Are You An Idiot?

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. — Acts 4:13, ESV

"COMMON"  |  idiotes  |  layman, someone not an expert, untrained

The religious leaders were amazed by the following in Peter and John:

1). Their boldness.
2). The were uneducated.
3). They were common.

That word "common" there is the Greek word idiotes which is where we get our word for "idiot." As Peter and John stood before the 71 members of the Sanhedrin, Peter preached not as a victim in fear before these powerful men, but rather as one with power and boldness. These same members of the Sanhedrin had orchestrated the crucifixion just months before. In this passage they were confronted with one of Jesus' disciples. And their response to him: they were astonished. And why was this?  ...they recognized that [he] had been with Jesus.

Peter and John were considered to be "idiots", and yet the wealthy, educated and powerful stood amazed at them because of their boldness and intelligence. But the key to it was not Peter and John. Rather, it was that they had been with Jesus.

Tonight we look at this topic at FLOOD. It is vital to understand that the more that we hang out with Jesus, the more people will recognize by our lives that we have been with him. It will be obvious because of how different we are. We are adequately inadequate, and yet Jesus prefers this. We are not qualified to do his work, and yet he has declared us qualified and equipped us to do just that. Being used by Jesus has nothing to do with how well educated or how wealthy we are. Rather, it has everything to do with whether or not we have been with Jesus. It comes down to our relationship with Christ.

So, are you an idiot?