Being With Jesus – Part 1
August 8, 2010
Acts 4:1–13 (NIV) The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. 5 The next day the rulers, elders and teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and the other men of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 He is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 13 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.
On one of my recent wanderings through the myriad of blogs available on the internet, I came across on by a fellow named Mike Messerli. His profile describes him as “an old pastor trying to finish well.” I know nothing else about him, but this is what he wrote.
One of my good friends and ministry partner is Brandon. He and his beautiful wife are missionaries in Guatemala. In a comment he made yesterday on another post he said this, “Two friends of ours here, Dave and Helen Ekstrom, are 84 and 83 and when they drop in for a visit Jenny and I stop whatever we are doing and just chat with them. Someone needs to write their stories down. Anyway, when they leave, we are just amazed. We feel like we have been spending time with Jesus. As we thought about that, we realized that those two people are more like Christ than anyone we have ever met. Being with them feels very much like being with Jesus.”
Have you ever been with someone like that? When they leave, you feel like you’ve spent time with Jesus? It is a tribute not only to those people, but to our Lord and Savior as well. I’ve have had and still have people in my life who make me feel that way. Hopefully you do, too.
The reading today from the book of Acts speaks of two of those who actually did get to spend time with Jesus: Peter and John. In the previous chapter, these two disciples of Jesus were going to the Temple and encountered a man who was crippled from birth. Peter said to him, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” God healed this man using Peter and John as His instruments. This caused a lot of people to take notice of Peter and John, and they used it as an opportunity to share the message of Jesus with all who would listen. They spoke of how Jesus had been put to death to pay for sins and how He rose from the dead in victory. They called the people to repent and believe in Jesus. This did not sit well with the Temple priests, who had these two arrested and thrown in jail. The next day the Jewish leaders brought them out and questioned them about what had happened. They asked “By what power or what name did you do this.” That was all the opening Peter needed. The Holy Spirit filled him and he said,
“Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed … Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Peter and John seized the chance to share the hope that was in them. They wanted everyone to know and hear and Jesus. And the next verse is the one I want to stick with you today: 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. They had been with Jesus. That makes the difference. They had no formal education. They were plain folk, probably pretty rough and raw at that. They had been fishermen. It wasn’t a hobby – it was how they made their living – Intense physical labor. But then Jesus came into their lives. They heard John the Baptizer speak about Him. They listened to Jesus teach the crowds. And then they heard Jesus say, “Follow me. I will make you fishers of men.” Scripture tells us they left everything to do just that. follow Jesus. From the time He said “Follow Me” that is what they did. They got to be with Jesus.
That’s what we need in our lives. We need to be with Jesus. Of course, we don’t get to be with Him like those first disciples got to be with Him. They had Him there in flesh and blood, walked with Him, talked with Him, ate with Him, slept with Him. We don’t get that. Or do we?
If you want to get to know Jesus and you want to be like Jesus, you need to be with Jesus. You need to spend time with Him. It is possible still today. We can walk and talk and eat and sleep with Jesus.
- You spend time with Jesus when you speak to Him in prayer. That is your chance to talk with Him about anything and everything.
- You get to be with Jesus when you let Him speak to you in His Word. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you, let it fill you up, let it be in you.
- You get to be with Jesus in a special way when you approach this altar to receive His Body and Blood through this meal of bread and wine that has His Word and promise attached to it. This is an intimate way that you get to be with your Lord and have the assurance of His love, His mercy, His forgiveness, His acceptance.
- When you lay your head down at night and say your prayers, you have the promise of His presence with you: I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. Psalm 3:5 (NIV) You can pray “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep” and know that He will be with you.
You get to live with Jesus. You get to be with Jesus. Do people notice that about you? Can they tell? Do others take note that you have been with Jesus? Maybe not everyone will notice. But I can pretty much guarantee you that if you don’t spend time being with Jesus every day people will not mistake you for someone who does.
I have a brother-in-law named Eddie. Some of you have met him. He’s a great guy, and people like to be around him. What you may not know is that Eddie is a recovering alcoholic. When I first got to know him, he shared with me that in his youth he lived a pretty rough life. To be honest, it was a very rough life. He was always in trouble, always getting into fights, and often found himself on the wrong side of the law. He spent some time in jail. He was telling me all this, and then he flashed a big smile and said, “That was before me and Jesus became friends.” He has looked for love and peace and happiness in the things this world had to offer, but did not find them until he came to faith in Christ. Today, you would be hard pressed to find a more decent, kind and caring individual than Eddie. And he is the first to tell you that being with Jesus has made the difference in his life.
It was true for the disciples. It is true for you. Being with Jesus makes the difference. We’ll talk about this more next week.
