The Strong Were Weakened and the Weak Were Strengthened

Acts 15:36-16:5

There are people we look up to and then we’re disappointed by them. There are people we didn’t think would amount to much, but then we’re surprised when they do. This happens in the realm of politics. Certain leaders are very charismatic - they come with their experience, knowledge, and rhetoric - all sound very strong. But they don’t live up to the strength they conveyed. There’s a catastrophic display of immaturity and weakness. But they have their die-hard supporters who can’t acknowledge the bad behavior. But then, there’s the underdog. An inexperienced and young king comes to power - but then proves to be wise, just, and good. They surprise people, but at the same time, there are die-hard detractors. No matter what good has been done, he’s still the fresh young king. We tend to be very fixated on certain things. We can’t accept that the strong can be weak, and the weak can become strong. We’re not very nuanced people. This spills over into church as well. We look up to some because of their spirituality - but we’re flabbergasted when they make a mistake - as if they can never do that. Or someone once made a mistake - they can never be trusted. This spills over to the way we read scripture. Since Rahab’s faith was demonstrated by her works which James commended, some say all her works were righteous - even defending her lies. Or we look at Martha; we forever see her as not hungering after the word, but forget her service to Christ. We’re not very nuanced. And that’s a fault. It’s an easy way to think and operate; good guys and bad guys. Who doesn’t want to have such certainty in making judgment? But it’s not mature.

Today, we see a discouraging yet encouraging event in the life of the church. We see the inconsistency of God’s people - not their strength. But we also see how God loves us despite our such weakness. We see this passage in two points: Firstly, those who are strong can sometimes be remarkably weak. Secondly, those who are strong should strengthen the weak.

Firstly, those who are strong can sometimes be remarkably weak. We’ve just seen how the entire church with delegates from Antioch together with the elders and apostles in Jerusalem was united over their decision to comfort the Gentiles and to warn them to continue to follow after Christ and reject the world. Paul and Barnabas had returned to Antioch. We learn in verse 35 that they stayed awhile to teach and preach the Word of God. Why? Because misled men had brought consternation to them by saying they needed to try harder. So Paul and Barnabas, the spiritually strong, stayed behind to strengthen the weak. After they were strengthened, it was time for Paul and Barnabas to go back to the mission field. Verse 36 - Paul said to Barnabas - “Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do.” They decided to return to see how the Christians were doing. Why? To do what they did in Antioch. They desired to strengthen the weak Christians. We learn in verse 41, that Paul was involved in confirming or strengthening the churches. Of course, part of their duty was to deliver these letters from classis. Remember these letters were addressed to those in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia - places they had gone to on their first missionary journey. Acts 16:4 tells us they were to deliver the decreesordained by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. The purpose of their second missionary journey was to strengthen churches that had been unsettled and weakened by those who brought false teaching.

But something happened before they could do that. Verse 39 says, “And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other.” They had a disagreement - a big one - and they split from one another. There was disunity between Paul and Barnabas, disunity between two Christians; disunity between two brothers and church workers. It was a disunity between two elders and apostles. It was disunity between two children of God! The spiritually strong still had character weaknesses. Whatever happened to their friendship and unity they once shared? Consider their friendship. Barnabas helped Paul when no one else did. He went to call Paul to help out in Antioch because Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. And they went to the mission field together. Both experienced the hatred of the Jews. They were stoned and kicked out of cities together. Both had a common cause against the misled brethren from Judaea. Both debated and argued. And both went Jerusalem to be represent the gospel to classis. They were passionate for the true and eternal gospel of Christ. But what happened to their united defense and testimony of the gospel? They were now disunited, giving a bad testimony, fighting each other. But what they fought over was not the gospel, but over John Mark. Verse 37 says Barnabas wanted to bring Mark with them on this new journey, but Paul didn’t want to. Verse 38 says clearly the reason - Paul thought it not good to take Mark because he had departed from them in Pamphylia - he did not go with them to the work on the first missionary journey. This was serious enough to make Paul wary. It was not simply leaving and going home. The word used was “departed.” This means “abandonment” or “desertion” in Greek. And the structure is also significant. Literally, this is how the sentence is structured. But Paul, thought it good, who departed from Pamphilia and did not go with them to the work, not to take with them - him! There was an accusation. The “him” at the end showed the problem lay with Mark. Why? He had departed. And this was a big problem. Mark was assistant to the apostles. He was officially sent. But he didn’t complete his commissioned work. That was a problem. So it was risky to Paul to bring Mark again. If he abandoned them the first time, who’s to say that he won’t abandon them again? Maybe he left because he didn’t agree with bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. That would’ve been bad. Maybe he wasn’t used to sleeping on the floor, having grown up in a rich household. Or he wasn’t used to the food. Maybe he was uncomfortable eating with the Gentiles. He couldn’t stomach Maine lobster or Iberico ham. Or he couldn't take the persecution. We’re not sure. But what was clear is that he didn’t have the same ethos as they did. If he hadn’t settled these things, it’d be a problem at the next missionary journey. They would encounter more Gentles. They’d be persecuted. But these strong and hardy brethren couldn’t agree whether or not to take John Mark because of his past weakness. But in so doing, they showed their character weakness. They disagreed catastrophically. It resulted in sharp disunity. Verse 39 - “And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other.” They split. Meaning, they didn’t settle the issue. But could it be something more sinister? Colossians 4:10 says Mark and Barnabas were first cousins. Could Barnabas have favored Mark because of this? Was Paul upset with Barnabas for practicing nepotism? Maybe Paul thought Barnabas was so inclined because Mark was rich - after all, his mother hosted the whole church in her home. Whatever it was, these strong and mature brothers both insisted they were right. And they split. They were weak in the unity they were to be strong in.

And this was unfortunate because Mark, who was once spiritually weak had been made strong. The fact remains is that Mark was willing to return back to missions. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have gone with Barnabas to Cyprus. He was now strengthened from his previous weakness. Perhaps he heard the decision by classis and was now willing to reach the Gentiles. Maybe he had heard that Paul and Barnabas survived the persecution. Regardless, he was ready. And Paul knew this. But it’s sad, because Paul was once like Mark. Rather, Paul was worse. He persecuted Christians - attacking them when he was weak and blind. But he was restored. And Barnabas stood by him! And when he was restored, he did great things for the Lord. He was weak but became strong. He frequently called himself the least of the apostles. So how could he not consider Mark when he experienced the strengthening of God? Why the high and haughty spirit? Why the set and firm unwillingness to give a second chance when he was given many chances? Our strong apostle who endured opposition, gave in to his prejudices. The weak became strong, but the strong became weak.

In this, we may be tempted to despise Paul. How could he do this? But despite this, God was patient with him. The Strong One used the weak ones. God used Barnabas and Mark. God also used Paul and Silas. He used weak men for his glory despite their obvious weakness. We learn in verse 39 that despite the sharp contention, despite their parting of ways, despite the end of the unity; Barnabas took Mark to Cyprus; and Paul took Silas. And verse 41 tells us they confirmed or strengthened the churches. If you were Christ, would you have used Paul? So small hearted, so suspicious, so unforgiving! Surely, he could’ve deferred to Barnabas’ judgment on Mark. Imagine if the apostles in Jerusalem didn’t trust his judgment about Paul. But Christ is a strong God who strengthens weak people and uses them. Just as he used Paul, God also used Mark. He even reconciled them. He made Paul change his mind. In 2 Timothy 4:11 Paul said of Mark - “Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry.” He’s profitable. And at one stage, Mark was Paul’s companion in Ephesus. Mark was also Peter’s assistant, penning a gospel. All these examples serve to show us that the strong still have weakness. You think you’re an officer of the church? You've been a Christian a long time? You know the Bible more than others? You may not be mature. It’s true - some of the most knowledgeable, long-time Christians, are the most disagreeable persons. And we must know that sin continues to plague the church. It continues to plague us. No matter how successful the unity of the classis had been in coming to a resolution, there was still besetting sin. Weak Christians are the problem. But despite our weakness, Christ uses us for his glory. So who was weak and who was strong? In the end, we’re all weak, but Christ is strong. His grace is greater than all our sin. He strengthens our weakness.

Secondly, those who are strong should strengthen those who are weak by being weak. In Acts 16:1, when Paul and Silas came to Derbe and Lystra, we meet Timothy. Verse 2 says he “was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.” In other words, he was a man of some reputation - he was a believer who demonstrated spiritual strength. He was well reported - he had an honest report. This phrase was used to describe deacons in Acts 6. Timothy was church officer material. And Paul knew it. In verse 3, Paul wanted him to accompany the missionaries. But we see something odd in verse 1. He’s the son of a mixed marriage. His parents were of different races and religions - his father was Greek and his mother was Jewish. His mother was a Christian, likely converted when Paul first visited Lystra. And because his father was labelled Greek, it means he wasn’t a Jewish convert but a pagan. They probably married before she believed. So he never embraced Judaism or Christianity. And verse 3 says everyone knew his father was a Greek. It was prohibited - shameful - for a Jew to marry a pagan. But it happened. As a result, Timothy was not circumcised.

So what happened? We see this spiritually strong man became weak to strengthen the truly weak. Verse 3 says before Paul ordained him to the ministry, he had Timothy circumcised. But why? Circumcision was not necessary! The Jerusalem council just ruled it was not necessary. So why did Paul do it? To be clear, this circumcision didn’t violate Jerusalem’s decrees. Paul agreed with them. He was in Lystra to deliver them. It didn’t violate his theology. He frequently wrote elsewhere circumcision was nothing. So why did he do it? It’s because Paul knew they’d travel to places where there were Jews. Since they all knew Timothy’s father was Greek, they may not want to hear the gospel from him. Some of us here would say - if they won’t listen because of such a silly reason, forget them. If they’re so weak and discriminatory, they don’t deserve salvation. Well, imagine if God said that. We’d never be saved because we loved darkness more than light. But because the gospel was for the Jew first, Paul removed this barrier. He had him circumcised. But Timothy was a grown man - Paul couldn’t compel him. Which means he did it willingly. This showed his own strength and spirituality. He was willing to undergo a painful procedure, to accede to the weakness of unbelieving Jews. Paul said the same thing in 1 Corinthians 9. To the weak, he became weak. He was willing to eat pork to reach the Gentiles; he abstained from pork to reach the Jews. And likewise, Timothy, a strong spiritual man, did this for the gospel. Strength is not seen in how strongly we hold to our preferences; but how we let go of them for others. This is the gospel! Christ gave up heaven’s glory to identify with us. To be born - to be limited by a body, to suffer illnesses, to win us to God.

So one wonders why, if Paul could do that with Timothy, and go through so much trouble to win the scrupulous Jews; why couldn’t he show the same patience and consideration to John Mark? Why was he willing to show love to the Jews to win them, but not patience and love to John Mark to nurture him? If he could accommodate them, why not Mark? If Timothy was circumcised to make the Jews feel at ease - to achieve unity; why didn’t he strive the same way with Barnabas over Mark? These are tough questions. And we who are not nuanced, will want to support Paul all the way. We don’t want to acknowledge this weakness. But we must know that the strong can still be weak. But we still come to the same glorious conclusion. Christ - the strong one - uses the weak. But we learn in verse 5 - “And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.” Why? How could Christ use such a conflicted, double standard man? As we saw before, Christ as the Strong One uses the weak for his kingdom and purpose. The churches planted in these regions, had these strengthened weak men to come alongside them - men who were inconsistent and had their own problems - and the result was a strengthening and an addition to the church.

When we look at this text, we should see what the Spirit wants us to see - that this was an inexcusable, immature, weak, and sad event. It’s man after all. But we should see Christ - who used them despite their weakness. The fact that Paul, Barnabas, and Mark made up and Paul realized that Mark was profitable shows they grew out of their weakness into strength. Despite these bitter notes, there are sweet ones.

Let us then turn the application to ourselves. There are many who seem like they’re strong. Lots of knowledge, active in service. But they’re actually weak - because they’re critical and divisive. Are you this way? Many years a Christian, but not truly mature in character? The most dangerous person in church is the professional weaker brother who thinks he’s strong. He is knowledgeable, but hard, disagreeable, easily outraged, without considering the weaknesses of others. Are there professional weaker brethren here? Always. And it’s hard for them to admit. But if you are to be mature and strong, grow in your patience and love for others. Bear with their weaknesses - and their lack of knowledge. Be gentle as you instruct. Be humble as you learn. Grow in your knowledge of character - in the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. That’s true strength. They’re also the ones who know how to handle the professional weaker brother. Then there are many who are strong in zeal, but weak in knowledge. You have so many scruples - you’re setting up rules to be more spiritual. Grow in your knowledge of the gospel and the sufficiency of Christ. Learn from those who are patient and loving and mature; don’t be drawn to those who are only strong in words but weak in character. You may end up like them. Learn the meekness of Christ. This was a lesson that even Paul and Barnabas - strong men - still had to learn.

You see, in church are not strong or inconsistent. That’s the truth. But the weaknesses of these supposed strong men showed that Christ was strong. Despite their weakness, the church increased. God was the one who used the weakness of these people to highlight the strength of Christ as the king and the shepherd of his church. Ultimately, Christ is the one who grows his church and leads it perfectly.

1. The Strong Can Be Remarkably Weak

A. The spiritually strong help the spiritually weak

B. The spiritually strong still have character weaknesses

C. The spiritually weak can be made strong

D. The Strong One uses weak ones

2. The Strong Should Strengthen the Weak

A. He demonstrated spiritual strength

B. He became weak to strengthen the weak

C. The Strong One uses weak ones