And Joseph, who had been surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which is, being interpreted, Son of consolation), a Levite, Cyprian by birth,
Luke has just described believers selling property to help the needy. Then he stops to name one man — a Levite from Cyprus whom the apostles had re-named. Why single out this one giver? And what does his new name say about him?
One writer explains the name and why English versions render it in different ways:
The apostles noticed him, and he had so impressed them that they gave him the nickname Barnabas. Barnabas seems to be a Hebrew word. But the reason the apostles gave him this name was important, so the Holy Spirit saw fit to translate it. The meaning of the name Barnabas is added in Scripture. Different English translations give a different emphasis. I have seen "Son of Consolation", "Son of Encouragement", "Son of Exhortation", "Son of Comfort". The Greek word translated "consolation", "encouragement", "exhortation", "comfort" means "a calling alongside to help". The word holds all of these emphases together.
Commentators differ over which sense fits best here. One study of the same Greek word prefers the stronger, more active meaning:
The Greek verb parakaleo means calling on a person to stir him up to something. It may be to comfort; but it often refers to other things, to exhortation in general... In Acts 4:36 the name Barnabas, huios parakleseos, should probably be "son of exhortation" and not "of consolation."
In Scripture, calling a man the "son" of something says what he is like:
Sons reproduce the typical or distinctive traits of their fathers. Scripture often uses this idea of a son standing for his father in moral matters. So the "sons of disobedience" (Eph. 2:2) are those whose conduct displays disobedience as clearly as a son resembles a father. Barnabas showed the features of consolation so clearly that he was called the "son of consolation" (Acts 4:36).
Another writer links the name to his gift, his background, and the work still ahead of him:
Barnabas was a Levite. His own name was Joseph; but he received the surname, or title, of Barnabas because of the character of his ministry, as one who exhorted. Clearly that was his special gift (11:23). And his surname, which means son of exhortation and not consolation, implies it. Here he appears on the scene for the first time. Later he would play a large part, for a time, in the great work of taking the gospel to the nations. He came from Cyprus, and so he was a Greek-speaking Jew, as Paul was by birth as well. All we learn of him here is that he sold his field — for Levites could own land of their own — and of his own free will he laid the price of it at the apostles' feet.
One writer points out why his tribe makes the gift striking:
Scripture draws particular attention to Joses, surnamed Barnabas, a Levite from the country of Cyprus. Levites in Israel received tithes from the people (Heb. 7:5), but grace so worked in the heart of Barnabas that he sold land he owned and gave the proceeds to the apostles for the common fund.
Selling the field also said something about where his hopes now lay:
Barnabas sold his land and laid the money at the feet of the apostles. By this he gave a striking testimony to how he grasped, as a believing Jew, his heavenly portion — by giving up earthly possessions, the very thing promised to the Jew.
Why does Scripture name one giver at all? One writer draws a conclusion from it:
Among those marked out by a love for fellow believers that stripped them of their own goods, Scripture specially records the name of Joseph, surnamed Barnabas, who became well known later on... Naming him here proves how little the practice had become compulsory. Why name Barnabas in particular, if it were an absolute and universal rule? Where people copy others, in the world or even in the church, law-work takes the place of grace. The community swallows up the individual, and that destroys love on one side and conscience on the other.
One writer sees a man clearing his life for service:
Here is a man untangling himself from the things of this life. He is ready to enter the service of the One who had called him to be a soldier, and he has a heart for the needy too. We see him getting rid, for Christ's sake, of the things that might weigh him down and tie him up in the race.
- Named — The apostles renamed Joseph "Barnabas". Scripture stops to translate it: one called alongside others to help.
- Nature — A "son of" name marks a man who shows that quality as plainly as a son resembles his father.
- Gift — Commentators read the word as exhortation, not only comfort, and tie it to the character of his ministry.
- Grace — A Levite lived off the tithes of others; grace turned the receiver into a giver of his own field.
- Freedom — No rule forced his gift, and that is why his name stands out. Where copying replaces grace, law takes over and destroys both love and conscience.
being possessed of land, having sold [it], brought the money and laid it at the feet of the apostles.
A Levite from Cyprus sells his field and lays the money at the apostles' feet — the first appearance of a man who would later carry the message to the nations. Why is this one giver named, was such giving required, and what does laying money at another's feet mean?
The record gives his tribe, his birthplace, and his property. One writer notes that a Levite could own land, and that Barnabas gave of his own free will:
Barnabas was a Levite. His own name was Joseph; but he was given the added name Barnabas because of the kind of ministry he had: he was an encourager. Clearly that was his special gift (11:23), and his added name, which means son of encouragement rather than son of comfort, says so plainly. Here he appears on the scene for the first time. Later he would play no small part, for a time, in the great work of preaching the gospel to the nations. He was a Levite from the island of Cyprus, and so a Greek-speaking Jew. Paul belonged to that group by birth too. Both men were called out by name to begin the great missionary work in Asia Minor (13:2). For now, all we learn of him is that he sold his field — Levites could own land of their own — and of his own free will he laid the price of it at the apostles' feet.
Why single out one man when many were selling property? The naming itself is the argument that this was never a rule:
One name stands out among those marked by a love for fellow believers that stripped them of their own goods: Joseph, surnamed Barnabas, who became well known later (verses 36, 37)… He came from Cyprus, and we are told he was a Levite, yet he owned a field. He sold it and laid the money at the feet of the apostles. The plain mention of this here proves how little the practice had become compulsory. Why name Barnabas in particular, if it were an absolute and universal rule? Where people copy such things in the world, or even in the church, law-keeping takes the place of grace. The group swallows up the individual, and love is destroyed on one side and conscience on the other.
Earlier in Acts the believers handed their goods to the poor themselves. Here the money passes through the apostles first, and one writer counts that a gain:
In chapter two the rich gave to the poor themselves. That can hardly be done without adding importance to the giver. But in chapter four the rich laid their money at the apostles' feet. We would take this as a sure sign of increased humility, and of greater devotedness.
The order behind the act matters as much as the act:
It was good that they should give, but doubly good that they should give in such a way as this. They might have begun and ended by simply giving some of their goods. Instead, they first gave themselves to the Lord. They handed themselves over to Him, to be wholly at His disposal. Then, as a result, they gave as He directed and as all His love prompted, laying their possessions at the apostles' feet, according to His will.
Land in Israel carried promise with it. Selling it was, for a Jewish believer, a statement about where his true portion now lay:
The ending of the previous chapter is beautiful. Barnabas sold his land and laid the money at the feet of the apostles. By this he gave striking proof that, as a believing Jew, he had grasped that his portion was a heavenly one. He gave up what is promised to the Jew: earthly possessions.
The gift also clears the ground for the service ahead:
Here is a man untangling himself from the things of this life. He is ready to start serving the One who had called him to be a soldier, and he has a heart for the needy too. We see him getting rid, for Christ's sake, of the things which might burden and hamper him in the race. (Heb. 12)
One writer turns that start into a question for the reader:
This you have Barnabas beautifully illustrating (Acts 4:36-37). He makes a beautiful start, for there is the complete surrender of all that he had to Christ. I wonder if you, my reader, have started so. I do not believe there is a real start, if Christ has not become everything to the soul.
- Grace first. No rule made Barnabas sell his field. If giving had been compulsory, there would be no reason to name him here. Where people copy the act, law-keeping takes the place of grace.
- Land laid down. A Levite could own land. Barnabas sold his of his own free will, showing that his portion was now a heavenly one.
- Self laid down. They gave themselves to the Lord first, and only then gave their possessions as He directed.
- Credit laid down. Earlier the rich gave to the poor themselves. Here the money passed through the apostles — a sure sign of deeper humility and devotedness.
- A course begun. Free of what could hamper him, Barnabas is later called out by name to begin the mission to the nations.