When we come from a bad place to a good place by committing our lives to Jesus who saved us and set us free from sin; it won’t always follow in the minds of people who knew us before that we have indeed changed. Trust does not come easy in the eyes of people who were hurt by your sins. Trust is shallow and hearts are leery when the rumors run rampant of the previous hurts experienced by us before Jesus. 

Sometimes we are the ones who do not trust and are leery of those who hurt us deeply, betrayed our confidence, and persecute our faith.  When a family member comes back to God, or comes to Jesus for forgiveness for the firsts time after wreaking havoc in our world; we are fearful and wonder, “have they really changed”?  “Can we trust them?”

As we read our passage today, we see that it is human to be leery of our trust in an individual who was the terror of our lives.  We are fearful of a person who was mean, arrogant, and did undue harm to those who love Jesus and love others.  Saul, changed by Jesus, filled by God’s Holy Spirit, now puts as much or more energy in preaching Jesus as he did previously persecuting all who believed in Jesus!  But many are wondering, mummering, judging and trusting based on Saul’s previous life alone.

Then along comes Barnabas…we all need a Barabas in our lives!

Acts 9, The Message

Plots Against Saul

^19-21 Saul spent a few days getting acquainted with the Damascus disciples, but then went right to work, wasting no time, preaching in the meeting places that this Jesus was the Son of God. They were caught off guard by this and, not at all sure they could trust him, they kept saying, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem among the believers? And didn’t he come here to do the same thing—arrest us and drag us off to jail in Jerusalem for sentencing by the high priests?”

²² But their suspicions didn’t slow Saul down for even a minute. His momentum was up now and he plowed straight into the opposition, disarming the Damascus Jews and trying to show them that this Jesus was the Messiah.

^23-25 After this had gone on quite a long time, some Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul got wind of it. They were watching the city gates around the clock so they could kill him. Then one night the disciples engineered his escape by lowering him over the wall in a basket.

^26-27 Back in Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They didn’t trust him one bit. Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus’ name.

^28-30 After that he was accepted as one of them, going in and out of Jerusalem with no questions asked, uninhibited as he preached in the Master’s name. But then he ran afoul of a group called Hellenists—he had been engaged in a running argument with them—who plotted his murder. When his friends learned of the plot, they got him out of town, took him to Caesarea, and then shipped him off to Tarsus.

³¹ Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for a while. All over the country—Judea, Samaria, Galilee—the church grew. They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God. The Holy Spirit was with them, strengthening them. They prospered wonderfully.

WHAT DO WE NEED—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Saul had a need.  Consider Saul’s personality—it’s kind of akin to Peter’s—doing before thinking, grabbing hold of a truth and demanding that everyone know it and follow it and defend it.  Jesus does not need defending, however.  Saul does!

Saul has much to learn in his zealousness to preach Jesus who changed his life.  He needs a way for believers who previously ran from him in fear to know he has indeed been changed by their Savior and his and who is now his Lord. God gives him Barnabas, the Encourager, the Mentor who everyone admires and looks to for validation.

Who have been the Barnabas’s in your life? 

Who do you trust and who trusts you? 

Who introduced you to others who would help you, come alongside you to teach you ways that bring you closer to Jesus?

Are we willing to be a Barnabas to someone who needs encouraging as they grow in their love for God through Jesus and learn the ways of God? 

Are we willing to give our time and trust to someone who needs what God has given to us?

Saul risked his life to preach Jesus.  Barnabas testified this fact so others would trust the change Jesus made in Saul’s life.

Yes, all of us need a Barnabas.  Seek one and be one!

Lord,

Thank you for the many people you gave me in my life who loved, mentored, trusted, and helped me on the road to you.

In Jesus Name, Amen