Holy Boldness

“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

The resurrection of Jesus is transformational. On the night Jesus was betrayed, His disciples fled from Him. After His resurrection, ten of His disciples were hiding in the upper room locked away because of their fear of the Jews. Since the Jewish leaders were behind the plot to kill Jesus, what was to keep the authorities from killing them?

Remarkably, not too long after encountering the risen Christ, the disciples were transformed. So transformed that by Acts 4, two of the disciples who had been present in the upper room the night Jesus appeared, were brought before the very group they were afraid of because of their testimony to Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. And rather than being fearful, they were bold. So bold that the rulers were astonished and “perceived that they were uneducated, common men” who “had been with Jesus.”

What could make these “uneducated, common men” so bold? What could cause such transformation? The answer is simple: the resurrection. After being in the upper room, locked away in fear, Jesus appeared to them. As John records,

“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord”—John 20:19-20.

It was the resurrection that enabled them to be so bold. Death was not the end of life anymore—Jesus had conquered the grave! And not only were they bold in their testimony to Christ, but they prayed for more boldness! As Luke records in Acts 4:29, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to Your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness.” Their boldness was not a manmade boldness but a holy boldness that only comes from being in the presence of a holy God.

Fear is a paralyzing feeling. We live in constant fear. If we testify to Christ’s Lordship, we fear losing our job, being labeled, passed over for promotion, or being sued. The sure cure for fear is boldness. We too, like the disciples, can have holy boldness. We don’t have to have a great education or come from a great background, we simply need to place our faith in God. After all, the disciples were “uneducated, common men.” It was only because they had been with Jesus that they became so bold. God gives holy boldness to all who want to testify to the greatness of who He is and what He has done.

How about you? Are fearful at what others may think of you if you testify to Christ? Ask God for boldness and He’ll give it. He delights in revealing His presence in our lives and He will give us the strength, courage, and fortitude to be so bold that others will see and take notice that we are followers of Jesus. Amen.