After receiving the good news from the church in Jerusalem that Gentile believers were accepted as full and equal brothers in Christ, the church in Antioch became established as a strong church, known for its commitment to the word of God.
But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching, with many others also, the word of the Lord (Acts 15:35).
It was also the church from which Paul and Barnabas were sent on their first missionary journey, and thus became known as a hub for the growing outreach to Gentiles in Asia and eventually into Europe. The final verses of Acts 15 (vv. 36-41) tell of an unexpected turn in this missionary enterprise. Paul asked Barnabas to join him in visiting the churches in the cities where they proclaimed the gospel on their first outreach. But a conflict arose when Barnabas requested that John Mark go with them, and Paul refused because Mark had deserted them partway through their first journey. Verse 39 tells us that their disagreement was so strong that Paul and Barnabas separated and took different paths in ministry. That certainly strikes the reader as sad that two godly men, committed to the work and will of the Lord, could not reconcile and continue to work together – even if such events have continued to occur in ministries to this day. Many Bible students and commentators have weighed in on who was right and who was wrong and why. I am going to leave that with God since there are a number of details we are not aware of in the situation but that are known to God.
I am more impressed with how God worked in the midst of the human-ness of this occasion. Paul chose Silas, and they received the blessing of the congregation in Antioch for the ministry to go and strengthen the young churches in Syria and Asia Minor (vv. 40-41). The two would form a powerful team, used of the Spirit of God to advance the gospel into Europe and join in writing many of the epistles attributed to Paul. Generations of believers to this day (including me!) owe a great debt of gratitude to the faithful ministry of Paul and Silas.
As for Barnabas…I will say something about him in my next letter.