³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” ³⁷Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also. ³⁸But Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. ³⁹And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.

Ever having his eyes on the Gentile worlds and eventually “even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8, see also Rom. 15:2), Paul begins to lay plans to revisit the new church plants in Galatia. But trouble was brewing in his partnership with Barnabas over whether to bring along John Mark again. Much has been written about this split between the two, yet the Scripture is silent about laying blame on either one of them. Luke describes the conflict as “such a sharp disagreement”; it was severe enough that Paul and Barnabas could no longer work together. The word carries the sense of being provoked to great irritation. When we consider Barnabas’ reputation as an encourager, this speaks to just how significant the animosity was between the two.

Many have pointed out the familial relationship involved, namely that John Mark was a cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10) and that John Mark was well connected to a leading family in the Jerusalem church (Acts 12:12). If Paul had been part of that community, he might have been pressured to give John Mark a second chance—but being a relative outsider, he was immune to that community influence. We are simply told that Barnabas wanted to take John Mark along, with no reason given except that he refused to give in to Paul’s demand to leave him off the team. Neither would budge. Since the inspired text gives no thought of divine censure on either of the two, we best not make judgements where the Lord makes none.

To this point, Barnabas had had a tremendous influence over Paul, having advocated for him when his acceptance into the Jerusalem church was not initially extended (Acts 9:26–27). And Barnabas had the initial lead role in their first mission tour. Theirs was not a superficial relationship, which makes the split all the more disconcerting. And so while Barnabas takes along John Mark, Paul takes Silas (whom we remember had been a leading figure in the Jerusalem church—Acts 15:22), and they sailed off to Cyprus, the same first stop as on the first mission tour with Paul. Only later do we discover that Paul’s attitude toward John Mark softened (see Col. 4:10, 2 Tim. 4:11).

Lord, thank You for showing us that despite our strong disagreements, You can still use us to accomplish Your purposes.