Acts 4:13 – Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
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An idiom I’ve heard all my life is, “It all boils down to this.” What that means is that when the heat is applied, and all but the most important is removed, what remains is that thing upon which we need to focus. Take a moment and read our Text for Today again. What were the first things the priests and Sadducees noted about Peter and John? First, the priests and Sadducees noted the “boldness of Peter and John.” Secondly, they noticed that by their social and religious standards, Peter and John were “unlearned and ignorant.” It should also be understood that while they may not have actually witnessed the healing of the lame man, there were surely witnesses of the aftermath as Peter and John spoke to the people and addressed their questions and curiosity. And they most surely saw the turning of so many people to belief in Jesus.
When all these things were witnessed, our Text for Today says “they marveled.” However, then we read that something else happened. And in all their observations, reasonings, and perhaps even some questioning of their own, “they took knowledge of them (Peter and John).” So, in all this observing, reasoning, and questioning, to what conclusion did the (the priests and Sadducees) come? They came to understand that they (Peter and John) “had been with Jesus.” What I offer you today is this simple obser-vation. While other factors certainly had some impact on how the disciples were perceived, the main, or primary element that caused the disciples to appear as they did, that brought about their recognition is this, they had taken TIME WITH JESUS!
Think for a moment of the admonitions Jesus so often voiced to His disciples. He told them to “follow” Him and He would make them fishers of men. How often did He call upon His disciples to “come away” with Him? He told them to “take up their cross and follow” Him. After spending hours with Him as He taught the people, how often did Jesus then take them aside to speak with them privately and personally? In the end of His earthly ministry, He had poured so much of Himself into them that He could trust them with the leadership burden of the infant church. In short, to be able to say what they said in the manner in which they said it, and to do what they did in the manner in which they did it, it as obvious that they had taken TIME WITH JESUS.
How about you, dear one? Are you truly spending time with Jesus? How much time? What kind of time? Make time for Him, as much time as you can, and make sure it is quality, devoted time. May the words you say and the things you do cause people to note that you “have been with Jesus.”
Manna for Today – Acts 4:1-22
My Second Miler by Dr. Beechard Moorefield 