Ordinary Men, Serious Word
The Relationship: From Torah to Jesus
A recent call inspired this challenge.
Go to seminary.
Whether you go to school or not is not the point.
The point is discipleship—to learn the Word, have a trusting relationship with the Author, and live a life of faithfulness and fruit, obeying and living fully.
It is to go deeper in the Word, not only for knowledge and understanding, but for the increase of relationship. When relationship becomes stronger with the King of kings, obedience becomes more important. When obedience and surrender become a normal part of daily life with God, life becomes fuller and more purposeful.
To start this short series, let’s look at a verse that is widely misunderstood.
Acts 4:13
Luke is writing narrative, a true account. Peter and John are standing before the Sanhedrin, the highest religious court in Israel. They have been preaching Jesus, and now the leaders are trying to stop them.
“And 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.”
The word “uneducated” (agrammatoi) does not mean stupid. It means “unschooled,” not formally trained in the recognized academic track of their day.1
The word “common” (idiotai) does not mean “idiots.” It means ordinary, untrained, laymen. Not professional religious elites.2
So yes, the leaders were right on one thing.
Peter and John were not formally credentialed men.
John 7:15 shows the same kind of reaction people had toward Jesus. They were shocked at His learning because He did not come through their system.
Yet they were educated in two more important ways.
They knew the Scriptures.
And they had been with Jesus.
That is the line that should grab our attention.
They recognized they had been with Jesus.
Quick side note. It is fascinating that the religious elite did not refute Peter and John about the resurrection of Jesus. “Had it seemed possible to refute them on this point, how readily would the Sanhedrin have seized the opportunity. Had they succeeded, how quickly and completely the new movement would have collapsed.” Bruce points out that if the Sanhedrin could have refuted the resurrection, the movement would have collapsed fast.3
But they could not.
No questions. They saw the boldness, the parresia, of Peter and John. Not arrogance. Not vibes. Spirit-powered courage to speak clearly, publicly, and without flinching.4
And notice what the early believers prayed for. They did not pray for comfort. They prayed for boldness to keep speaking His Word. (Acts 4:29–31)
Back to these “untrained” men.
They Were Not Rabbinnic Graduates, But They Were Torah-Formed
This is where modern readers miss the world Peter and John grew up in.
Deuteronomy was clear. God’s people were to have His words in their hearts, then teach and talk about them constantly. In the home. On the road. Morning and night. (Deuteronomy 6:6–9) They were also commanded to explain the story of redemption to their children, especially the Exodus, so the next generation would fear the Lord and walk with Him. (Deuteronomy 6:20–25)
The law, life, and love of God were meant to be central to Jewish life.
Now, I know this sounds scholarly-like attachment to their identity.
That does not mean every Jewish man was a scholar.
It means the covenant community was designed to form people in Scripture, even outside formal schooling.
Josephus, writing in the first century, brags about Jewish upbringing like this: children are taught to read and to learn the laws and the deeds of their fathers, so they can imitate what is good and have no excuse for ignorance.5
Is Josephus idealizing his people in an apologetic defense? Possibly.
But even as an ideal, it tells you something about what Jews valued, what they aimed at, and what the culture was built around.
And here is another key nuance.
Literacy in the ancient world was not like today. Many people could not read well, sometimes at all. Some scholars argue literacy could have been under 10 percent in a pre-industrial society, maybe even closer to 5 percent in certain contexts.6
So how could Scripture still shape a people?
Because Scripture was not only read privately. It was heard publicly. Repeated. Sung. Memorized. Spoken at home. Carried in the bones of daily life—meals, celebrations, and the like.
So when Acts 4 calls Peter and John “unschooled,” do not hear “Scripture-starved.”
I understand it this way.
Not credentialed by the elite.
Still formed by the Word.
Now filled with the Spirit.
And marked by time with Jesus.
And you can see it in the text.
Standing on trial, Peter quotes Scripture with accuracy and force. “The stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” (Acts 4:11, quoting Psalm 118:22)
That is not shallow.
That is a man whose mind has been furnished by God’s Word, and whose courage has been lit on fire by the risen Christ.
The Other Danger, Religion Without Relationship
Scripture also shows what happens when the law becomes a god.
When people turn commandments into pride and performance, religious systems form that create elites who end up following each other more than following God. Jesus confronted this. They honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him. They elevated tradition over the Word of God. (Mark 7:6–13)
So...
I am not saying “study makes you holy.”
And I am not saying “seminary equals intimacy.”
I am saying this.
You cannot claim you want Jesus while refusing His voice.
And His primary voice is His Word.
So, Where Does That Leave Us?
Here is where it has left me.
I went to a Christian high school, grew up in the church, and went to an incredible seminary, Dallas Theological Seminary.
Through my experiences with life being enveloped with Bible, I did not always hear much about surrender, dependence, and relationship with God. I heard a lot of knowledge. I learned a lot of information.
But relationship is the point.
I averaged a very low B at seminary because I wanted my personal time with God to flourish more than my grades.
And honestly, I am glad I did. (More on that next article).
Never Finished Challenge: Become Students
Back to Peter and John, and you.
Do not use Acts 4:13, or anyone’s comments about it, as an excuse to avoid seminary, avoid depth, or avoid the real meaning and context of the text.
Become students.
Not for knowledge's sake, for relationship's sake.
Does a child trust Mom and Dad because they are never present? No.
A child with present parents who pour into their child with love and truth will be better equipped outside the home when Mom and Dad are not around, because trust has been formed.
Grow your trust with the Lord.
Let Him show you, through His Word, who He is, what His will is, and who you are.
And bring other trusted believers along on the journey. Discipleship is not isolation. It is following Jesus together.
Lastly, make sure you are under faithful teaching. Go to a church where the Bible is opened and explained in context, centered on Jesus. Test what you hear by Scripture. (Acts 17:11)
LAW AND GOSPEL, CLEARLY
The law exposes how easily we drift into laziness, pride, and surface religion. It shows our need.
The gospel announces that Jesus Christ lived the obedience we failed to live, died for our sins, rose again, and saves us by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. When we are His, obedience becomes fruit, not payment. (Ephesians 2:8–10)
If you want help learning how to read the Bible in context, dm me. I will also be writing about this to help guide.
Prayer
Jesus, make me a man who has been with You. Forgive my laziness and my pride. Give me hunger for Your Word, not to impress anyone, but to know You. Fill me with Your Spirit so obedience flows from love. Thank You that You save me by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Amen.
Bill Mounce, Greek Dictionary, “ἀγράμματος (agrammatos).
Bill Mounce, Greek Dictionary, “ἰδιώτης (idiotes).
F. F. Bruce, The Book of the Acts (NICNT), Eerdmans, 1988, note on Acts 4 (often cited around p. 103 in older references).
Bill Mounce, Greek Dictionary, “παρρησία (parresia).
Josephus, Against Apion 2.204.
Meir Bar-Ilan, “Illiteracy in the Land of Israel in the First Centuries C.E.(discussion of pre-industrial literacy estimates).