Contention - Acts 15:34-41

The letters instructing the saints in the matters decided about circumcision and the law of Moses are written and sent out, carried to them by the Apostles. Paul and Barnabas went to Antioch “teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.” After staying there a while, Paul tells Barnabas, “Let us go against and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.” It sounds to me like he wants to revisit the first mission route to make sure that all the converts are doing ok. Considering that he was whipped and almost bludgeoned to death on the last trip, it seems like a very brave move to want to go back, knowing what waits for him on that journey.

Barnabas agrees to go, but “determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.” Now if we remember, Mark went with them on their last mission, but left to go back when they left the island of Cyprus. We aren’t told why he left or really given any information, we can only deduce the nature of the split based on Paul’s reaction to Barnabas wanting to bring Mark again. “But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went now with them to the world.” The IM comments, “Though little is known about why John Mark left or what impact it had on the other missionaries, apparently Paul was still apprehensive about him… Paul and John Mark were later reconciled, as evidenced in 2 Timothy 4:11 and in Colossians 4:10.”
Paul and Barnabas had been through a lot together at this point, lots of violence, lots of success, surely lots of disappointment. Barnabas was the one who Jesus commanded Saul to see after his vision, Barnabas had been commanded of an angel to heal and care for Saul, despite his own reservations about his personal safety based on Saul’s reputation. Barnabas had vouched for Saul when he first came to Jerusalem, putting his own reputation and good standing in the Church in jeopardy.
They had been companions for many years, and at this point, maybe they just needed a break from each other. Apparently, John Mark was Barnabas’s nephew, so there is a family obligation there to help his kinsfolk grow strong in the gospel. But Paul and Barnabas cannot agree on whether or not to take Mark, “and the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, Confirming the churches.”
I think it’s interesting that when they split up, Barnabas took the route back through their first missionary journey and Paul went a different way, even though it was Paul’s idea in the beginning. I wonder why that worked out the way it did and if it is significant. Maybe it just demonstrates that the Holy Ghost directed Paul to go a different way and he was humble enough to be obedient.