Peter and John spoke with authority during their trial after healing the lame man.,,,
The trial was over but it had not gone the way the high court in Jerusalem had intended. The priestly and political leaders had not secured the verdict they wanted. Instead, Peter and John were released without charge, with some veiled threats (Acts 4:1-22).
Arrested for preaching about the risen Christ after the outstanding healing of a 40-year-old cripple who was now ‘walking and leaping and praising God’ in the temple courts, the two disciples, regarded by the academics of the city elite on the council as ‘ignorant and unlearned’, had spoken with such authority and freedom that their judges must have raised their eyebrows in utter astonishment. What might be called a ‘judicial review’ revealed the reason: these ordinary, working-class fishermen had access to a secret resource. “They took note that they had been with Jesus,” (verse 13).
Presumably, this verdict was based on the assumption that their success referred to the three years these men had walked and talked with him before he died. If so, it was wrong. That their fellowship with him those years was a dynamic influence on them was true. They had listened to him as he taught them with consummate skill on all they needed to know about the essential truths of spiritual life. They had watched him at close quarters as he faced the intimate challenges of serving his Father in a fallen world. They imbibed the passion that drove him to minister to the needs of broken men and women and ultimately moved him to give himself on the cross. They had experienced a transforming relationship with him through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But even this was not the reason for what had happened on this astonishing day.
CONTEMPORARY
The secret lay in a subtle change of tense: the words ‘had been with Jesus’ were not a reference to an event which had happened some time ago, but to a contemporary one which was taking place then! It happened that morning, and according to verses 23-31 would continue that afternoon. It is important for us to recognise that this was not due to their having ‘had the baptism’ or to their having ‘been there in the early days’: this was a contemporary experience of the Spirit’s presence and empowerment. It was evidence of an ongoing relationship with Jesus sustained through his faithfulness to his promise, ‘Lo, I am with you always’, and by their response of active obedience to his word (Matthew 28:19, 20), a response driven by the humble admission that without him they could do nothing (John 15:5).
The wonderful truth is that you and I also have access to that secret source of spiritual enabling. We may not have the privilege of a personal encounter with him in a visible manner, but we do have access to all he said and did. The gospels are packed with his teaching about God, about prayer, about every aspect of Christian life and ministry, and what’s more, he has sent the Holy Spirit to help us. We too can ‘listen in’ as he talks personally to the Father, ministers individually to all kinds of people, preaches to multitudes, performs miracles, conquers the powers of death and darkness on the cross, and rises triumphantly in resurrection glory.
It’s all there in the New Testament and is available to us so that we can read and ponder it and, wonderfully, even talk to him personally about it. Moreover, we also have access to a personal impartation of spiritual empowerment through the indwelling of the Spirit. We too can be filled with the Spirit!
However, that doesn’t happen through punching the air, singing triumphalistic songs and proclaiming certain suitable texts. It only happens when, day after day, we humbly recognise our absolute need of him and, day by day, make time to ‘be with Jesus’!
From Direction Magazine issue 238
