First Century AD (approximately 5 AD – 61 AD)
Born Joseph, he earned a new name from the people who watched him work: Barnabas, meaning “Son of Encouragement.” He grew up on Cyprus, an island in the eastern Mediterranean about 150 miles west of modern-day Syria.
While Barnabas was building the early church, the Roman Empire was at its peak. Emperor Claudius ruled much of the known world. The Colosseum hadn’t been built yet. Seneca was writing philosophy in Rome.
Barnabas sold a field he owned and gave the money to the apostles (Acts 4:36-37). He vouched for Paul when nobody else would. He invested in John Mark when Paul had given up. Two of history’s most influential Christian figures owed their start to a man who believed before anyone else did.
Tradition suggests Barnabas was martyred in Cyprus, the same island where he was born.