February 08, 2023 | Be On Mission
They had been with Jesus
Scripture: Acts 4:13-22 (NIV)
13 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. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
Devotional
Peter and John were still standing before the high priest and his family, sort of a spiritual syndicate with crime family power. But these two followers of Jesus stymied them. Three reasons stand out.
One, they were unschooled, ordinary men. Peter and John had been fishing partners from the backwaters of Galilee up north before Jesus called them. They were hardly a threat to the highly educated and esteemed Sadducees who ran the temple of Jerusalem in the south.
Two, they “took note that these men had been with Jesus.” There is something about that phrase that makes all the difference. It doesn’t matter if you are schooled or unschooled. It makes no difference if you are ordinary or extraordinary. Never mind if you just came from the high priest’s palace or a criminal’s jail. All that matters is if you have been with Jesus!
Three, Caiaphas and his crooked family knew that thousands of people were joining the Jesus team because of the healing of the crippled man. Eliminating Peter and John might only make the crowd go into a frenzy. So, they applied pressure and commanded the apostles to stop speaking in the name of Jesus. Certainly they would comply. Nobody said no to the high priest.
Nobody except Peter and John. They stared down the most powerful religious authority in the land and said, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” The high priest’s family should have known this was coming. They said it themselves. These men had been with Jesus. Nothing could undo that.
In review, here were Peter and John’s qualifications for ministry. They were unschooled and ordinary. They had been with Jesus. They ministered in the name of Jesus. Do you qualify?
Poem
With Jesus
Acts 4: 13
Remember the poem of the old violin
When at auction, received not a glance
Until being held by the master musician
Whose skill birth a melodic dance
The piece seen as worthless, transformed by a touch
Left the scoffers by glory entranced
And once the Creator displayed its true worth
Paddles rose hoping purchase their chance
Imagine the jolt Peter, John gave the men
Who assumed they were dumb, common-place
Yet articulate words boldly filled their two mouths
Speaking truth to lives mired in disgrace
Dumbfounded men noted, “We’ve seen them with Jesus!”
Fully shocked, all assumptions displaced
The common and simple seen in the world's eyes
Became holy by Love's changing grace
Embrace full this message of transforming power
When you think, ‘What would God want with me?”
Remember the scarred and marred old violin,
The two fishermen called from the sea
How once, though discarded by hands of the world,
The Master their worth guaranteed.
No matter your background, education or race
When with Jesus, you’ll remarkable be
