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Sent Again (Confronting Division) Acts 15:36-41 ______Main Point______

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Sent Again (Confronting Division) Acts 15:36-41 ______Main Point______ Sent Series Bible & Life Guide Sunday Sermon Date: 3 / 7 / 2021 Sent Again (Confronting Division) Acts 15:36-41 ____________________________Main Point___________________________ We are called to be peacemakers, even after bitter disagreements and years of estrangement. ___________________________ Introduction__________________________ What do you think it means to be a “peacemaker”? Why do you think it’s so difficult to make peace in the midst of relational discord? Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matt. 5:9). This means that if you seek peace, you are exhibiting one of God’s family traits. Jesus, in fact, was the ultimate peacemaker. Yet making peace is extremely difficult, even for the most humble among us. It’s counterintuitive and countercultural. Peacemaking flies in the face of our individualistic society that prizes self-expression and its evil twin, self-vindication. Peacemaking requires us to acknowledge our pride and willfully set it aside. Our culture has a personality, too, and peacemaking is out of sync with that personality. People who hold grudges, who speak their mind with no reservations, who appear uncompromising, are often admired. These, however, are not the attributes of a peacemaker. These are not the qualities of a godly influencer. In this session, we will examine a relationship within Paul’s team that was broken and later revived. It’s an example for all of us as we follow Christ’s example of peacemaking. ________________ _____Understanding / Discussion___________________ Read Acts 13:1-13 and 15:36-41 Why do you think there was such a controversy between Paul and Barnabas about taking Mark along on the missionary journey? Mark was apparently a nickname, and his family ran in the same circles as the disciples and the rest of the Jerusalem Christian community. We also find out later in one of Paul’s letters that Mark was Barnabas’s cousin (Col. 4:10). The church at Antioch commissioned Paul and Barnabas for their first missionary journey, and they took Mark with them. After the trio made their way through the island of Cyprus, the time came to head north across the water to the southern coast of Turkey. Without elaboration, Luke mentioned that Mark left Paul and Barnabas and went home. After Paul and Barnabas returned to their home base of Antioch, they became mired in the controversy that led to the Jerusalem Council. Afterwards, when they decided to leave Antioch on another missionary journey, Luke described a major disagreement that happened between Paul and Barnabas over whether to take Mark with them. The Greek word Luke chose to describe the disagreement is paroxysmos, which means a “severe argument based on intense difference of opinion.” Paul and Barnabas disagreed so bitterly that Paul couldn’t even imagine working with Barnabas or Mark. They went their separate ways. Who do you think was right in the argument between Paul and Barnabas? How did God work in Paul and Barnabas’s separate missionary journeys? Read Colossians 4:10-11 and 2 Timothy 4:11 We don’t know exactly what the next decade of Paul’s relationship with Mark and Barnabas looked like, but we know that reconciliation happened to some extent. In the early 60s AD (over a decade later), Mark showed up in a few of Paul’s letters, and it’s clear they were working together in ministry again. There’s no detailed description of Mark’s role; he’s just mentioned in passing. If you’re reading Paul’s letters and you’re not clued in to the backstory, you might not even notice Mark’s name or connect it to the falling out that happened in Acts 15. What do you notice about how Paul described Mark in Colossians? How did Paul describe Mark in 2 Timothy? From Paul’s mention of Mark in Colossians, we learn that Mark was with Paul in Rome (or in its vicinity), because Paul said hello to the Colossian Christians from Mark. Second, we learn that Mark was actively engaged in ministry, because Paul called him “a fellow worker for the kingdom of God.” Third, Paul included Mark in the group of people who have been a comfort to him during his imprisonment. That’s a far cry from Acts, when Paul didn’t even want to travel with Mark! But the most telling reference to Mark is found at the end of 2 Timothy—widely believed to be Paul’s final letter before his martyrdom. Paul was in prison again, and in his final words to Timothy he described Mark as being very useful for ministry. At one time Mark was useless to Paul—so useless that he parted ways with Barnabas over the matter. Now he was very useful to Paul for his ministry. Read 1 Peter 5:13 What did you notice about how Peter described Mark? What do you make of Mark’s overall contribution to the first-century church? Mark had also become indispensable to Peter, who was engaged in ministry in Rome around the same time. The Mark that Peter mentioned and called his “son” is widely believed to be the same Mark who was in Paul’s circle. According to early Christian historical sources, Mark served as Peter’s interpreter in Rome during the final years of the apostle’s life. After Peter’s death, Mark—the man who at one time Paul thought unworthy as a travel companion—went on to write the Gospel of Mark, based in large part on Peter’s testimony. Despite Mark’s painful split with Paul, God had big plans for him. We don’t know exactly how their reconciliation came about, but their resumed ministry partnership is a poignant example for us. It doesn’t mean their reunion was easy. Luke says that Paul had a very bitter disagreement with Barnabas over Mark, and Paul probably didn’t see them again for a long time afterward, judging by the painfully slow rate of communication at that time and the uncertain itineraries of these early evangelists. Paul and Mark must have been proactive about working through their issues when they had the opportunity to do so. Have you ever experienced a falling out and reconciliation like Paul and Mark? What did God teach you through the process? Families need peacemakers. Workplaces need peacemakers. Governments need peacemakers. Communities need peacemakers. Peace does not happen automatically. True peace—not just a ceasefire—is hard-fought and must be humbly maintained through prayer and proactive measures. Peace does not happen through being passive aggressive or ignoring conflict. This is why Jesus’ disciple Peter encouraged us to “seek peace and pursue it” (1 Peter 3:11). The language Peter used has the connotation of persistent striving for peace. He knew that peace wasn’t easy. He heard Jesus say the words, “Blessed are the peacemakers,” and he experienced what a high calling it is. What do these passages teach us about restoring people to ministry despite their past failures? ____________________________Application __ _______________________ What risks are involved in seeking to resolve conflicts? Why should we accept those risks and work to resolve conflicts? In what ways are Christians uniquely equipped to be peacemakers in our circles of influence? How might God use peacemaking to bring people into a relationship with Him? Bible and Life Group Curriculum and commentary written by the Smallgroup Team at Lifeway Publishing. It is edited and distributed by Calvary Church with subscription and license from smallgroup.com. _______________ Deeper Dive into The Bible / Commentary _____________ Acts 13:1 Prophets and teachers apparently refer to functions and (possibly) offices within the early church. The teachers continued the apostolic function of transmitting Jesus’ message, while prophets conveyed divine revelation via interpreting the OT or giving new insights (11:27). This is the only reference in Acts to teachers, although the function of teacher is described elsewhere in the NT (1Co 12:28-29; Eph 4:11; 1Tim 1:7; 2:7; 3:2; 2Tim 1:11; 2:24). The group of prophets and teachers was diverse, including people from Africa and Cyrene, and at least one person (Manaen) who was connected to Herod’s household. 13:2-3 The routine of the prophets and teachers included ministering to the Lord and fasting. This helps to account for their openness to the Holy Spirit, who directed them to set aside Barnabas and Saul for a work to which the Spirit had called them. Barnabas and Saul were confirmed in their calling after a process of fasting, praying, and laying on of hands. This commissioning marks an important turning point in the history of the church, as Saul and Barnabas were selected to extend the gospel message beyond Judea and surrounding regions. 13:4 This verse describes the beginning of the first of Paul’s three missionary journeys. This journey included the island of Cyprus and a part of Asia Minor. The first two journeys began and ended in Antioch, which had become a center for world Christianity, committed to evangelizing Gentiles. Paul’s third journey ended in Jerusalem because he was arrested there before he could make his way to Antioch (see chap. 21). 13:5 Paul began his preaching efforts at local synagogues, continuing his early pattern. John (“John Mark,” 12:25) was with them for now (but see 13:13). 13:6 Just as Peter had a confrontation with a magician (Simon), so Paul confronted a sorcerer on Cyprus. Parallels in Acts between the lives of Peter and Paul have been noted by scholars. These include healing a lame man (3:2-8; 14:8-10; cp.
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