“Uneducated and Ordinary”

Acts 4

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. When they saw the man who had been cured standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 

This is an amazing story and to get the full flavor of it, you should read Acts 3 and 4.

How do I know? I know because I was there, a witness to the healing of the lame man in the Jerusalem temple. And more, I also witnessed the blistering sermon that Peter gave, while beside him, the previously-lame man was literally jumping and dancing about.

And finally, I was present the following day, as the rulers, elders and high priests, including Annas and Caiaphas, interrogated Peter and John. You may remember that just weeks before, these same men had interrogated Jesus, with the intent of turning him over to the Romans to be crucified.

Peter and John healing the Lame Man

Nicolas Poussin 1655

Who am I? Just a simple bystander to these events. I was not a follower of Jesus, at least not before that day. You see, after the brutal treatment suffered by Jesus, I wanted nothing to do with him or with his followers. And I expected no mercy would be given to these two men, just as there had been no mercy given to Jesus.

Except, of course, that standing next to Peter and John was the very man who had been lame, now healed. And in addition, other witnesses to the healing were also present. It was impossible for our religious leaders to ignore what had happened, as the proof was literally standing before them.

You must understand that there was so much about this that was remarkable. First, of course, the healing of a lame man, a man who had been reduced to begging at the temple gate. That alone was certainly remarkable. Then, the boldness of Peter’s sermon. Here is part of what he said:

‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?  The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our ancestors has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and rejected in the presence of Pilate, though he had decided to release him. But you rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked to have a murderer given to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong, whom you see and know; and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health in the presence of all of you.’

Yes, Peter’s words sounded like thunder, shaming them again and again. I wish you could have been there!

And still more remarkable were the words of Peter in the face of his inquisitors. You must remember that these individuals were the highest authority of our faith. There was no one above them, and they commanded the power of life and death, as they proved with Jesus. These were the elite, in a stratum of our society above all else, highly educated and wealthy.

And yet Peter, the accused, spoke to them with harsh words of judgment:

‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. This Jesus is

“the stone that was rejected by you, the builders;
    it has become the cornerstone.”

 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.’

Hearing Peter speak in this way to such an authority convinced me that he and John would be quickly condemned and executed, just as Jesus had been.

And like the rulers, I was also amazed that these two men were, as has been written, “uneducated and ordinary.” Where did they get such healing power? How could they be so bold as to literally accuse their accusers, the highest authority of our faith? And how could such men, Galilean fishermen I later learned, speak with such eloquence?

It began to come together for me as I pondered on why Peter repeatedly referenced not just our Yahweh God, and not just Jesus of Nazareth, but instead, when Peter noted the name of Jesus. His name? What power could the name of Jesus possibly have?

“And by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong,…”

“…for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

Could the name of Jesus have given healing power to Peter and John? Could it have given a simple fisherman the boldness to preach to the people as he did? Could it have given an “uneducated and ordinary” man the courage to stare down such powerful rulers, men who could order their imprisonment and even their execution? Men who had done that very thing to the one whose name they invoked to explain the miraculous healing?

I hope you can see how amazing, how remarkable this was.

So, what could the leaders do? What did they do? I was eager to hear their verdict. Here is what happened next:

They said, ‘What will we do with them? For it is obvious to all who live in Jerusalem that a notable sign has been done through them; we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.’ So they called them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard.’ 

Once more, the power of the name appeared again, this time attempting to silence these uneducated and ordinary men. It didn’t work! They would not be silenced!

The name of Jesus. What is its mysterious power? Can I comprehend it? That is something that I will need to consider. Can the name of Jesus heal? Can it give courage? Strength? Even boldness? Is there some sort of amazing life in the name of Jesus?

You know, like Peter and John, I am “uneducated and ordinary.” And I am sure that before they began to follow Jesus, they were destined to live out their ordinary lives, fishing on the Sea of Galilee. But here they were, in the seat of power in Jerusalem, healing, preaching and thundering at our religious leaders. All in the name of Jesus.

So, what about me? All I can say is that I am no longer a bystander, and no longer just an impartial witness. After all that I saw, how could I be?

Perhaps the name of Jesus has found its way into my life, maybe just a little. And as a result, I am now eager to explore further the power of his name, not just in the lives of others, but especially in mine.