Acts 4:13 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and “untrained” men, they were marveling and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus”. The Greek word for “untrained” is “ἰδιώτης” (idiōtēs), which originally referred to a private individual or layperson, contrasting with someone in a public or official role. Over time, it evolved to imply a lack of education or skill, leading to its modern connotation of “idiot” as a foolish person. In Jesus’ day, the ruling class was made up of the educated upper class, the priests, scribes, lawyers, Pharisees, Sadducees, etc. These were the learned and the educated, in contrast to Peter and John.
So, in Acts 4:5 we have Peter and John, unlearned men, being used by the Holy Spirit. They were brought before “the rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family”. This ruling class was amazed at Peter and John, some translations say they “marveled” at them. Can you imagine the indignation they had for Peter and John? These lower class men? But the Lord had just used them to heal the lame beggar, and their speech and knowledge had been “quickened” by the Holy Spirit. They realized that Peter and John had been with Jesus.
There is much to say about all of this, but I want to hit home that fact that there is a huge difference between these learned rulers and the unlearned disciples. The power of the Holy Spirit surpasses the highest education, it surpasses your status in life. A W Tozer has a chapter in one of his books entitled “Bible Taught or Spirit Taught” that speaks about this. Click this link to read it.
The Apostle Paul had been part of this ruling class of Jews. When the Lord appeared to him and he received the Holy Spirit, he was never the same. We are told in Philippians 3 that Paul counted “all things as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Jesus”. He walked away from the ruling class; the Spirit had given him something better! So in God’s kingdom, if we come to Jesus, it doesn’t matter our education or status in society. The Spirit is given to all! People can know that we “have been with Jesus”.
On a side note- Over the years, we have helped create a “ruling “class of preachers, ministers and prophets that have captured the attention of the modern church. We have elevated the teachers that have PhD’s, the so called prophets that have written many books or have a huge internet following, ministers that are getting rich off the gospel, convincing us that God has blessed them because they supposedly have some anointing from the Lord. Their ministries are viewed as successful by worldly standards, we forget that unlearned men, like Peter and John, can have an anointing that surpasses the status and so called success of the Christian world. Some of them have fallen into sin and have been exposed. We have seen some of the most educated leaders and apologists be exposed in recent years. People that we have elevated to a high status because of their knowledge and training. They may have started in the Spirit, but now they have a hard time being honest or accountable, they resort to lies and covering up their sin. Their ministries have become so large, that protecting that ministry takes priority, to the point that these leaders cease to walk by the Spirit. It ought not to be so!
Niels Prip - Blog 