Auto Transcript
Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.
Summary
We are reminded that the Gospel mission is not meant for a select few, but for every believer. Through Paul’s closing greetings in Colossians 4:7–11, we are shown that faithful participation in the Gospel requires people of proven character—reliable, encouraging, and willing to endure hardship for the sake of Christ. Even flawed and inconsistent believers, like John Mark, can be transformed by the Spirit into useful servants.
Key Lessons:
- Every believer is called to participate in the Gospel mission—no one sits in the stands; we are all in the game.
- The character of those who carry the Gospel matters: faithfulness, dependability, and a servant’s heart are essential qualities for Gospel work.
- Past failure does not disqualify us permanently—John Mark went from deserter to Gospel writer, showing that the Spirit transforms even the most inconsistent believers.
- Encouragement is one of the most powerful tools in the body of Christ, while discouragement—often rooted in inconsistency—is Satan’s most effective weapon.
Application: We are called to examine ourselves against the examples of Tychicus, Onesimus, Aristarchus, Justus, and Mark—asking whether such things could be said of us—and to commit for the long haul to consistent, servant-hearted participation in the Gospel mission.
Discussion Questions:
- Which of the five people mentioned in Colossians 4:7–11 do you most identify with, and why?
- In what ways might inconsistency in your Christian walk be discouraging others around you without you realizing it?
- Like John Mark, is there an area of Gospel service you have stepped back from that the Spirit may be calling you to re-engage with?
Scripture Focus: Colossians 4:7–11 introduces faithful Gospel participants whose character models what every believer should aspire to. Colossians 1:21–23 grounds the call to steadfast continuance in the faith. Philemon 10–16 and 2 Timothy 4:11 trace John Mark’s redemptive transformation from deserter to profitable servant.
Outline
- Introduction
- The Gospel Mission Requires Continuers
- Paul’s Network of Gospel Partners
- The Information Squad: Letter Carriers
- Tychicus: Beloved Brother and Faithful Servant
- The Bond Slave of Christ
- Onesimus: From Runaway to Faithful Brother
- The Encouragement Squad: Jewish Supporters
- Aristarchus and Justus
- John Mark: Delayed Encouragement
- The Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
- Mark Redeemed: From Deserter to Gospel Writer
- Encouragement vs. Discouragement
Introduction
Let’s take our Bibles this morning and turn to Colossians. I’ll be preaching this message and next week in Colossians, and then I’ll be finished with Colossians. Then I plan on going to Philemon, because Colossians is connected to Philemon.
Just a few messages there. Then my plan is to go to Revelation and do Revelation. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that, but there are a lot of questions today about it. We notice in our membership applications that people don’t know anything about eschatology.
That’s understandable. If you never heard it, then how could you? That’s my plan. Then Pastor Dave will continue to do the Gospel of John. Both are written by John—Revelation and the Gospel.
Let’s pray and we’ll look at Colossians. Lord, this morning as we get into your Word and look at what it says in the final greetings of Paul to the church at Colossae, I pray that you would allow us to see ourselves in some of these people.
I pray that we would realize that all of us, everyone who’s called in the name of Jesus Christ, are all to participate in the Gospel mission. There’s no one who can sit in the pews and just fold their arms.
There’s no one who is in the stands. We’re all in the game. I pray, Lord, that you would always make it clear to us where in that mission we function the best. I pray that you would make us people who have the character and conduct that can be used by the Spirit of God.
I pray this morning, asking you to help us and guide us and give us clarity in your Word. In Jesus’ name, amen. We’re going to look at Colossians 4:7-11. But let me back up a little bit.
The Gospel Mission Requires Continuers
I’ve been saying that a Spirit-filled, Word-filled Christian will begin to see the transformational power of the Gospel in each part of their experience as they journey through this world with its ups and downs, its ins and outs. As they see that transformation, they will realize the only reason they have transformation is because they have believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God now indwells them, and He is gradually making them into Christ.
He’s gradually making them into the image of Christ. It starts the instant we are justified, and it’s not complete until we get to glory. This Gospel transformation is revealed in our conduct, in character, in our putting off sin and putting on righteousness.
It shows us that we’re putting off our dirty clothes and putting on the clothes of redeemed children. It’s revealed in our relationships, in our everyday walk, in marriages between wives and husbands, in families between children and parents, in our conduct and in our speech.
We notice it in what we are now devoted to, how we use our time and opportunities, and how we see and consider one another. This Lord’s Day, we will see the transformation of the Gospel in the Christian’s duty and performance—that is, the faithful group participation of the saints to the Gospel mission.
“There’s no one who is in the stands. We’re all in the game.”
Paul’s Network of Gospel Partners
No one could do this work alone, no one can. That’s really what Paul brings out in this last section of Colossians. He had to depend on a lot of people to make sure everything got done.
But what kind of people? There were certain kinds of people that he used—all right, not perfect. None of these people are perfect, but he used them.
We see that the Gospel was never meant to stay in one place or to be confined. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message that is to be sent out, and to be sent out by people.
That means the faithfulness of the Gospel, the advancement of the Gospel is always maintained. The letter of the Colossians was read publicly in order to have an impact beyond its immediate audience. Like it says in Colossians 4:16, “When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the Church of the Laodiceans. And for you, for your part, read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.”
There’s an interaction between churches to advance the message and to advance the growth of those people who participate in the gospel. Even Paul, the Apostle Paul’s chains and imprisonment—which he’s writing this epistle from—he’s in jail for the gospel. He’s doing it all for the sake of the gospel.
As he says in Colossians 1:24, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake.” Paul is doing this for the sake of the advancement of the gospel. He ends the epistle in Colossians 4:18, saying, “Remember my imprisonment.”
The Apostle Paul was apprehended in Jerusalem and brought to Rome. While he was imprisoned in Rome, he was allowed to live by himself with minimal soldiers guarding him. In fact, Paul was able to receive visitors while he was in Rome. He was able to teach and preach the gospel while he was in Rome.
He wrote four letters to the churches while in Rome: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Rome is also where Paul’s mission ended. He was beheaded as a martyr in Rome. When God was done with him, that was it, right?
But he used Paul to the fullest, right? We would think that someone in jail couldn’t do anything. But that’s not the case. In that prison cell, he was protected by guards. He was given food, he was given visitors. It was almost like an apartment—not like we would see today, but a place where he could do his work.
He could minister and use his gifts to advance the gospel. That’s what God has intended, right? Remember when Paul went before some of the people and he was tried, they said, “Listen, if he didn’t appeal to Caesar in Rome, he’d be a free man.” But it was God’s will that he would go to Rome.
The reason why is because Paul would do his most important work there. In the closing greetings here in Colossians, Paul mentions ten people who were, in their own right, faithful participants to the gospel mission. This means that the church, the body of Christ, each individual believer who was indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God is called to carry out the unfinished work of Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus didn’t finish the work. Paul didn’t finish the work. In fact, today this work is still not done. People are still getting saved, the gospel’s still going out all over the world. Believers are continuers of Christ’s work.
“Believers are continuers of Christ’s work. Today this work is still not done—people are still getting saved.”
Now there’s a lot of material available on motivation to get started, creative ways to spark initiative. But what about the material about continuing and sticking with something until it’s done? Hanging tough when the excitement and fun has faded into discipline and guts?
That’s the kind of believers we actually need. Not losing heart even though the project lost some of its appeal and people dropped off that you originally started with. It was a book that was written by Eugene Peterson. The name of the book was “Obedience in the Same Direction.”
He commented in that book, “Our attention span has been conditioned by thirty-second sound bites so that our sense of reality has been flattened to thirty-page abridgements. It’s not difficult in such a world to get a person interested in the message of the gospel. It is terribly difficult to sustain that interest.”
Millions of people in our culture make decisions for Christ, but there is a dreadful attrition rate. In our kind of culture, anything—even news about God—can be sold and packaged in the right, in a fresh way. But when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap just like everything else.
There is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for the long apprenticeship in what earlier generational Christians called holiness and godliness. It takes a long time for the Spirit of God to make us holy. It is a long-distance run, not a short sprint.
That’s the Christian life, right? It’s got its ups and downs. Today, let’s understand that we are continuers for Christ. All Christians should check their priorities and tighten down the hatch for the long haul.
We do that together, not alone. Together. For sure, we can have a lot of meaningful experiences serving the Lord Jesus Christ together, as we already have in the process of God moving us in levels of spiritual growth and interacting with people, sharing the gospel, and discipling people.
All those things are very meaningful and very helpful and advance the church. In this end greeting, it shows the interdependence of believers insufficient in themselves. But as a body, as the body of Christ, they become holy without blemish and blameless before Christ and a formidable, steadfast force for gospel expansion.
“It takes a long time for the Spirit of God to make us holy. It is a long-distance run, not a short sprint.”
Now, if you just go back to chapter 1 for a minute, look at verses 21 through 23. I want to show you something in that passage. Colossians 1:21 says, “Although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death in order to present you before him holy and blameless beyond reproach.”
Then notice verse 23: “If indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.”
Human insufficiency is acknowledged alongside the all-sufficiency of Christ. We all participate in the gospel mission. Are you doing that? We’re presented this morning with living examples, and these living examples are models for all believers to follow—all kinds of different people here.
You will see that the character of these Christians are noteworthy. They are people from all walks of life, but they should be people that we model ourselves after. The question that we can ask ourselves as we think of these groups of people is this:
“Could such things be said of me that are said about these gospel participants?”
The Information Squad: Letter Carriers
That’s what we want to ask ourselves. Well, let me just give you where I’m going, and then we’ll get down to the details here. This is what we’re going to see.
We’re going to see two letter carriers. I call them the information squad. Then we see two Jewish supporters. I call them the encouragement squad. Then we’re going to see three Gentile coworkers. I call them the warrior squad. And then we’re going to see two local Christians, and I call them the hospitality future ministry squad.
Now, today we’re just going to be looking at the first two groups. The first group is going to be that of the letter-carrying squad or the information squad. I want you to notice in Colossians 4:7, it says this.
This is the first letter carrier, and this is Tychicus. Now, some people have pronounced it Tychicus, but I went to the Greek, and I said, listen, the only way I’m going to figure out how to pronounce this name is how the Greek actually pronounces it. And it’s Tychicus.
This person was Paul’s partner on his third missionary journey and he was a native of Rome in the province of Asia. When Paul left Ephesus he was accompanied by seven other believers among them Tychicus. It says back in Acts 20 he was accompanied by Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus and then one other man.
These men were helping Paul deliver the love offering from the Gentile churches to the poor saints in Judea. Eventually Tychicus shared Paul’s imprisonment and was a great help to him in many ways.
Now if somebody’s going to bring information to you, especially during these days, we know we have information overload. How do you know if the information you get when you read here and there on different media sites is actually true? It’s very hard to actually find out because people don’t even document what they say today.
So when information is going to come to somebody, you have to have someone who has great character, someone who is strong, who’s a leader, who’s going to carry out the mission.
Tychicus: Beloved Brother and Faithful Servant
And this is the mission that Paul gave to him: to carry this letter to the church at Ephesus and the church at Colossae. But notice what it says here about his character in Colossians 4:7.
It says, “As to all my affairs—now that’s Paul’s affairs—Tychicus, our beloved brother and faithful servant and fellow bondservant of the Lord will bring you information.” So that’s what his job is: to bring information. But why would you pile up the character qualities?
Well, because the people who are receiving what he has—the information that he has—they have to know it’s not disinformation, right? That it’s not fake news, but it’s accurate truth about Paul’s ministry so the people know how to pray for him and meet his needs.
That’s why the information is so important. But look what it says about him, his character: our beloved brother. Now why is he a beloved brother? Because he was connected to this new family because of his faith in Jesus Christ.
He was the kind of brother in Christ who was willing to stay with Paul even in his difficult situation. It’s not easy to be associated with a jailbird because Paul had a lot of enemies—a lot of enemies who wanted to kill him.
If you link yourself to him, you’re a target too. And so he didn’t really care about that. He just went on and did what he had to do. This is the kind of brother you want in your family.
This is the kind of brother you want in your foxhole. When the bullets start flying, you want Tychicus with you because he’s the kind of brother that’s not going to run when the times get tough.
How encouraging to have a Christian at your side when everything seems to be against you. He did not take the easy way, but he did take the right way. And the right way is usually the hard way.
“He did not take the easy way, but he did take the right way. And the right way is usually the hard way.”
And it’s usually the way many times that you may walk alone. So he is a beloved brother. And then secondly, it says he’s a faithful servant, meaning that he was a worker. He rendered dependable help wherever it was needed.
The Bond Slave of Christ
And then it says also he was a fellow bondservant or slave in the Lord. A minister, in other words, who related in service together under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Remember, if you recall when we were looking at and discussing bondslaves, bondslaves were willing to give up their rights.
They were willing to be defrauded. They were willing to endure hardship. They were willing to have no rank or titles. They were willing even to lose their life. Isn’t that what happens when we become real Christians? We move from being slaves to sin to being slaves to righteousness because we are now enslaved to God, a good and loving master.
If we consider ourselves willing bondslaves of Jesus Christ, no matter what we are to do or wherever we are going to end up, there is a certain behavior and demeanor for our earthly mission.
We already learned that Colossians gave three important things about bondslaves. Number one, bondslaves of Christ are to do their work with obedience. In Colossians 3:22, it says, “Slaves in all things obey.”
Second, bondslaves in Christ are to do their work from a single and sincere heart. As it says in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men.”
Third, a bondslave of Christ has an inheritance. Slaves really don’t have an inheritance, nor are they in the place to receive an inheritance. However, unless you are Christ’s slaves, then it says in Colossians 3:24, “Knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
That means as you go out and serve, as you become a bondslave, it is the inheritance that believers will receive a fair recompense for their faithful service. The slave of Christ has an unceasing line of thought that looks past this earthly life with all its difficulties and looks beyond their immediate circumstance to the Lord and his reward.
As Paul told the Galatians, “Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.” The promise of an inheritance for slaves transforms their status to those who are legitimate heirs in the household of God.
That’s a great motivation to keep going, to know that this life is not the end and the Lord has something for us, not only in this life but in the life to come—an inheritance that we are to receive.
“The slave of Christ looks past this earthly life to the Lord and his reward—an inheritance yet to be received.”
Now look at his mission in Colossians 4. Notice verse 8: “For I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.”
The message that was coming back from Paul was to encourage them, to lift them up, to comfort them. They were functioning as mailmen, bringing the letter to the Ephesian church and the Colossian church.
Tychicus was this strong, faithful, dependable leader that made sure the mission was accomplished. That’s the kind of person you want to dispel such important information like the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how the Gospel was doing things all over the place, not just in your local area.
It was doing things all over the known world at that time. That was very important information for the Colossians and the Ephesians to know. Their little community churches weren’t alone in this. God was doing something all over the place.
“The Colossians weren’t alone. God was doing something all over the place—building his church through people like Tychicus.”
Onesimus: From Runaway to Faithful Brother
God was doing something. He was building his church and he was using people like Tychicus to do it. And then a second letter carrier we notice in our text in Colossians 4:9 is Onesimus. Now Onesimus, who is he?
He was a runaway slave. It says in verse 9, the past character of Onesimus was dubious. He was unfaithful to his master and bolted to get his freedom. And he ends up in prison right by Paul.
If you’re going to end up in jail, end up in jail in a place with somebody like Paul, the apostle Paul. That’s where he ends up.
He was a runaway slave who belonged to Philemon and who had been won to Christ through Paul’s ministry in Rome. I guess that’s one place that when I was on an aircraft carrier and I became a Christian in Rota, Spain, there’s not many places to go when you’re at sea.
When you have a Bible study, you really get locked in and you spend a lot of your time studying the Word of God. I thank the Lord for that. It was kind of like being in prison. There was nowhere to go, but I really got established in the basics of the faith there.
That always helped me just to continue to build on that. And here we see Onesimus, who has a dubious past, meets Paul. What does Paul say about him? He could only say this about him if there was a change in his character and demeanor that Paul recognized after coming to Christ.
It says he’s faithful. He says here, “a faithful and beloved brother.” That means he was trustworthy. He was full of faith and he was very much loved by the Apostle Paul.
And then he says this: he’s one of your number. Meaning that at one time, none of us were part of the number of the Christian body, right? We were outside that number. Now we’re in the number.
Paul says he wasn’t one of your number, but now he’s one of us. He’s one of us. He not necessarily delivers the same information that Tychicus was delivering. He was delivering his own letter to his former owner.
Their mission together was to distribute information that encourages its recipients. As it says in the passage that I just read, “they will inform you about my whole situation here.” Now, what was that whole situation? That whole situation was how he met Onesimus and how he discovered where Onesimus was and that he was a runaway slave and that now he was incarcerated with Paul and a whole thing had to be done and put together.
So Paul sent Onesimus back to his master with a letter to Philemon. What was that letter? What did that letter say? Philemon, please receive him as I did. Please forgive him as I have. Please forgive him as God has.
That could have been a very touchy situation. But if you would like to turn to Philemon—which is 1 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, Titus, Philemon—look there in Philemon. There’s only one chapter, but it says in Philemon 1:10, “I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment.”
That’s language that Paul is saying: I’m the spiritual father of Onesimus. I shared the gospel with him and I begot him as a spiritual child. That’s what he is saying to him. And he said that happened in my imprisonment.
Then in Philemon 1:11, it says, “who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me.” And then look at Philemon 1:16. It says, “no longer a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.”
That’s very interesting how he puts it like that. We’ll look at that when I get to Philemon. But today we see that this is the situation. Philemon is delivering the letter to his own master saying, listen, this is what Paul says about me.
This is what happened to me. And here’s all the evidence. That becomes a very important thing. In a very real way, we all understand what it means to be a slave, at least a slave to sin, right?
You are in bondage to your sin nature. People say free will. No, your will’s in bondage to what your sinful nature dictates. To be set free not only physically but spiritually is an important part of the Christian walk.
“To be set free not only physically but spiritually is an important part of the Christian walk.”
The Encouragement Squad: Jewish Supporters
Those are the ones that we see this morning who were mail carriers. They were reliable, loving brothers in the Lord.
The second thing that we’ll notice this morning back in Colossians 4:10-11 are three Jewish supporters.
Aristarchus and Justus
Three Jewish supporters. I call them the encouragement squad. Not only could Tychicus and Philemon be part of that squad, but we have here, first of all, in verse 10, Aristarchus. Aristarchus was Paul’s traveling companion. He was also a fellow prisoner.
Most likely he was a prisoner with Paul in Ephesus and also in Rome. He was definitely someone who was willing to suffer that with Paul. It says in verse 10, “Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings.”
He was with Paul during the riot in Ephesus. If you remember in that particular riot, as is recorded in the book of Acts, it says that the whole area was filling with confusion and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
He got dragged into this situation in which people were rioting. That happened in Ephesus, in the Ephesian area. This particular man was willing to experience with Paul the most difficult times of ministry.
When you preach the gospel and hostility breaks out and you don’t run for the hills, you end up getting dragged into jail. That all worked out, and Paul was even held back from getting involved with that because they knew they would probably just kill him and he wasn’t ready to be killed.
Back in Colossians 4:10, we see another person. If you go down to verse 11, I’m going to look at the next one first, Justus, and come back to Mark because I want to spend some time with Mark and let you know who he is.
In verse 11 of chapter 4, it says, “And also Jesus who is called Justus, these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision and they have proved to be an encouragement to me.”
Again, these individuals have this demeanor of encouraging people. Not just by their words, but by who they are, by their conduct. Justus is the Greek form of his Jewish name, Jesus, and his Latin name, Justus, also means a soothing medicine.
The word that we have for encouragement in the passage here actually means to bring comfort or to bring a soothing environment. It’s a blessing to have Christians who have a proven comforting effect on people. Not for the purpose of self gratification, but for the purpose, as it says here, for the growth of the kingdom of God.
“It’s a blessing to have Christians who have a proven comforting effect on people—for the growth of the kingdom of God.”
That means that this person must know what they believe, they must know what the mission is, and they must be faithful to that mission. They also come into a group of people and they comfort them, they encourage them, they prod them on to love and good works.
You have this whole squad of encouragement coming from Aristarchus and Justus into the church at Colossians and Ephesians. Then we go back to verse 10 and we see this: “Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner sends you his greetings, also Barnabas’s cousin Mark, about whom you received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him.”
All of us from time to time have experienced painful incidents, right? In some ways they changed us. For some of us, it even altered the direction of our lives. But often, for Christians, it has been a time of serious spiritual growth and maturity in Christlikeness.
Those events come into your life, and you start taking things way more seriously than you ever have. You begin to realize this is no game. This is something to be, this is the most serious life that anyone could ever live on this earth.
Not only that, but I am actually responsible for other people. Not just as an elder or as a deacon, but just as somebody who has participated in the gospel. You’re responsible for the person next to you, and the person in front of you, and behind you—how you live, how your character and conduct comes forth.
This painful incident that I’m going to mention from Acts 15 that we read this morning shows us that all of us need much more work to be done on us in order for us to grow in Christlikeness, in order for us to respond properly to things.
“Those events come into your life and you start taking things way more seriously. This is the most serious life anyone could ever live.”
John Mark: Delayed Encouragement
And within the particular twists and turns of life, while we’re dealing with that, desiring to live in a manner which is pleasing to the Lord, both things are going on at the same time. Well, if you just take your Bibles for a minute, turn back to the book of Acts, and I want you to notice some things that happen concerning Mark.
Because Mark is an interesting character. I put him in the squad of encouragement, but I say this about Mark: delayed encouragement. Because he had to learn a lot of things before he actually could encourage people.
Back in Acts 15:34, notice it says, “But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.” And then Acts 15:35 says, “But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching with many others also the word of the Lord.”
After some days, Paul and Barnabas said, “Let us return and visit the brethren in every city in which we proclaim the word of the Lord and see how they are.” So Paul and Barnabas want to go back to the other churches that they’ve already ministered in and see how they’re doing.
All right, now notice in verse 37 of Acts 15, it says, “But Barnabas wanted to take John, called Mark, along with them also.” And then in verse 38, “But Paul insisted that he did not want to take John Mark.”
Paul kept insisting that they should not take him along. Why? Because he deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone back with them to the work. Now, I don’t know about you, but that is very discouraging when something like that happens.
And Paul, because really past performance reveals character, right? It serves as a basis for judging stability for future service. So Paul did not want to risk a reoccurrence of this failure to hang tough for the sake of the most important work on earth: preaching the gospel and going back and strengthening the churches.
So he decided that at this time, John Mark was not fit for the difficult task. He proved to be a quitter. Now, let me refresh your memory concerning this past incident. It took place on Paul’s and Barnabas’ first missionary journey.
And in chapter 13, you don’t have to turn there, it says, “Now Paul and his companions put out to sea from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia, and John left them and returned to Jerusalem.” But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidia, Antioch.
So Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark had good ministry together on the island of Cyprus, and the Holy Spirit was directing them north toward Pisidian Antioch, which is really modern-day Turkey. It was about 150 miles by boat to the coast of Asia Minor, and then once they got off the boat, they were to travel through the most dangerous, rugged mountains of that region where it was known that notorious ambushes and bandits and robbers were there constantly.
Now, Scripture tells us that the young assistant, John Mark, deserted Paul and went back home to Jerusalem. It was clear that other considerations could have caused him to leave the great work, but the Word of God does not really tell us why he left.
Some have speculated as to the reasons why he took off and went running home. Mark was young. His mother’s house seemed to have been the center of the Jerusalem church. Paul and Barnabas took him with them on their first missionary journey, and Mark was a relative of Barnabas.
And in the middle of the journey, he turned and hightailed it home. Now, it was one commentator who ventured off into some speculation, and he said, “Well, why did he take off?” Well, he says perhaps he was afraid of the proposed journey up into the plateau of Antioch, for it was one of the hardest, most dangerous roads in the world, and he knew it.
Also, perhaps because he came from Jerusalem, he had his doubts about preaching to the Gentiles. Also, perhaps at this stage he was one of those who are better at beginning things than finishing things. Or actually, historically, the church father Chrysostom said long ago, the lad wanted to go home to mommy.
The Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas
But whatever the reason was, he deserted. He deserted. And what happened? Paul and Barnabas had a sharp disagreement right back in Acts 15:39, right? A sharp disagreement.
Now, remember, these were not cheap men with hot tempers and razor tongues that easily spewed insults and bitter words towards each other. That’s not what took place here. These are men who were controlled by the Holy Spirit and filled with wisdom and passion for the work of God to see the church expand and grow and be strengthened.
Yes, both Paul and Barnabas were men of strong characters and convictions. In fact, Barnabas was known to be the son of encouragement. Only this time their convictions were opposite and proved to be incompatible. And the only solution was separation from each other. That is what they agreed to do.
But it also gives us a bit of a lesson here. It is possible for Christians to disagree with one another on certain things and to do it in a way that is honorable and that keeps the relationship intact.
So it tells us in Acts 15:39, and they separated from one another. Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed to Cyprus and Paul chose Silas and left. So God doubled the workforce through this separation. Paul and Silas—Silas took the place of Barnabas, not John Mark.
Silas was faithful, proven to be a leader in the church. He was also a dispenser of divine revelation, known to be a prophet, and he knew how to handle the word of God. Barnabas, because he was the relative of John Mark and the man of encouragement, I think he’s mentioned in Scripture as to be the son of thunder too, they split company with each other over at least this event.
And it’s possible, again, to agree and disagree without losing your testimony or your usefulness. Past history could disqualify you for present opportunities, but it doesn’t need to be like that. It is possible to overcome the stigma of past sins by living a holy life in the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
“It is possible for Christians to disagree with one another and do it in a way that keeps the relationship intact.”
So all of us are rescuable. There’s no Christian who needs to stay the way they are. It is not easy to overcome the title of deserter—someone who leaves his post for no good reason. In fact, if it wasn’t for the Holy Spirit of God’s work of sanctifying each and every one of us, we could never be able to remove the stigma of our past, present, and future sins.
“Past history could disqualify you for present opportunities, but it doesn’t need to be like that. All of us are rescuable.”
Mark Redeemed: From Deserter to Gospel Writer
Only God can do that and keep you a testimony and keep you a significant participant in the gospel mission. Whatever happened to Mark and Paul, we really don’t know what happened to Mark during this separation. He did go to Barnabas.
What we do know is that the Holy Spirit of God never stopped working on all of them, and he continues to sanctify and grow his children to bear the image of Jesus Christ. Even though we are flawed and weak and inconsistent vessels of baked dirt, with remaining corruption, God continues to advance his church.
There is hope that each one of us is needed and useful for our Master and Savior, Jesus Christ. Tradition tells us that after this event, Mark kind of vanishes off the scene. At least we don’t hear anything about him for some 20 years.
It’s a long time. Some sources say that he founded a church in Alexandria and in Egypt. One thing that is for sure is that the Holy Spirit of God moved him from being a child to a mature Christian, from being someone who was useless to someone who was very useful.
That’s why I say delayed encouragement, because Mark is a lot like us. We have those ups and downs and all arounds in the Christian life, right? Sometimes we back off, and we’re kind of like we want to be invisible, and we don’t want to be involved anymore.
You ever feel that way? You want to kind of just be left alone, all right? There are times that I’ve gone through those times. I know you do too. But the Spirit of God doesn’t leave you alone. He says, no, no, you need to get back into the race there, brother.
You need to, sister, you need to get back in there, all right? Use your gifts, because you are part of this group of people that are going to encourage other people to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, if you look back to Colossians 4:10, notice what it says here. Mark became a serious worker. It says, “Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, and also Barnabas’s cousin Mark, about whom you received instruction. If he comes to you, welcome him.”
What was that instruction? Most likely, everybody heard that Mark deserted me, but that’s all changed. The reason why is because nobody can fight a war alone.
Even Mark could not fight this war alone. It’s ridiculous to even think that way as a Christian. To fight a battle which you intend to win, you need many, really a multifaceted, loyal workforce who know their mission objectives and have counted the cost.
If we look back at Philemon, Mark became a synergistic worker. It says there in Philemon, “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greet you as do Mark,” and then it says, “my fellow workers.” So it uses the word fellow worker for Mark.
That word in the Greek is really a word that we get synergism from, meaning a helper or someone who has learned to work together with other servants in order to get the greater work done, which is the gospel.
He learned to work together with other people. This can give us a sense of what his problem was. He could have been a young man filled with pride, thought he knew better. Now the Spirit of God leveled him off, and now he is profitable.
Now, if you’d like to take your Bibles, turn to 2 Timothy 4. This is a very interesting verse about him. Mark became a profitable worker. In 2 Timothy 4:11, it says, “Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.”
He not only became useful to Paul in his work, but to God and to the greater church. Even today, it’s because of John Mark who was used by the Holy Spirit of God to pen the gospel of Mark.
What is the overall theme of the gospel of Mark? Jesus Christ is servant. He learned his lesson about being a servant from the greatest servant of all, the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why he could pen such a verse as Mark 10:45.
Mark 10:45: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.”
By the grace of God, the man who once was a deserter, a discourager of believers, became a writer of the gospel and an encourager of believers.
And at the end, Paul wanted him by his side. See, that could be any one of us. Any one of us could have been any of these people. I hope you saw some of yourself in one of them.
Encouragement vs. Discouragement
But he ends his greeting wanting us to focus on who these people were, because we’re just like them. That means all of us, if you can see yourself in any one of these characters—good or bad—because we are to be part of this group participation in the gospel mission, you are to do something for the Lord.
The goal is to be an encourager by your manner of life, to be an encouragement because it is your desire to please the Lord and become like Christ. You want to allow people to see that, and you surely do not want to be a discourager.
It’s really easy to discourage people. One way you do it is just by being inconsistent. You’re not consistent in coming regularly with believers. You’re not consistent in serving the church body in some way with the use of your spiritual gift.
You’re not participating and practicing a godly, holy lifestyle. You’re just not dependable. That’s got to change. I believe the Spirit of God is going to change that.
What is the greatest tool in Satan’s toolbox? Discouragement.
I ran across this story titled “The Devil’s Favorite Tool.” The devil was having a yard sale, and all of his tools were marked with different prices. They were a fiendish lot: hatred, jealousy, deceit, lying, pride—all at expensive prices.
But over to the side of the yard on display was a tool more obviously worn than the others. It was also the most costly. It was labeled discouragement.
When questioned, the devil said, “It is more useful to me than any other tool. When I can’t bring down my victims with any of the rest of these tools, I use discouragement because so few people realize it belongs to me.”
So let’s not discourage each other. Let’s encourage each other by our Christian growth, our usefulness in the advancement of the gospel and the church, and our ability to comfort people and prod them on in a good way to keep serving the Lord and don’t quit.
“Let’s encourage each other by our Christian growth, our usefulness in the gospel, and our ability to comfort people—and don’t quit.”
We’re in it for the long haul. Those are the first two groups. Next week, the next two. Let’s pray.
Lord, thank you this morning for the examples that were before us, knowing that in each one of these groups of people, we can see ourselves. We can see the flaws. We can see the times that we wanted to desert, we wanted to step aside, or we thought of ourselves as unusable because of something that happened in our life.
But Lord, we know by your Spirit that you are making us like you. We want to give ourselves to that sanctifying process. We surely don’t want to resist the Spirit of God in this matter, but we want to be people, as Colossians says, to learn how to please you in all things, knowing that you are our Master and Lord.
We want to be servants that are faithful, servants that are dependable, servants that are encouraging to others by our very conduct, our manner of life, by our very speech, and how we grow in Christ.
I pray that you would do that in every single one of us. Lord, the gospel mission is not hindered or left just to a few to accomplish. I pray this morning in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.