Barnabas and the Early Christians 57where he remained hidden for three years. It may weIl have been
here that he began to formulate his own version of what Jesus had
taught. This involved a rejection of the Law of Moses, which in
turn meant his turning away from the fact that throughout his life
Jesushadremained a truepractisingfollowerof the Law of Moses,
and had always sought to uphold the teachings which Moses had
brought before him.
It was after this long period of withdrawal in the desert that
Paul came to the apostlesin [erusalem, The sudden arrival of Paul
caused more suspicion than surprise. The stories of his persecu
tion of the fol1owers of Jesus must still have been fresh in their
minds, Could a leopard change its spots? It seems that the disci
ples had no reason to accept him into their cirele. Not only had he
been their persecutor, but also he now claimed to know whatJesus
had taught, although he had never even seen him and had spent
little time, if any, with those who had been with him. Instead of
trying to learn from those who had been so closely and strongly
connected with Jesus while he was on earth, Paul wanted to teach
them. Paul later justified this approachin his epistle to theGalatians
where he states:
1 certify you brethren that the Gospel which was
preached of me is not after man. For 1neither received
it of man, neither was 1taught it, but by the revelation
of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1: 11-12).Thus, Paul claimed to have an access to Jesus which had been de
nied to even the closest followers of Jesus while he had been on
earth. The teaching which Paul claimed he had been given did not
ta1lywithwhatthe apostles hadheardfrom theverylips of Jesus.
Itis understandable that they were therefore suspicious of his con
version and considered his 'revelations' unreliable. Many probably
suspected that he was no more than a spy, posing as a follower of
Jesus. 3 The dispute as to whether Paul should be accepted was
therefore a bitter one and its outcome must have seemed a fore
gone conclusion.
Barnabas, however, who according to tradition had been Paul's
class fellow under Gamaliel, intervened and spoke in favour of
Paul. Agaïnst their unanimous opposition, he succeeded in having
Paul accepted by the followers of Jesus. This indicates the degree
of influence which Barnabas had over the apostles, and therefore