With and Without Hindrance

Preached by Benjamin Vrbicek

September 6, 2020

Scripture Reading

Acts 15:36-16:10

15:36 And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” 37 Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. 38 But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. 39 And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

16:1 Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Introduction 

It could be helpful for us to think about the book of Acts like a beautiful painting done by a master painter. The painting is huge, more like a giant mural. And still, every stroke of the painting, every color, every technique brings out certain details and tells a story. As we preach through the book of Acts, it can seem each sermon cuts with scissors the painting into twenty or thirty smaller pieces. We do that because the painting is just too big and beautiful to look at in one setting, and because even beholding just a scrap of the painting, we can see the skill of the artist.  

But sometimes when we cut the book up, it can be less easy to see how each piece of the painting pertains to the whole painting. As we come to a stopping point, I want to hold up one more piece of the painting, one more passage from the book of Acts. But as I hold it up, I want to make clear again how this piece fits with the overall theme of the book.  

We titled the sermon series “Without Hindrance.” We got that title from the last word, in the last verse, in the last chapter of the book of Acts. In the Greek it’s just one word, a word that means without hindrance. It’s really a strange word to put at the end of this book; the whole book is filled with hindrances. The ironic but true point is that the masterpiece that is the book of Acts has been crafted in such a way to show us that no matter what hindrances are stacked against God’s church, God will build his church. Over and over again, the book of Acts shows us that there is no hindrance so big as to disrupt the plan and purposes of our God to bless his people, build his church, and magnify the glory of his grace. 

Now, it just so happens that as I hold up our passage this morning, the scrap of the painting has two little pictures on it, and each one highlights a potential hindrance. Let’s look at the first.  

First Hindrance: Conflict among Leaders 

Let me read the end of chapter 15 where we see the hindrance of conflict among leaders.  

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” Now Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. (Acts 15:36–41) 

Verse 39 speaks of a “sharp disagreement.” I will tell you that Christians have been looking at this passage for 2,000 years, and there is something of a sharp disagreement about their sharp disagreement. Who was right—Paul or Barnabas? Who was wrong? Who was sinning, and who was not?  

We don’t know the answer. But their disagreement would have been uncomfortable for everyone around these leaders. I’ve been actively involved in Christian ministry for nearly twenty years, sometimes as a volunteer and sometimes on staff, and I could tell you of tense meetings where leaders had sharp disagreements. And in those meetings, those who were around the leaders became tense and confused. Those around the leaders felt pressured to take a side. Maybe you’ve worked somewhere like this. Maybe you work somewhere like this now. Maybe your parents have sharp disagreements far too often, and you lie in bed wondering what will happen to your parent’s marriage.  

This situation between Paul and Barnabas was a real hindrance. And it was a surprising hindrance. Paul and Barnabas’s friendship goes back a long time. Before Paul was dramatically converted by Jesus, he used to hate Jesus and Christians. But when no one else would vouch for Paul’s change of heart, Barnabas did (Acts 9). Your favorite band may break up, or your team may trade your favorite player, but you would not expect Paul and Barnabas to part ways.1 They were persecuted as they served Jesus together. When Paul was stoned and left for dead, the next day he and Barnabas traveled to the next town to preach about Jesus. That kind of suffering forges friendships. They’ve been in the trenches of ministry together.  

Their argument was over whether to bring John Mark with them on the next missionary journey. Apparently, John Mark had previously left them. We read about it in Acts 13:13, but it’s not clear why John Mark left; it’s only a passing sentence. Barnabas is saying, “Yes, let’s take John Mark,” while Paul is saying, “No, let’s not.” It’s helpful to mention that John Mark was a younger cousin to Barnabas (Colossians 4:10). They were related.  

That detail might help you see the disagreement better. Barnabas has a big heart and wants to give Mark, his cousin, another chance and says Paul is too focused on the mission. Paul says Barnabas is blinded by his family ties. Both accusations sting.  

So which is better, loyalty to people or a mission? Or can it be both? It’s hard to know who was right, and we certainly don’t have all the details, but we know they split up. Mark and Barnabas go to Cyprus to strengthen the churches, where Barnabas is from. The rest of the narrative in Acts, which we’ll come back to in January, follows Paul. Acts tells us nothing more about John Mark and Barnabas. The hindrance was real. It should temper our expectations as we look for churches and leaders. You won’t find a perfect one—not even if the Apostle Paul and beloved Barnabas were your pastors. Let that sink in. There is such a thing as bad churches, sure. So you should go to a good church if you can. But know that even your good church will have conflict.  

This is where I want to tie the picture in this passage to the theme of “without hindrance.” We don’t hear any more about Mark in the book of Acts. But in God’s sovereignty, Mark went on to become a close associate of Peter. And Mark wrote the gospel of Mark, that’s a legacy, right? And in Paul’s letters written after this, he mentioned Mark positively (Col. 4:10; 2 Tim. 4:11; Philem. 24). In fact, from a Roman prison at the end of Paul’s life with winter approaching soon, Paul wrote to a young pastor named Timothy. In that letter, Paul wrote, “Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11). 

This conflict was a hindrance. Probably some amount of sin was involved, at least in the way they treated each other. But when you hold this scrap of the painting back up to the whole mural, we see that in the grace of God this hindrance doubled missionary efforts, and in the end, it would seem God even healed the relationship. This is not to excuse sin; but it is to point out that, while there are no perfect churches and leaders,  there is the grace of God and his mission to build his church.  

Speaking of a letter to a young pastor named Timothy, we read about him next.  

Second Hindrance: Costly Evangelism 

Let’s look at the second hindrance in the first few verses in Acts 16. As I read it, be looking for the potential hindrance. 

Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily. (Acts 16:1–5)

So what’s the hindrance here? It’s not so obvious as the last one. I’ll tell you what I see as a potential hindrance: Costly evangelism. I’ll explain more. We have to backtrack first. Last week, Ben preached from Acts 15. The churches had a controversy about salvation and convened a council in Jerusalem to discuss it. This was the controversy: does a Gentile have to observe the ceremonial laws of God as prescribed in the Old Testament to be saved? A few Jewish people said yes people must follow the Old Testament ceremonial purity laws to be saved—the laws about clean and unclean foods, and clean and unclean practices. You want to be a Christian, then do them.  

But, as Ben pointed out so well, the council upheld the gospel of God’s free grace. One does not have to practice the Old Testament ceremonial laws. We are saved by turning from our sins and trusting in Jesus. When Jesus died, he absorbed our sins to himself. And when we trust him, God looks at us with all the love he has for his own son Jesus. That’s the good news of Christianity. That’s the gospel. And that is what the council in Jerusalem upholds. They only write that, believers “should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality” (Acts 15:29).  

Now, a quick but important aside. Ben pointed out that these statements are about evangelism. Believers were not bound to avoid these four things so that they can be saved. But if they were to do ministry with Jews, their evangelism would be more successful if they did avoid these four things.  

You might have noticed that one of those is not like the other. A Christian today reading that passage should be struck by the fact that avoiding sexual immorality doesn’t seem in the same category as eating kosher food or not. To say avoiding sexual immorality is just about evangelism could make it seem like God is saying, “If you’re around people who care about the Old Testament, then don’t commit sexual sin because avoiding that will help them get to know Jesus better. But if you’re around people that are okay with you sleeping around, then don’t worry about it.” 

That’s not at all what it means. Those four items—meat sacrificed to idols, blood, animals that have been strangled, and sexual immorality—create a matrix with a specific meaning. When grouped together, they can mean one of two things, and likely both. It could be saying that the Gentile cult religious system had all of these, so likely it would be good to avoid even the perception of association with meat that has been sacrificed to idols and blood and temple prostitution, and so on because that would be confusing to a Jewish person. Don’t even eat the leftover meat sold at certain markets because it came from pagan sacrifices, which was a real issue in the early church that Paul address in another letter (1 Corinthians 8). The other option is that this had to do with laws in Leviticus about ceremonial purity (clean and unclean) that no longer apply to a Christian because they are done away with in Jesus. For example, there are laws about a husband and wife being together while she is on her monthly period. That law is done away with in the New Testament, along with all the other ceremonial laws about purity.  

So, in summary, sexual sin is always wrong in the New Testament, but this matrix likely either had in mind a few specific things from the Old Testament or cult temple worship done by Gentiles, which should hinder evangelism if handled wrongly by Christians, so avoid them.   

To frame it in our context, we might say that if we were going to share about Jesus with strict Muslims, there would be extra sensitivity to modesty. Or let’s say you worked at Netflix. A Christian could, I believe, work for Netflix. It’s a huge company, employing people in all sorts of roles: human resources, graphic design, project management, accounting, product procurement, marketing, and so on. But if you worked for Netflix, even if you had nothing to do with the portion of the business that creates obscene sexual content, you would recognize, wouldn’t you, that just working for Netflix could be a huge stumbling block as you helped a strict Muslim come to know and love Jesus. You might have to change your job—not to be saved, but to reach a certain group of people. That’s what chapter 15 is about.  

Now that may feel like it has nothing to do with this passage or your life, but it does. What would you give up for the sake of seeing others know and love Jesus? What would you sacrifice voluntarily so see other people have the joy in Jesus that you have? 

Look again at v. 3, which says, “Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.” 

Timothy has a Greek father and a Jewish mother. Timothy followed his mother, but because of the influence of an unbelieving father, they could not fully practice their faith. Some of you have homes like this. There are wives here who might like to give money to God at church or send children to Christian school, but that’s not going to happen because your husband is not a Christian, so you don’t. That’s Timothy’s home.  

If young Timothy had just gone with Paul to do ministry, the strict Jews would have said, “Well, sure Timothy might see Jesus as the Messiah, but he’s not a real Jew. He’s not a serious, strict Jew. We can’t trust his opinion on the Messiah.” The issue of circumcision would have been a stumbling block to evangelism. So, Timothy got circumcised as an adult, not to be saved but to reach people for Jesus.  

I don’t want to be silly or get giggles but consider the cost. To undergo a small, painful surgery for the sake of the lost, that’s a potential hindrance. Where did this kind of passion come from? 

There’s a phrase I’ve heard pastors and authors say before that helps me understand where this kind of sacrificial passion to reach people for Jesus might have come from. The phrase goes, “What you call them with, you call them to.” It means that the environment you are nurtured in and the things that originally win you over, shape the kind of person you then become. So, in ministry, we might say the kind of Christianity that we experience when we are won to the Lord shapes what type of a Christian we become. If you’re won to Christianity by promises of health and wealth, that will shape what you expect from Jesus as your life goes on. (Christian parents and Christian educators take this to heart.) 

Timothy most likely became a Christian five years before this when Paul visited his city of Lystra. And in that city, Paul was stoned because of his faith in Jesus (Acts 14:8–23). Five years later, Paul comes back, and when Timothy hears about Paul, Timothy wants to go with Paul. When Timothy learns what that will cost him, he says, “I get it, but count me in. I’ve seen that type of passionate, sacrificial Christianity displayed in, you, Paul, and I’m in.”  

Just an encouragement to all of you. How you suffer, matters. You may have suffering in your life that is so significant you don’t even know how you can serve Christ. But know this: by suffering well, by clinging to the goodness of Jesus even when you don’t have all the answers, that makes a lasting impression on those inside the church and outside. This year, 2020, is a wonderful year to show people who awesome Jesus is.  

What we call you with, we are called to. If the environment you were bought up in Christian didn’t know this kind of sacrificial love for Jesus that was displayed in Paul, you’ll have some work for you as you keep following Christ. But see the encouragement too. Ministry done unto the Lord is never fruitless even when it looks that way. In God’s grace, God gives us a glimpse of the result of Timothy’s sacrifice.  

Look at v. 5. Luke adds one of his many summary statements throughout the book: “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily” (Acts 16:5). It’s as if Luke is grabbing our attention. He’s putting his hands on our shoulders. He’s saying, “Friends, I’ve said a lot so far. Some of it feels obscure. But don’t miss the point of what I’m saying. Don’t miss the mural I’m painting. The sacrifice is worth it. People got saved. Lives and eternities are forever changed. There is no hindrance,” Luke says, “that God can’t turn for our good and his glory.” 

Conclusion 

In many ways the book of Acts is written to show forth the truth of Matthew 16:18. Jesus is talking to Peter and the other disciples, and he says, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” 

I don’t know what we have ahead for the rest of 2020. The first eight months have been a doozy. But I know that where God is and where the gospel is preached to God’s people, God is building his church with and without hindrances.