They had been with Jesus

Day 170

OT Reading: Nehemiah 9-11

NT Reading: Acts 4:1-22

A neat little notation that's easy to overlook in the Bible is found in Acts 4:13 which reads, "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus." (NIV)

Because of this statement, I'm guessing that Peter and John were neither much to look at, nor to hear. Because of the upheaval in Jerusalem, they may have expected these men to be very eloquent, fine orators and expositors, men who were wordsmiths and could hypnotize you with their mastery of language. But what they found was quite the opposite. Peter and John were common, ordinary, unschooled men. The power was not in their proficiency of the language or their arguing prowess...the power of their ministry lay in the message.

The text goes on to say that they (meaning those religious leaders in the Sanhedrin) were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Perhaps it was just because of the Sanhedrin's history with Jesus that they were making a simple association...that these were some of Jesus' followers. However I'm lead to believe (purely from a gut-level reading of the text) that this statement involves more.

Peter and John had spent years with Jesus. They followed him. They witnessed how he acted in calm and stressful times. They saw amazing miracles. They witnessed that Jesus was no longer dead. And because of his impact in their lives, because their experience was not just a one-day-per-week religion or a list of rules to memorize...but instead was embedded deeply within the context of a relationship with this one they called, 'Lord'...that changed Peter and John. It impacted them in such a way that the Sanhedrin was astonished at their courage and candor. They marveled at how men of common social, educational and economic status could possibly have this great of an impact.

I wonder how many times people would say the same thing about us? That our faith was not simply a blind ritual, some mundane requirement or annoying obligation, but instead involved a meaningful relationship. That our faith involved spending quality time with the one we call, "Lord." When people look at our lives, can they even tell that we've, 'been with Jesus?'