With Jesus (12-3-11)

Acts 4:13 - "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus."

In Acts chapter 3 Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray. At the gate of the temple was a lame man who would daily sit and ask for alms from the people going to and from the temple. The Lord miraculously used Peter to heal the lame man and he began to go through the temple "walking and leaping and praising God." At this point Peter and John began to proclaim that it was not by their power, but it was Christ who raised this man up. The same Christ whom the people had crucified, and they continued to tell the people that this same Jesus is the only way of salvation. By the time we get to chapter 4 Peter and John have been arrested for preaching in Jesus name and proclaiming His resurrection, and after their arrest they were brought before the religious council who questioned them by what power or in what name they raised this man, and Peter continued to preach Jesus to them. That's when we come to this verse. "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus."
Peter and John were not religious experts. They were not theologians, they hadn't been trained in the mosaic law or the prophets. They didn't go to seminary anywhere or graduate from any Bible college, and the high priest, the Pharisees and the Sadducees recognized this. They understood that they were uneducated and untrained men. You'll remember their line of work, they were fishermen when the Lord Jesus called them to follow Him. Their jobs had nothing to do with religion. Matthew 4:18-22 says - "Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him."
They had no high standing in society, they were simple fishermen. But, they had been with Jesus. The religious leaders saw the confidence of Peter and John and began to recognize that they had been with Jesus. What a testimony! Oh that people would look at our lives, see our confidence in the way that we speak about our Lord and Savior, and begin to recognize us as men and women who have been with Jesus. We have a great opportunity to spend time with Jesus daily, in His Word and in prayer. To spend time in His presence allowing Him to transform our lives and live His life through us. May we be like these early disciples. You don't need to be a preacher or Bible teacher, you don't have to have a degree in theology or graduate from seminary, you just spend time with Him, and people will begin to recognize you as someone who has been with Jesus.