When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”– Acts 4:13 (NIV)
Courage is a popular virtue. Amazon.com lists over a half-million books for sale with “courage” in the title. Yet, for all the popular wisdom these books offer, one fact remains. Courage is a confident display of power—to engage when others cower. And those questioning Peter and John that day saw an incredible display of courage, uncommon for “ordinary men.” It wasn’t something that mustered up in them, but rather Someone that rubbed off on them. Exposure to the ultimate source of power (Jer 32:17) gave these ordinary men extraordinary courage.
Your thoughts? How has being with Jesus given you extraordinary courage?
Focusing on Peter for a moment… I think you’re wrong, Leary. 🙂
I think the “Someone” who changed Peter wasn’t Jesus walking with him, but was the Holy Spirit living in him (beginning in Acts 2 and confirmed in Acts 4:8).
Granted, the crowd (not having been at Pentecost) attributes Peter’s courage and wise words to the fact he spent time with Jesus… but based on his reaction to Jesus’ arrest and trial, I’d argue that those years (alone) aren’t what transformed him.
This is very good news for us Christians; today we can’t walk with Jesus in the flesh but, if our theology is true, we do have the Holy Spirit living in us just as Peter did. That’s even better, right?
Hi Eric! Thanks for your comment. You add an important clarification to the post that Peter & John’s courage came as a result of the indwelling of the Spirit. Clearly, the Sanhedrin didn’t know to attribute Peter & John’s courage to the presence of the Spirit within them. The point I hoped to make with the post is that courage for us comes the same way – walking with Jesus through the “Spirit of Christ” (Rom 8:9) indwelling us. And that, as you say, is good news indeed!