"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus."
(Acts 4:13)
Jesus is gone. The disciples are on their own. Once a group of people locked up in a room, gripped with fear... now they are out proclaiming God's truth to all! And sometimes (often?!) it got them in trouble! Such is the case here today. Peter & John have been arrested for speaking out. And yet, they continue to preach with boldness.
What's interesting to me is how the people "recognized" who Peter & John were - it was their boldness AND the fact they were "uneducated & ordinary" men. Evidently, the other "religious leaders" of the day were all scholars. They'd been studying the Torah (Jewish Scriptures) since childhood & following in the footsteps of a rabbi. They didn't live like everyone else. They were set apart. Literally. They spoke differently. They acted differently. They weren't ordinary, that's for sure.
But here are Peter & John. Regular guys. Nothing fancy, pretentious or aloof. Plain speech. Powerful message. And the people noticed. Jesus was remembered. He was the one who took common people and gave them authority to do powerful things. I wonder what reputation the Church has today? Are our leaders (myself included) known to be "educated & extraordinary"? That could be a good thing. Then again, it could make us pretentious & aloof! The Bible is full of "uneducated & ordinary" people doing extraordinary things, by the grace of God.
So if you think you're "nothing special"... that you don't have much to offer... look out! That's JUST the kind of person God likes to use!
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