Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Nov 16th, 2010 They Had Been With Jesus – Have You?

Today’s Reading – Acts 4 – 6

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

In our text today, Peter and John are in the temple and are being interrogated by the religious leaders for the healing of the lame man on the previous day. (See Acts 3) The problem was not that this man was healed, but that Peter and John used the occasion of the healing to preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and many were saved as a result. The Pharisees now understood that they had a real problem on their hands. In the last couple of weeks there had been nearly ten thousand of their ranks that had joined the Christians. Something had to be done about these trouble makers.

In the midst of all of this the Jewish leadership made some observations about Peter and John found in verse 13 above:

1  They were bold – evidence of their being filled with the Holy Spirit. When was the last time you asked the Holy Ghost of God to fill you? Are you willing to yield to what He wants to do with your life?

And ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you… (Acts 1:8)

2  They were uneducated – yet they possessed a wisdom and knowledge that could not be refuted. These men were fishermen by trade. They were not trained in the Scriptures by Gamaliel as Paul was. But they knew the Word of God. Consider all of the passages that were quoted by Peter in his sermons. This is a good lesson for us to learn. We do not need to know and preach all of the junk that this world teaches, but we should know and preach the Word of God.

3  The had been with Jesus – this is perhaps the greatest compliment a Christian can be given. These two humble fishermen reminded the Pharisees of Jesus. They saw Jesus in them. Can people see Jesus in us? Maybe it’s because we do not spend enough time with Him. My preacher used to say, “You are, or you soon will be, who you hang around.” It was obvious to the Jews that these two fishermen were hanging out with the Lord.

If you are reading this, then you have probably read the Scripture passage for today. At least I hope you have. That’s good! Then you will be a little more like Jesus as a result of the time you have spent with Him, and maybe people will begin to recognize the Lord’s presence in your life. They should be able to spot Him in your attitude, in your compassion, in your integrity, in your work ethic, and in your separation from the evil of this world.