What Do You Know?

Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. [Acts 2.41]

Beginning in Acts 2.14 and continuing through the verse above, there is something significant to be seen in the life of Peter.

First, we should remember that Peter was a fisherman. As society and religion go, Peter was noted elsewhere as an unlearned, uneducated man:

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. [Acts 4.13]

Now, here is the interesting point: for Peter to be described as "ordinary... with no special training in the Scriptures," sure seems counterintuitive when compared to the eloquence of Peter's sermon in Acts 2.14-40 filled with Scriptural references.

Question: was Peter's knowledge of the Scriptures a supernatural thing? Or, did we miss something about Jesus' recorded time with His disciples?

Let's look at a clue provided in Jesus' trial and questioning:

Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.” [John 18.19-21]

Most noteworthy about the passage above is that whatever Jesus was teaching His followers was significant enough in practice that the high priest knew it was happening!

So what had Jesus been teaching His followers? It would seem from Peter's Day of Pentecost sermon, that Jesus had been teaching them MUCH more than what the Gospels actually document! Peter's boldness was not based on supernatural unction, but on three years of intense teaching at the feet of the Master evidenced in his quoting Scriptures (Old Testament, mind you) that appropriately described the unusual events of the Day of Pentecost!

It should give modern "believers" great pause to consider Peter's sermon in contrast to their own inability recite more than a couple scriptures.

As the counsel was amazed at the boldness of Peter and John with their lack of formal education in the Scriptures, would those who would investigate our lives today find such amazement with our knowledge and understanding of God's Word?

I will just go ahead and answer the question just posed: NO. We have Jesus' teachings in the New Testament along with all the same Old Testament Scriptures He and the disciples had and most remain alarmingly ignorant of the Bible in general. Again, "fisherman" Peter serves as an example of what spending real time with the written and living Word of God looks, sounds, and acts like.

Father, help us to more intently focus on Your Word (written and living). Help us get past our "comfort scriptures" and get to the place where we KNOW YOUR WORD for every circumstance and situation we encounter!