You Have Resurrection Power

Now when the members of the Council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law meeting in Jerusalem saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

Just a few weeks before this incident, the disciples were scared and trembling for their lives as Jesus was arrested and then crucified. They had all fled in the Garden of Gethsemane and then Peter, who was probably the boldest of them all had denied him three times. The fact that they had been serving with Jesus for three years, witnessing many awe-inspiring miracles, including Peter’s spectacular walk on the water, apparently did not inspire the necessary courage to watch for an hour or to stick with Him to the end. It was as if seeing miracles had now become so routine and common-place that when the threat to Jesus came full force, they failed miserably.

So what happened that changed their state of being so dramatically in this encounter with the Jewish leaders? I believe it was two things:

1. They had seen their Lord resurrected from the dead, and

2. They were now filled with that resurrection life and power themselves, by the Holy Spirit.

The power of the resurrection was now upon them! The reality and security of God’s indwelling Presence and power, and His words “Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do”, inspired a boldness far beyond any merely human courage.

This boldness amazed the Sadducees and Pharisees who despised Peter and John as “unlearned and ignorant” men. They marvelled at the fearlessness of the apostles whose knowledge was of a different and superior kind: the knowledge of their RISEN and RESURRECTED Lord. And then they noted, that these men had been with Jesus!

This same power is yours, and it is mine if we continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit, not quenching or grieving Him. We, too, will confound and amaze the “authorities” of our day with the holy boldness of resurrection life, and though they may despise our humble circumstances, they also will take note that, “we have been with Jesus”.