Acts 15:39
Acts 15:3939Their disagreement was so sharp that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
Usually treated as an example of imperfect men serving God — a candid admission that even apostles had personality clashes, which Jehovah overruled for good. The Watchtower is comfortable with the honesty of the account and applies it to congregational relationships.
The honesty is the point, and it is worth saying so warmly before drawing anything from it. Luke does not tidy this up. Two apostolic leaders had a sharp burst of anger and separated over a disagreement about a young man's reliability. What makes it useful is the ending. has Paul telling a church to welcome Mark. , written near Paul's execution, says: bring Mark along, for he is helpful to me in the ministry. So the apostolic record contains a real split and a real restoration, and Scripture preserves both. That is the fruit Jesus described in Matthew 7 and Paul listed in — love, patience, kindness — working itself out over years. Used gently, this becomes a question rather than an accusation: when the founding generation of a movement disagrees, does the record show restoration or removal? Ask it of the apostles first, and let the Witness apply it wherever they think it applies. Compare , , .