Ryan's Ramblings

Been With Jesus

“When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, NIV)

I meet every week with a group of educated young men for Bible study—guys who are genuinely trying to follow Jesus. A few weeks ago, while we were reading Acts 4, Dominic leaned back and said, “I don’t buy that Peter and John were unschooled. They spent three years walking with Jesus. Isn’t that about the length of time it takes to earn a doctorate?”

We chuckled at his comment—but then sat with it. He had a point.

Peter and John didn’t attend rabbinical school, and they didn’t carry religious credentials. But they followed the Word made flesh. They ate with Him, traveled with Him, listened to Him teach, watched Him weep, heard Him laugh, and saw Him heal. He didn’t just shape their theology; He shaped their entire way of being. It wasn’t classroom learning—it was daily apprenticeship with Jesus.

And now, filled with His Spirit, the disciples were doing exactly what He did. Just days earlier, Peter had healed a man who couldn’t walk. Then he stood before a hostile council and declared that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus. These weren’t timid followers anymore. Their courage, clarity, and authority made it obvious—they had been with Him.

I’ve spent a lot of time in classrooms, both as a teacher and as a student. And here’s what I’ve learned: godly wisdom doesn’t come from seat time. It comes from walking with Jesus. He is the source of Truth. In Him, “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). He doesn’t just inform us—He transforms us. Wisdom doesn’t grow through textbooks, but through time in His presence.

In Acts 11, we’re told that the early believers were first called “Christians” in the city of Antioch. It wasn’t a badge of honor—it was a slur. It meant “those belonging to Christ” or “Christ’s men.” A label of reproach for people who lived and looked a little too much like Him. The world thought they were fools. But they had been with Jesus—and His Spirit now lived in them—and that made all the difference.

Degrees may impress. Positions might matter. But presence—His presence—is what remains. The world may call you unschooled, ordinary, even foolish. Fine. Let them. But may one name stick—in its truest sense, not reduced to a label or a title.

Christian—not as a badge we wear, but as a life we live. And most of all, may the world take note that we have… been with Jesus.