Honorable follower of Jesus Christ sold his land and gave it to the Apostles for the body of Christ.

Acts 4:36-37

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“And Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” Acts 4:36-37

On the map below, Cyprus is the island seen towards the middle of the image, where Barnabas was from. At that time, he was in Jerusalem, which is southeast of Cyprus [shown by the red dot]. Today, Cyprus is considered to be a member of the European Union.

Barnabas was considered a Levite, which meant he was authorized to perform the duties of a priest within the Jewish Temple. In those days, only Levites were allowed to be priests, that is called the Levitical priesthood. Those from the tribe of Levi were called Levites. However, when Barnabas decided to live by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by the laws of Judaism, he gave up his rights as a Levite and left the priesthood. He acknowledged Jesus as the Priest over the Temple, the temple of our body as the home of the Holy Spirit. As followers of Jesus Christ, our allegiance and faithfulness is to Him, not to the manmade churches.

The followers of Jesus Christ left the Jewish culture, their families, and previous way of life that was rooted in the laws of Judaism. This made them very dependent on one another, and many sold their land and homes and gave the proceeds to provide for the multitudes of the Way of Christ, as described in the previous post on Acts 4:32-35. Barnabas was one such person and was the same Barnabas that joined Paul on his missionary journeys to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as described in the post on Acts 13:4-5. Paul came to Jesus Christ in Acts 9, and his missionary journeys began in Acts 13 with Barnabas. Barnabas sold the land he owned and brought 100% of the money to the Apostles, to be distributed to provide for the necessities of the multiple thousands who gathered in the name of Jesus Christ.

The amount of the proceeds that Barnabas brought to the Apostles was not important, but that from the Holy Spirit within him he wanted to help provide for the necessities of fellow Christians. As Christians today, we do not have much to give to others, if anything at all, but the Holy Spirit within us still wants to contribute to fellow brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. Those contributions can be in words of encouragement, blogs, social posts, sharing insights from the word of God, and being a help in whatever way we can. Stephen waited on tables, a humble waiter, as described in Acts 6:1-7 and Peter didn’t have a penny to his name, as quoted, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” Acts 3:6

We live in a world where love has gone cold, and “…the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:7-11

“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.” Proverbs 10:12

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11