Acts 15.39 - Who Knows? Who Cares?

Acts 15.39 - Who Knows? Who Cares?

“They – Paul and Barnabas - had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company” (Acts 15.39). OMG! Divorce! Apostolic-duo-extraordinary rent asunder! What happened?!  We won’t get a juicy gossip morsel out of Luke – just the final outcome. My, how far we have ‘developed!’ Today, reporters would camp in front of their tents, pay to interview distant relatives, and comb through their dung heaps. Newscorp would tap their phones. Because the public deserves to know! Most ‘Christians’ today know more about Kobe, J.Lo, and Lady Gaga than Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel – even in Beijing and Uganda! Paul speaks to our modern craving for ‘personal dirt,’ “For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret” (Ephesians 5.12). This sad episode in Acts does tarnish the luster of our missionary heroes. But the tone of Luke – who humanly ‘owed’ his salvation to Paul – reminds us that Jesus is our only real Hero: in Acts, in life, for eternity!