Koine Foundations

³⁶ After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and look in on the fellow believers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they’re doing.”

³⁷ Now Barnabas wanted to also take along John, who was called Mark. ³⁸ But Paul did not think it was appropriate to take Mark along, who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia* and had not gone on with them in the work.

³⁹ There was such a sharp disagreement that they separated from each other, and so Barnabas took Mark along with him and sailed away to Cyprus. ⁴⁰ But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being entrusted to the grace of the Lord by the fellow believers. ⁴¹ Then he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. (Acts 15:36-41)

*A region in the south of Asia Minor. See map below.

---

Word Focus
sharp disagreement
παροξυσμός
paroxusmos
<Hear It>

I incite, provoke
παροξύνω
paroxunō
<Hear It>

The writer named Luke wrote two books in the New Testament – the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, commonly called simply Acts. The Gospel of Luke records selected historical events from the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts continues the story after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, documenting how the first generations of Christians spread the Good News to the world.

The verses at the top of this post are from Acts 15:36-41. The incident took place around AD 49 (Jesus Christ was crucified in either AD 30 or 33). The main characters are:

Paul – One of the most influential leaders in the early church. He was a Jewish Pharisee who initially persecuted Christians, but then became a believer after the resurrected Christ appeared to him (see Acts 9:1-19). After that, he travelled extensively to spread the Good News. He is responsible for writing 13 of the books in the New Testament.

Barnabas – He was a prominent leader in the early church. His name was actually Joseph, but he was nicknamed Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement”, because of his gift in encouraging others (see Acts 4:36). He had a significant role in mentoring Paul after he became a believer.

John Mark – Probably the cousin of Barnabas.

The background to this incident is this. Several years earlier (AD 47), Paul and Barnabas had been commissioned by the church in Antioch to conduct a missionary outreach (Acts 13:1-3). Taking John Mark along, they traveled through southern Asia Minor, successfully preaching in a number of cities. When they arrived in the city of Perga in Pamphylia (see map below), John Mark left them and went to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13). Paul and Barnabas continued on and completed the mission, returning to Antioch. This entire mission occurred in AD 47 and 48 and is now referred to as Paul’s First Missionary Journey. You can read the full account in Acts 12:25 to 14:28.

Luke does not tell us why John Mark left the mission at Perga. Here are some of the reasons suggested by commentators:

• Homesickness
• The rigors of travel and the mission
• Discouragement over the initial results of the mission
• Dissatisfaction with Paul’s leadership
• Disagreement with preaching the Good News directly to gentiles

Whatever the reason, Paul regarded Mark’s departure as desertion, suggesting that it was for more than merely personal reasons.

This brings us to the incident reported in the verses at the top of this post. After a few months rest in Antioch, Paul decided it would be a good idea to revisit the believers converted on the previous missionary journey to check on their spiritual growth. Barnabas wanted to take Mark along. (Apparently he had returned to Antioch from Jerusalem.) However, Paul objected. This led to a sharp disagreement (παροξυσμός / paroxusmos) between Barnabas and Paul. Luke does not explain why Paul was opposed, other than it involved Mark’s departure from the mission.

Sharp disagreement is a translation of the noun παροξυσμός / paroxusmos which is used only two times in the Greek New Testament (Acts 15:39 “sharp disagreement“; Hebrews 10:24 “spur“), and 2 times in the Old Testament Greek Septuagint (LXX). The related verb παροξύνω / paroxunō is also used only two times in the Greek New Testament (Acts 17:16 “greatly distressed“; 1 Corinthians 13:5 “easily angered“), but 44 times in the Old Testament Greek Septuagint (LXX). The basic idea behind these words is inciting or provoking an emotion or mood. In many uses in the New Testament and Septuagint, the emotion is related to anger. However, the affective expression does not have to be negative. For example, in Hebrews 10:24 the author writes:

Lets us think about how to incite [παροξυσμός / paroxusmos] one another to love and good deeds.

In the case of Paul and Barnabas, the response was a sharp disagreement that probably involved anger. Luke is honest in his reporting this. He did not have to include it. The Bible reports the good and the bad that people do for our instruction.

This incident illustrates that good people can have legitimate disagreements. Paul regarded Mark’s defection as a serious matter and probably felt that he would not be reliable. Barnabas probably saw an opportunity to mentor and develop Mark. Apparently they were unable to resolve their disagreement and simply parted company to minister in different ways.

This incident also illustrates how God can use human weaknesses for good and to further His purposes. The result was two missionary outreaches instead of one.

Paul’s choice of Silas (verse 40) who was a Roman citizen like Paul (Acts 16:37), fluent in Greek, and a useful amanuensis (1 Peter 5:12), provided the team an advantage to spread the Good News to Roman and Greek areas of the empire.

Barnabas returned to his native island of Cyprus with Mark, to continue the ministry that was founded with Paul and to mentor Mark. Apparently Barnabas’ encouragement of Mark was successful, because he eventually became a ministry helper with the Apostle Peter and wrote the Gospel of Mark.

It also appears that any hard feelings over the matter were resolved. Later in his ministry, Paul came to appreciate and work with Mark. Paul calls him a “fellow worker” and says that he is helpful to his ministry (see Colossians 4:10; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 1:24). Barnabas is also mentioned as a co-worker with Paul (see 1 Corinthians 9:6 and possibly 2 Corinthians 8:18-19).

---

Word Focus Lexicon

Lexical Form: ὁ παροξυσμός παροξυσμοῦ <Hear It>
Gloss: provoking, rousing to activity, sharp disagreement
Part of Speech: Second Declension Masculine Noun
New Testament Frequency: 2 (Acts 15:39; Hebrews 10:24)
Old Testament Uses: 2 times in LXX
Strong’s Number: G3948 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

Lexical Form: παροξύνω <Hear It>
Gloss: Active – I incite, arouse, irritate, provoke; Passive – I become irritated, angry
Part of Speech: Liquid Verb
New Testament Frequency: 2 (Acts 17:16; 1 Corinthians 13:5)
Old Testament Uses: 44 times in LXX
Strong’s Number: G3947 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

Grammar Note: παροξύνω is a liquid verb. A liquid verb is a verb whose stem ends in the consonant lambda (λ), mu (μ), nu (ν), or rho (ρ). This causes special changes to occur when forming the future and first aorist tenses.

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.