The people of Lystra compared the first apostle to Zeus, and the second to Hermes (Acts 14:12). Barnabas, together with Paul, took part in the councils of the apostles in 48 and 51. But after that the apostles parted. Paul began to travel and preach with his new companion, Silas. They concentrated their missionary activity in Asia Minor, Thrace and Hellas. And Barnabas with John, named Mark (his cousin or nephew), went to Cyprus. It is at this event that the story in Acts about Barnabas ends.
What is known about future activities
From the "Lives of the Saints" it is known that the apostle became the first bishop of Cyprus. He preached throughout the island and founded many Christian communities. Church tradition claims that he was stoned to death by pagans in the year 61. His relics were miraculously "found" in 478 near the city of Salamis, on the eastern tip of the island. In this place, in the fifth century, the monastery of the Apostle Barnabas was founded. Now it is not operating and is a historical and architectural monument. And the relics of the holy apostle Barnabas are kept in the church of the town of Konkadei Marini in Italy.
Proceedings
The Epistles of the Bishop of Cyprus are not included in the Canon. Most likely, they existed, since all the apostles addressed in writing to their believers. The recently discovered Codex Sinaiticus contains a text attributed to Barnabas. In this epistle the apostle tries to interpret the Old Testament. He says this Book is closed to the Jews. Understand the Old Testamentonly those who seek in it predictions of the coming of Jesus Christ can. The Apostle Barnabas is also credited with two forged texts composed much later. The book of wanderings and martyrdom was written in the fifth century, probably to confirm the Lives of the Saints. And in the Middle Ages, a false Gospel of Barnabas was composed. It describes the gospel events from the point of view of the Muslim religion (then did not exist).
Icon of the Apostle Barnabas
Despite the fact that this Saint broke up with Paul, there was no strife between them. The apostle speaks very warmly and respectfully of his fellow man in 1 Corinthians 9:6. And in the Letter to the Colossians (4:10) there is one mention of the later joint activity of Barnabas and Paul. The apostle of the seventy is honored in both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. Orthodox Christians celebrate Barnabas' memorial day twice a year - on January 17 and June 24. In Catholicism, this apostle is revered on June 11th. In religious painting, there are many icons of the Apostle Barnabas. A photo of one of them shows us a man of a slightly advanced age, whose dark hair was barely touched by gray hair. Since Barnabas has an apostolic rank, he is dressed in a chiton and himation, and holds a scroll in his hands. Sometimes icon painters depict him as the first archbishop of Cyprus. In this case, he is depicted in hierarchal robes.
