On first reading, it seems an odd and interesting detail when Luke also tells us that Joseph, who was surnamed Barnabas by the apostles, sold a field and brought the money to the apostles for their use in the church. After all, the general point had already been made, and one hardly expects him to go into details on each case. But the Holy Spirit had Luke include this event for a reason. Barnabas' action forms a sharp contrast between that of Judas, as well as that of Ananias and Sapphira.

This contrast comes into clearer focus when we consider that Joseph was one of the “possessors of lands” mentioned in the context. These landowners were made up for the most part of wealthy Jewish families that since the time of the dispersion had bought property in and around Jerusalem in order to be near to the Messiah on the day of His glorious appearance. Many had bought these fields for a family burial ground, so that departed family members could be among the first to witness the Messiah in His glory on the day of the resurrection. Barnabas, obviously a man of means, promptly decides to sell his field after he joined the Christian Church. He no longer needed a special burial place! He found the Messiah!

As Peter puts it, Judas bought a field with the reward of his evil schemes. Presumably, the field purchased by the chief priests after Judas' death was put in his family name. At any rate, his name became associated with the field, as did the idea of perpetual curse. The field was known as Akeldama, the Field of Blood.

Here we are faced with contrasting responses to the call and work of Christ, and that by two figures of similar background. Judas buys a field; Barnabas sells a field. Judas rejects Christ as the Messiah, and considers the salvation offered by Him to be worth less than thirty pieces of silver. Barnabas, a Levite, sacrifices his special privileges and distinction in the house of Aaron to serve the Highpriest after the order of Melchisedek.

In the pathways of exchange these two fields pass each other. One is bought, the other sold. But they stand as marked monuments to two conflicting principles! Judas' field was named “a field to bury strangers in,” Matthew 27:7. Having been purchased with 'blood money,' the plot could not be a burial ground for Jews. Only Gentiles, the lower and rejected peoples, could be buried there. In other words, the Field of Blood testifies not only to the working of the curse upon the apostate Judaism that had rejected Christ as the Messiah; it also testifies to the perpetuation of the false distinction between Jews and Gentiles. It remains the monument to the sect.

Joseph's field, on the other hand, is sold, with the proceeds being used for the upbuilding of the young Church in Jerusalem. And this church was later to be the pillar of the mission to the Gentiles. Judas' money is used against the Gentiles; Joseph's money is used to call them in. Judas' field testifies to the building of an artificial wall; Judas' field testifies to the breaking down of “the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14) that stood between Jews and Gentiles.

Two fields stand here at the crossroads of the dispensations. And we find them working at crosspurposes. One is the Field of Blood, symbolizing curse and death. Indeed, Jerusalem became a “field of blood” because of its continual impenitence, just as Christ had foretold, Matthew 23:37ff. But the other field is an instrument for the gospel of life! It is a field placed in the service of the Messiah and His coming reign!

And the contrast between the fields accentuates the contrast between the persons involved. Judas, like Esau, sold his birthright for a trifle. It simply did not mean anything to him. His growing unbelief and growing submission to the law of the flesh finally ensnared him. He allowed greed to overcome him, and so died in his greed. But Barnabas was motivated by a sincere love of the Lord and a sincere thanksgiving for the riches of the salvation given in Him! So we find him joining Paul in his journey to the Gentiles! What a son of encouragement he was!

These two fields still stand before us today: the field of death and the field of life. And the actions of the owners serve to remind us that there is nothing neutral in the Kingdom of the Messiah! The choices of the heart will become evident in words and deeds. Judas and Joseph, a field against the LORD and a field given to Him.

With such a contrast He says: Choose this day who you will serve! And let us lay all at His feet, for He has bought us not with silver or gold, “but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a Lamb without blemish or spot,” 1 Peter 1:19. So let us all live in obedience and thankfulness to Him!