“…they had been with Jesus.” – Acts 4:13 (ESV)
The above piece of Scripture is one of the most beautiful and encouraging truths.
Think about all of Jesus’ disciples and who they were before they met Jesus. Peter was impulsive, often speaking before thinking, and prone to making bold declarations that were followed by embarrassing failures. This was the man who confidently proclaimed he would never deny Jesus and then, just hours later, cowered before a servant girl and swore he didn’t know Him. Three times he denied knowing Jesus (Luke 22:44-62). Three times he failed. When Jesus was arrested, Peter fled with the others, his courage evaporating like morning dew.
And now? Now this same Peter stands before the most intimidating religious court in the land and preaches Jesus without flinching (Acts 4). What changed?
He had been with Jesus.
Not just during the three years of ministry, though, that laid the foundation. But specifically, he had encountered the risen Christ. He had been forgiven, restored, and commissioned. He had been filled with the Holy Spirit. This, coupled with every moment of teaching, every shared meal, every rebuke, and restoration, had left an indelible mark on his soul.
The religious leaders in Acts 4 were unable to explain it. They couldn’t deny it. They couldn’t replicate it with all their education and position. These unlettered fishermen (Peter and John) had something that credentials couldn’t provide: the unmistakable imprint of time spent with Jesus.
Throughout Scripture, we see this pattern repeated: proximity to God changes people.
Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai in the presence of God, and when he came down, his face literally glowed. The radiance was so intense that the people were afraid to come near him (Exodus 34:29-35). Something had happened to him in that sacred space, something visible, tangible, undeniable. The glory of God had rubbed off on him.
David was a shepherd boy, the youngest and considered the least of Jesse’s sons. When Samuel came to anoint a king, David wasn’t even invited to the gathering. Yet this overlooked teenager had spent long hours under the sun and stars, worshipping the God of Israel, who kept him. Those hidden hours of intimacy shaped him into “a man after God’s own heart,” not his military skill, not his political savvy. His heart was formed in the secret place with God.
Consider Mary of Bethany, the same Mary who sat at Jesus’ feet (Luke 10:38-42). Later in the Gospels (John 12:1-8), we find her performing one of the most extravagant acts of worship recorded in Scripture: breaking an alabaster jar of expensive perfume and anointing Jesus’ feet, wiping them with her hair. One disciple criticised the ‘waste,’ but Jesus highlighted her act of devotion as preparation for His burial. Her proximity to Jesus hadn’t just given her knowledge; it had transformed her heart, producing worship that shocked everyone around her.
The woman at the well in John 4 was also affected by Jesus’ proximity. Her life could have been considered a wreck: five failed marriages, and she was now living with a man who wasn’t her husband, shunned by her community, defined by her shame. But one conversation with Jesus changed everything. She forgot her reason for visiting the well and ran into the town, telling everyone about the Man who had told her everything she had ever done. The woman who had been hiding in shame became an evangelist!
Proximity to Jesus transformed her identity. It can transform you. Seek Him today.
Read: Exodus 33:14-15; John 15:4-5
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 7:10-17; Matthew 8:23-34; Matthew 9:1-13; Genesis 21; Genesis 22; Genesis 23