His original name was Joseph but the apostles exchanged it for Barnabas, he was not one of the twelve chosen by Jesus Christ but the apostles appreciated him very much for being a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, that is why he was chosen to evangelize, it was a generous man.
Facts 4
34 So there was no needy among them; because all those who owned estates or houses, sold them, and brought the price of the sold,
35 And they laid it at the feet of the apostles, and distributed it to each according to his need
36 Then Joseph, whom the apostles called him Barnabas (translated, son of Consolation), Levite of Cyprus,
37 As he had an inheritance, he sold it and brought the price and put it at the feet of the apostles.
He was a faithful friend of the apostle Paul, accompanied him from the beginning and helped him become the great spiritual leader he was, tradition places him as one of the 70 disciples to whom Jesus sends the peoples of Galilee to announce his Word. Bernabé brought peace to the community, even in conflicts and he was a man who did not allow himself to gain in generosity.
He was a prosecution witness and agreed with the death sentence of Esteban, who was first executed for following Jesus. He even organized, with the endorsement of the High Priest, a persecution against the disciples of Jesus. It was this that brought him to Damascus where he met the Risen Jesus. When Paul, already converted and having received Baptism, tries in the same city of Damascus to preach the message of Jesus, he confuses those who listened to him, the Jews who see him as a traitor to his cause, and the Christian Jews who do not they believe him and think he is a spy sent against them to lose them. So Paul must sneak out of Damascus, because the Jews wanted to kill him.
When he returns to Jerusalem he tries to preach but the same thing happens to him in Damascus. Then, providentially, Bernabé appears. He listens to him with love, and becomes his friend, then presents him to the apostles. Bernabé realizes immediately the importance of the message of Pablo, and when seeing that they do not accept it manages to legitimize his mission, presenting it to the apostles and playing for him. This attitude shows him as a great man, who is faithful to the Lord, and who knows how to discern what comes from God.
Pablo and Bernabé received the mission and the laying on of hands, they left accompanied by Juan
Pablo and Bernabé separate
facts 15
36After a few days, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit the brothers in all the cities where we have announced the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing.
37And Barnabas wanted them to take Juan with him, the one who was nicknamed Marcos;
38But it was not good for Paul to take with him the one who had left them from Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.
39And there was such a disagreement between them that they separated from each other; Barnabas, taking Marcos, sailed to Cyprus,
40And Paul, choosing Silas, was entrusted by the brothers to the grace of the Lord
They did not stop being friends, in any way. Sometimes friends disagree, and have different points of view. But that does not mean that their friendship was lost. Simply and without ceasing to have mutual affection they separated in peace.
Martyrdom and Death of Bernabé
There are apocryphal writings that speak of a trip to Rome by Bernabé, and that the Jews of the Synagogue of Salamis, killed him by stoning.