Now when they 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
I once heard a pastor make a statement that has stayed with me. He said that someone who has genuinely encountered Jesus is easy to notice. Not because they win some great award or receive some recognition this world hands out. Not because they have a platform, a title, or an impressive resume of religious activity. People notice them because their life produces evidence. Something about the way they move through the world points somewhere beyond themselves. And the somewhere it points is unmistakable to anyone paying attention.
Throughout Scripture we see exactly that. Person after person who interacts with Jesus and walks away changed in ways that cannot be fully explained by anything other than the encounter itself. The fishermen who left their nets. The tax collector who climbed out of a tree and gave away half of everything he owned. The woman who had been bent over for eighteen years who stood upright and glorified God. The blind man who went in unable to see and came out able to see and unwilling to be quiet about it.
Every one of them produced evidence. The council that examined Peter and John in Acts 4 was looking for a way to dismiss them. These were not educated men. They had no formal theological training, no credentials, and no institutional backing to explain the authority with which they spoke and the miracle they had performed. By every standard the religious establishment used to measure credibility, Peter and John should have been easy to set aside.
But they could not be set aside. Something about them was undeniable. Something in their boldness, their clarity, the way they stood before the most powerful men in Jerusalem without flinching, it pointed somewhere. And the council, unable to explain it any other way, took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.
That was the explanation. Not education. Not natural ability. Not personal charisma or strategic communication. The time they had spent in His presence had produced something in them that their background alone could never account for.
We cannot interact with Jesus physically the way Peter and John did. We cannot walk the dusty roads of Galilee alongside Him or sit at His feet and hear His voice with our ears. But we can interact with Him spiritually. Through prayer. Through His Word. Through the quiet and consistent practice of making space for His presence in the ordinary moments of our days.
And that spiritual interaction will show evidence in our lives. The same Jesus who changed fishermen into pillars of the early church. The same Jesus who turned a tax collector into a generous giver and a persecutor into an apostle and a doubter into a believer. He is still producing evidence in the lives of the people who spend time with Him. Still marking them in ways that point beyond themselves. Still making them noticeable not because of their own greatness but because of whose presence they have been in.
Over the coming devotionals, we are going to examine that evidence. The words we speak. The love we demonstrate. The boldness we carry. What we pursue. How we give. The peace we hold. All of it tells a story. All of it is building a case.
The question this series asks is simple and searching. Is there enough evidence in your life to convict you of having been with Jesus? A life with Jesus produces evidence. As we continue, search your heart and examine what evidence your life is producing.
Someone Else May Need This Today
If this devotional encouraged you, consider sharing it with someone who may need the same reminder today. Sometimes the simplest way to encourage someone is to put the right words in front of them at the right moment.
You never know how God might use one small act of sharing to meet someone exactly where they are.
Share this devotional with someone who could use the encouragement today.
