The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 22

the rejection of Mnrk as a fellow-labourer in the wotk before them, is best a~countet! for on the supposition that he conld not as yet discern in the young·man this complete eml\ncipation from the prejudices of a Jew. ''·' '•-- • •·' : Separation of Barnabas and Paul. After the painful rupture which ensued betweiln the two holy men, the blAme of which, so far as we are able' to' jud~e, lay altdgether on the side of Barnabas, the latter, reeognb:ing the present can· of' duty· to which St. Pau'l had drawn his attention, undertook one portion of the propo~ed .. tour •or l"isitation, sailing 11way with Mark to Cyprus. _This island, far more''iieb'sely, peopled then than now, was not on:ly their native country, or at least St·Barnabas•t b_ut also opened before them an ample and congenial sphere of !about in a population of_ which Jews formed a very large if not even a preponderant proportion. An agrebmenrappe'nrs to have been come to that St. Paul should him.self undertake the remaining part of the service. Accordingly, adopting Silas for his fellow-worket, he erb.barke1l ·on the exten- sive, laborious, and perilous enterprise of retraversi□g the ground already twice gon~ over in Asia Minor, being no doubt prepared further to go ori elsewhere, whithersoever the Spirit of ·Christ should lead them. St. Luke, significantly siient as to any similar circumstance attending St. Barnabas's departure, adds; "Paul ·set forth, commended to the grace of tbe Lord by the brethren." • St. Paul and St. Barnabas repeatedly appointed <Jhurch envoys: Thicharndter of (Church-commissioned) " apostle," which had before been. staaiped upon Paul'~ personality when sent forth with Barnabas, might, apart from this spedal • fresh commendation of him to the Divine grace in the work now before him, have·be~li considered to be still clinging to him when going forth with Silas; for the work w.a~ the proper and indeed necessary continnation of that for which he had been set. apart in conjnnction with Barnabas. At all events, that renewed com'menaation •by' the brethren implied the renewing of the stamp of apostleship upon St. Paul, as ·it:·allio imparted the like character to Silas. . • ' • On fuur several occasions before this had St. Paul· 'received in the· Church either a commission or 11, recognizing attestation which would of itself, accordihg to the usage of the time, entitle him to the appellation of " apostle; " _and on each occ.asioa. in conjunction with Barnabas. 1. When sent np from .Antioch "to the elders" at Jerusalem with ·a contribution for the needs of the Christian poor of Judrea (Acts _xi. 30; xii. 25). . ' 2. When, upon a special se.ored desi~nation for the' function by' the Holy, Spirit~ they were sent forth in compa.ny upon their evangelizing tour in Asia Minor (Actii'xiii., xiv.), when the appellation of "apostles" is expressly assigned to •thetii by. the hist-0rian. . • . .. • 3. When they, in conjunction"wi_th certain other brethren, wer_e despatched to Jerusalem by the Antiochian Christians to confer with the apostles and elders on the question of the neces~ity of circumcision (Acts xv. 2). • • •• .. , 4. When they were commissioned by the_ apostles and •elders, acting with the expressed concurrence of the whole Church of Jerusalem, tci bear, iri d:mjunction with "J ude,s Barsabas and Silas, lead in:.; men am.-0ng the brethren," to ~h_e Gcoti)o con,vJrt11 1 of "Antioch and in Syria and Cilicia," that ir:i::tportant letter;'tho' Magna ,Charta. of tp 0 Gentile Church, by which the Church " and the Holy Ghost" solemnly gtia.rant~ed the freedom of Gentile believers from the Mosaic La.w. • • • ·' • '··· • With referenee to what passed on . the important occas'ion of that confcrerice 'it Jerusalem we have further to note the following words ~hlch St; Paul. ,.hate to. tl1e Galatians some yea.re later: ''·James [the Lord's brother, head ruler of tho Church of Jerusalem] and Cephas and John [the chidest of the twelve apostles], who' a~e recog•  DISSERTATION I. uxv