“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)

Everyone expects preachers to be bold. It’s no surprise when you go a different church and the preacher says things in a way that seems confident. Preachers (good ones) don’t preach about Jesus being “a way”, they preach that He is “the way”. We expect preachers to say that Jesus Christ is the only name by which men might be saved. After all, that’s what preachers do, right?

As a Christian, It is our desire to glorify Jesus. Sounds nice right? Might be an answer you could give in Sunday school and get a couple gold stars and a pat on the head for. But what does that mean exactly?

Glad you asked! Another way to say “I glorify Jesus” might be to say “I make Jesus matter to people” When Apostles Peter and John were surrounded by an elite group of well-educated and highly revered men like Priests, Elders and experts in the law, they had an opportunity to make Jesus matter. The Holy Spirit had done his part by healing a crippled man, now they were being asked by what name they had done it.

When Peter and John answered, they didn’t hold back. They didn’t give a thought to their safety or their image. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and they not only answered that it was in Jesus name that the man was healed, but they went on to add that it was only in Jesus name that all men could be saved! (4:5-12)

This brings us to the verse from the top of the page…

Notice what caused all these important men to be taken back. Notice what astonished them! It wasn’t just the message. It was the messengers! Normal people don’t talk like that! “Two fishermen walk into a synagogue” sounds more like a joke than anything else! Peter couldn’t even stand up to a little girl two months earlier!

It was their boldness that set them on their heels! Their haughty smirks were wiped right off their faces. These guys were nobodies, they were losers, they were… normal. How could normal people speak like this? Then, they recognized they had been with Jesus! You see, Jesus equips the losers to boast in him like winners!

Have you experienced the salvation of Jesus Christ?

Do you desire to make Jesus matter to other people?

People expect preacher in pulpits to be bold about Jesus. But they're not expecting it from their neighbor or their classmate. They don't expect it from their plummer or their barber or their accountant. Those aren't preachers! But when those people are bold about the salvation in Jesus, that makes Jesus matter to people. That's how you glorify Jesus.