Unlikely Leaders

71/218

Paul’s Secret: Exalt the Cross

This chapter is based on Acts 15:36-41; 16:1-6.

After spending some time at Antioch, Paul suggested to Barnabas, his fellow worker, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they are doing.” ULe 76.1

Both Paul and Barnabas had a special interest in those who had accepted the gospel under their ministry, and they longed to see them once more. Even when he was far away from the scene of his earlier labors, Paul tried to help these converts become strong in faith and wholehearted in their consecration to God. ULe 76.2

Barnabas was ready to go, but he wanted to take Mark with them. Paul objected. He “insisted that they should not take with them” someone who had left them for the safety and comforts of home during their first missionary journey. He argued that anyone with so little stamina was not fit for a work that required self-denial, bravery, faith, and a willingness to sacrifice even life itself. Their disagreement was so sharp that “Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas and departed.” ULe 76.3

Paul and Silas finally reached Derbe and Lystra. A mob had stoned Paul at Lystra, yet he was anxious to see how those who had accepted the gospel were enduring difficulty. He was not disappointed, for the Lystrian believers had remained firm in the face of violent opposition. ULe 76.4

Here Paul again met Timothy, who was convinced that it was his duty to give himself fully to the work of the ministry. He longed to share the apostle’s labors. Silas, Paul’s companion, was an experienced worker, gifted with the spirit of prophecy, but the work was so great that they needed more laborers. In Timothy Paul saw someone who appreciated the sacredness of the work and was not afraid to meet persecution. Yet the apostle did not dare to take Timothy, an inexperienced youth, without fully satisfying himself about his character and past life. ULe 76.5