Note 1 at Acts 4:36: This Joses Barnabas became very prominent among the early believers. He was a leader here in the selling of his goods to meet the needs of other believers. He, later, was the first one in Jerusalem to accept the conversion of Saul and pleaded his case before the apostles (Acts 9:26-27). Barnabas was selected by the Jerusalem church to investigate the rumored conversion of Gentiles at Antioch and the scripture reports him as being, "a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith" who led many people unto the Lord (Acts 11:2 0-24).

After his mission in Antioch was completed, Barnabas went to Tarsus and brought Saul back to Antioch with him where they stayed for one year teaching the believers. Barnabas was the one the Lord used to bring the apostle Paul out of his fourteen-year seclusion (Gal. 2:1).

Barnabas and Saul were selected by the church in Antioch to carry their gifts to the church in Judaea (Acts 11:29-30). Barnabas and Saul returned to Antioch where, through the direction of the Holy Spirit, they were sent out on Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-3). They visited Barnabas' home of Cyprus as well as cities in Asia Minor (Acts 13-14).

After returning to Antioch, Paul and Barnabas were sent by the church at Antioch to Jerusalem to settle a dispute about the Gentile believers having to be circumcised (Acts 15:1-2). Barnabas, as well as Paul, spoke to the elders about this matter (Acts 15:12). The church at Jerusalem then sent Barnabas and Paul, as well as others, back to Antioch with a decree from the apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 15:30).

Barnabas and Paul again ministered in Antioch (Acts 15:35) until Paul asked Barnabas to accompany him as he went back to the converts they had made on their first missionary tour (Acts 15:36). When Barnabas refused to go without John Mark, Paul and Barnabas parted company. Barnabas and John Mark went to Cyprus and Paul and Silas went to Asia Minor.

Paul later mentions Barnabas in his epistles (1 Cor. 9:6; Col. 4:10), although there is no further mention of him in the book of Acts. Apparently, before Barnabas and Paul became companions, Barnabas was moved away from his conviction of the liberty in Christ along with Peter and others because of a fear of the legalistic Jews (Gal. 2:13).

Note 2 at Acts 4:36: How is it that Barnabas, who was a Levite, owned land when Numbers 18:20-24 forbid any Levite to have an inheritance among the children of Israel? There are at least three viable explanations for this.

First, Barnabas was from the island of Cyprus which was not in the land of Israel. Numbers 18:20-24 had prohibited any Levite from owning any property in the nation of Israel. It is possible that the land he sold was not in Israel and therefore he was not in violation of God's command.

Secondly, it is possible that this land actually belonged to Barnabas' wife before they were married and if she were not from the tribe of Levi, then she could have come by it without violating the instruction of Numbers 18.

It is also possible that the Israelites had ceased to obey the command of Numbers 18. Even before the captivity of Jerusalem, Jeremiah, who was a priest, was instructed by the Lord to buy a field (Jer. 32:6-25), although this action cannot be taken as the Lord setting a new precedent, but rather an exception to illustrate a prophecy.

During the dispersion and the re-gathering of the Jews to Israel, there were long periods of time when they were without a temple, and therefore, the Levites had no duties to perform and no offerings from the people. So, the system as God established it in Numbers 18 had ceased to function and there is no Biblical record that it was ever re-instated.