Acts 13:1-2

Back in Antioch once more, the friends got on with the work.  But that was not all: they also devoted themselves to prayer and fasting along with the rest of the congregation.

Suddenly, a special message came from the Holy Spirit: Barnabas and Saul were to be sent away on a special work, preaching the word of God in many new areas.
Where would this lead them?

“You got what you wanted, Saul!”

“Yes, Barnabas.  Where shall we go first?”

“We’d been considering going to Cyprus before the Holy Spirit told us to go out preaching, so I reckon it makes sense to follow those plans.”

“Good.  I’m looking forward to seeing if the Roman roads will make our preaching easier.”

“It’s an interesting theory of yours.  There’s no doubt they’re excellent roads; amazing technology and well maintained.  And they’re the only ones that don’t become quagmires during winter.”

“Not to mention that they’re also very direct, and often have soldiers stationed on them to protect travellers.”

“Those soldiers might not always be a help!”

“Perhaps not, but I think they’ll scare away robbers.”

“Yes.  Well, we’ll see soon enough whether the roads are a help or not.”

“Then let’s sail off to Cyprus.  Then you’ll be able to start preaching in your homeland.”

“My homeland?  Sort of, I suppose.  Is Cilicia your homeland, Saul?”

“No, not really.  I suppose we’ve both chosen to spend a lot of time in Israel even though we were born outside it.”

“Of course: it is the promised land!”

“Though neither of us have any inheritance there since our families settled elsewhere.  At least now we might see some benefit from that – we’re more used to living and travelling among Gentiles than most of the brethren.  When should we leave, Barnabas?”

“I can leave tomorrow morning.  What about you?”

“Me too.  It won’t be any surprise to my host – he was in the congregation when the call came.”

“Mine was too.  Do you have any loose ends you need to tie up?  Any work to finish?”

“Just a couple of small jobs that I can finish today.  Mending a tent and completing that decorated saddle bag I’ve been working on for a while.  Then I’m ready to go.”  Saul clapped his hands together and smiled.  “I’m looking forward to it.”

“So am I,” agreed Barnabas, smiling too.  “I’ll be glad to see Cyprus again.  Particularly the beautiful scenery.”

“I know what you mean – I miss some of the scenery around Tarsus.  There are lots of bandits on the roads up towards the Cilician Pass, but it’s a lovely area.  Still, we’re not going to sightsee: all that matters is finding people to preach to.”

“Agreed.  Now, I was thinking it might be a good idea to take some others with us.  I expect we’ll find a lot of people interested in hearing the truth about Jesus Christ, so having other believers with us to talk to them would be a great help.”

“Hmm,” mused Saul.  “I hadn’t thought of that.  Is there anyone who’d be willing to go at such short notice?  I don’t want anything to delay our departure.”

“I know what you mean, and I don’t want to delay either.  But I was thinking: my cousin John Mark is interested in preaching, so he might be able to come with us.”

“Having a supporter sounds wise.  Do you think he’s the right man for the job?”

“Mark’s a faithful young man – quite a lot like his mother.  My only concern is that he’s had a comfortable life in Jerusalem and I’m not sure we’ll be very comfortable at times on this journey.”

“No, I’m not expecting it to be easy.”

“I think he should be able to learn to cope, though.  Shall I ask him if he wants to come?  He might not be able to.”

“Yes, why not ask him?” said Saul.  “The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of having a helper with us.”

“I’ll go and ask him now, and then I’ll have to decide what luggage I need to take.”

Saul threw up his hands mock apprehension and said earnestly, “Just don’t forget what Jesus said when he sent people out to preach: ‘Take no gold, silver or copper in your belt, take no bag for the journey, nor spare sets of clothes or sandals.’  We’re not taking a cart and horses!”

Barnabas laughed, then inquired more thoughtfully, “Do you think we should still be following those instructions?  After all, they were for people travelling in a small area, going from village to village.  We might be spending several days at a time on boats or on the road.  Won’t we need to carry a bit more with us than they did?”

“I expect we’ll be away for more than a year, so I reckon we’ll need a full set of clothes to allow for different temperatures in different seasons.  And we’ll need some money too, if only to pay for our boat passage.”

“Yes, I was thinking about the boat fare, too.  I’m don’t think I’ve got enough money to pay for my fare to Cyprus.  What about you?”

“It’ll be touch and go.  Like you, I’ve been spending as much time preaching as I can, only working when I have to.”

“We might have to work for a day or two in Seleucia to pay for our passage.”

“Maybe, but even so, I don’t think we should ask for money from the brethren here,” answered Saul.  “We can work while we travel, just as much as we need to cover our expenses.”

“Jesus did say that the labourer is worthy of his hire, so if people are willing to feed us or give us lodging, I think we should accept it.”

“I suppose so.  But we’ll be travelling among Gentiles in places we don’t know, so I think we’ll have to wait and see whether anyone offers any help or not.”

“But since we’re certain God wants us to go, we can trust him to look after us on the way.”

As he spoke, an older man entered the room where the pair were talking.  He waited until Barnabas finished speaking, then said, “Excuse me, brothers.  Since God chose you two to go out preaching, I’ve been thinking what I can do to help.  I want to give you some money toward your travel expenses.”  He offered some silver coins to Barnabas and continued, “Will you let me do that?  I feel too old to go out preaching myself, but I’m excited that you’re going and eager to help.  Please!”

Barnabas smiled at Saul and Saul gazed at Barnabas, shaking his head slowly as if in wonder.  Together they turned to the old man and Barnabas said, “You’ve just removed our first delay, Simeon.  We thought we’d have to work a while in Seleucia to pay for our passage to Cyprus, but now we can go immediately!”

“If the Lord is willing, we’ll leave tomorrow morning,” said Saul.  “Early.”

“The elders are arranging a special meeting for tonight to lay their hands on you both and send you off with their blessing,” answered Simeon.

“Thanks for telling us,” said Barnabas, looking a little concerned.  “I must go and find John Mark straight away or he won’t have any time to make up his mind.”

“Perhaps we should forget about asking him,” said Saul.  “Go by ourselves, just the two of us.  After all, that’s what Jesus told his disciples to do.”

“I think our journey is a bigger undertaking, Saul.  I think having someone like John Mark to help us will be invaluable when we’re so far from home.”

“Okay, if that’s what you want, go and ask him.  It can’t hurt.”