ON one occasion Peter and John instantaneously healed a man who had been lame from birth. For this good deed they were haled before the council, consisting of the high priest, the rulers, elders, and scribes, who, "when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, . . . marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus" (Acts 4: 13).
Well may the members of the council have marveled. Those who appeared to them to be "unlearned and ignorant men" were spiritual seers. They had been transformed, for "they had been with Jesus." In the radiance of the new birth they felt impelled to be about their Father's business, healing the sick and the sinning and destroying death.
Many people besides Jesus' immediate disciples had the exalting experience of intimate association with the beloved Master. Many had long talks with this exponent of God, the greatest spiritual teacher of all time. He must have lived the spirit of his call (Matt. 11:28), "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," for multitudes came to him. And sincere inquirers were not sent away empty; they were healed and regenerated; they heard truths which had been "kept secret from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 13:35).
