Mnason the Old Disciple

Mnason the Old Disciple

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Reading: Acts 21v16

In this verse, we discover a Christian called Mnason. His name means “Remembering”, an apt title as we shall see. Although he is only mentioned in one verse, there is much we can glean from what is said about him.

  1. Mnason was a DISCIPLE: This means he was a learner and every Christian should be a disciple, trusting Christ as Saviour is only the beginning. Christ is our Teacher and Master, learning from Him involves being like Him (Matthew 11v28) and being a disciple involves self-discipline and self-sacrifice if we want to make progress (Mark 8v34). Paul spoke of counting everything else as loss in order to know Christ better (Philippians 3v7).
  2. Mnason was an OLD disciple: This may mean that he had been a disciple for a long time and now he was an old man. The secret of Christian endurance is the keeping power of God through faith (1 Peter 1v5). Christians do not need to fear getting old and falling away as Christ is able to keep us from that (Jude v 24). It is always a joy to meet an older Christian, still reading the Bible, still praying fervently, still active for the Lord. However, the word OLD may also be translated EARLY. This may mean he was one of the early disciples of the Lord and therefore he was also a Jew. He may have been among those, that Luke refers at the beginning his Gospel (Luke 1v2), who were eyewitnesses, providing valuable information about the life of Jesus. Perhaps he had witnessed the miracles, he may have heard the sermon on the mount, he may have witnessed the death of Christ, and he may have been one of the 500 who saw Him after His resurrection. Perhaps he was present in the upper room on the day of Pentecost and saw the effects of the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2v1). If this is so, he would have had much to tell Paul the apostle from his experiences of those early days, hence the meaning of his name is significant.
  3. Mnason was a CYPRIOT: Like Barnabus, whom he probably knew well, he was born and grew up in Cyrpus. He was therefore a Hellenist which means he was a Greek speaking Jew.
  4. Mnason was WELL KNOWN: He moved among fellow Christians and the verse suggests that, at this time, he was in Caesarea enjoying fellowship with the Lord’s people. He was willing to travel distances in order to see them. During Lockdown, we were greatly restricted in our travelling and our gatherings but now we have our freedom, are we making the most of it? May the Lord encourage us to fervency in meeting together as we did before the Pandemic.
  5. Mnason was HOSPITABLE: His home was in Jerusalem which he offered as a place of rest for the Lord’s servants. It appears that he was well known for his hospitality by the brethren and Paul would have been encouraged by his stay in Mnason’s house. Hospitality is an important part of Christian service and support for preachers of the Word both practically and financially is our responsibility as believer for our mutual benefit. (Romans 12v3; 1 Pet 4v9;  3 John 6-8)
  6. Mnason was a GOOD EXAMPLE of how to be a disciple, he is not described as a preacher or an evangelist; perhaps his gift was as a help to others. How we need to see that gift in operation today.

 

 

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