Can people tell you have been with Jesus?

The apostles have been empowered by the Holy Spirit after the Lord Jesus ascends into heaven. They speak with boldness as the religious leaders try to stop the start of the first church. The leaders are unable to stop what God has started and notice that these untrained apostles speak with such conviction and passion.

Jesus has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven. His disciples, now more commonly referred to as the apostles, have received the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. These rather ordinary men who, not long ago, were tucking their tails and running in fear during the Lord's crucifixion, now have a boldness and conviction that's undeniable. Yep, these apostles, they've been radically changed! And the religious leaders of that day are not happy at the excitement being generated as the church has grown beyond 5000+ members in short order. Let's pick up in Acts 4:5-13 where we see these leaders trying to convince two of the apostles to cease and desist their message of the gospel.

The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. They brought in the two disciples and demanded, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?" Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of our nation, are we being questioned because we've done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed in the name and power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth, the man you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says, 'The stone that you builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.' There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them." The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men who had had no special training. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.

This passage holds such promise for us today! These were ordinary men who had no special training (i.e. they weren't products of some educational system or theological seminary -- although those are not bad things), yet their boldness in their message was undeniable. The passion in their teaching was amazing! As a result, the church was growing like gang busters, but I think the most startling demonstration of the testimony of these apostles is the last sentence of verse 13. In this one sentence, I think we find the real key to these disciples power. Verse 13b says that these unbelieving leaders of that day noticed that these men had been with Jesus!

In the last part of this chapter, the religious leaders let these apostles go as they are not sure how to punish them, for everyone was praising God. This is kind of a tough problem they are in, seeing they are supposed to be praising God themselves.

So, I gotta ask the question. Do unbelievers recognize that you have been with Jesus? Is your message bold and your witness filled with passion? What a tremendous and convicting message! Maybe if folks don't notice this about you or me, then could it possibly be that we haven't been with Jesus enough?