Verse 36
And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Exhortation), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race, having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
It should be noted that not a word is here given to the effect that Barnabas "sold all that he had," there being no evidence at all that he did any such thing. Then, there is the further consideration that the sister of Barnabas, Mary, the mother of John Mark, appears in Acts 12 as the owner of a large residence in Jerusalem, capable of housing a considerable portion of the church for a prayer meeting, the house having a courtyard and a gate which was attended by the serving girl, Rhoda. It was not the practice of those early disciples to make a total liquidation of their assets in order to distribute all to the poor.
Son of Exhortation ... contrasts with "Son of Consolation" as in the KJV and the English Revised Version (1885) margin, both meanings being in the original.
Barnabas ... This was the faithful and distinguished Christian who accompanied Paul on the first missionary journey.
Having related the example of the generosity of Barnabas, Luke would at once relate the story of Ananias and Sapphira and their scheme of imposing upon the Twelve apostles. This incident, about to be narrated in Acts 5, has the utility of shedding even more light on the so-called "Christian communism" of Acts.
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