Verse 38
But Paul thought not good to take with them him who withdrew from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And there arose a sharp contention, so that they parted asunder one from the other, and Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailed away unto Cyprus.
For extended comment on John Mark, see in my Commentary on Mark, pp. 1-2.
A sharp contention ... Strong men with minds strongly made up often find disagreement between them; and the one redeeming note in this otherwise unhappy and regrettable episode is that neither party to the dispute permitted it to hinder the work of God. Rather there was a beneficial result in that there were then two teams of missionaries on the field in the place of only one.
Unto Cyprus ... It was but natural that Barnabas would prefer the journey to his native Cyprus. However, in the providence of God, no record has come down to us, the evangelist Luke following, not the labors of Barnabas, but those of Paul. However, it must be presumed that much good was also done by Barnabas and Mark.
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