After the lame man at Gate Beautiful was healed and came in rejoicing at Solomon’s Porch, Peter began to preach Christ and Him crucified. He was not ministering to saved folk like you see on Wednesday or Sunday, but He was speaking to the very people who once chanted, “Crucify Him.” When he finished his message, Peter won 5,000 souls to Jesus Christ, which could have been more because in those days, they usually just counted the men, not the women and children. So, since the Day of Pentecost, by this time, at least 8,000 people had come to know Jesus Christ through the “fallen preacher” who had now been restored. Of course, the religious leaders, such as the Pharisees, Sadducees and leaders of the temple, despised what they were seeing and hearing. They were grieved because of Peter’s words, and they had these two arrested, meaning that the first recorded miracle of the book of Acts resulted in the very first persecution of the early church.

After they had been arrested, they were brought before the “religious elite,” as they were asked, “By what power, or by what name have you done this?” Acts 4:7-12 says, “And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Just as before, he preached no other name but the name of Jesus Christ. What was so amazing about this is that Peter and John were not educated like the Rabbis. In the Jewish culture, by the age of 5, children could quote the entire Torah, which was the first five books of the Bible. By the time they reached 12, they would be able to know whether or not their profession and destiny was in understanding and teaching the scriptures, or if they needed a much lower scaled job, like tax collecting and fishing. Peter and John were not part of that Pharisaical group. Instead, they were the “ignorant” and “uneducated” kind. Yet, these are the people that Jesus Christ would choose to be His disciples, and although these men did not have a wall full of degrees with a fancy desk that had “Dr.” in front of their names, they still had signs, wonders and miracles confirming the gospel that they preached and lived by! The reason is because they were not merely acquainted with Jesus, but they knew Him!

I am reminded of Leonard Ravenhill when he said, “Ministers who do not spend two hours a day in prayer are not worth a dime a dozen – degrees or no degrees.” You can spend much time studying, which there is absolutely nothing wrong with, but the prayer closet is where you can meet and know God. The world, even some in the church, may call you “unlearned” and “ignorant” because you have not earned or been rewarded the same opportunities they have to receive a higher education, but if you have read and applied God’s Word, and you spend time on your knees in prayer, you stand as the majority with God! That is what puzzled men like Annas and Caiaphas so significantly. They heard what Peter and John were saying, and they know what they had heard and been taught in their classes, but they could not deny this lame man, who had been in the condition for over 40 years, walking, leaping, rejoicing and praising God. They could tell these men had been with Jesus, not just because of the message they heard preached, which was saturated in the anointing and power of God, but also due to the signs, wonders and miracles that followed them, just as Jesus had when He preached the truth. It is the truth that will make people free, and it still works today. When you enter before the judgment seat of Christ, He is not going to ask you how many sheets of paper called degrees you were able to obtain to glorify your successes while living on this planet, but rather did you show His love, proclaim the truth and confirm it with the supernatural! Sure, a degree can help you win friends and be an inspiration and influence to others, but it does not pull people out of hell’s gates. You must be born again, and your mission is to place the jewels of souls in the crown of our beloved Savior! Naturally, you can be considered uneducated, but supernaturally, you can be a giant in the faith. You can be both educated and a giant in the faith, as well as you can be neither. Regardless, you must choose your destiny!