The pastor who has been with Jesus is a man of God.  And he does not have to have a cross around his neck bigger than the one Jesus carried up Golgotha for people to know it. His walk, words, and ways make it evident to those who see him and hear him that he has been with Jesus.

A friend and I talked about a conference we both attended, during different years. I told him about the year I attended. Then he told me about the year he attended.

As he listed the speakers he heard, I asked about a particular name. I knew of this man’s ministry but had never heard him speak.  I inquired, “Can he preach?”

My friend answered affirmatively and emphatically. “He knows how to handle the text,” my friend expanded. “And you can tell he’s been with Jesus.”

The conversation ended there because I did not say anything else. I could not. I was stuck on the statement, “And you can tell he’s been with Jesus.”

The statement itself was not new to me. I recognized the biblical reference.

Peter and John were arrested, because of their witness for Christ. And they did not waver in the Christian witness, as they stood trial before the Jewish rulers, elders, and scribes in Jerusalem. Almost parenthetically, Luke notes…

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 apostles did not have formal education, institutional clout of ministerial prominence. But it was obvious that these men had been with Jesus. The religious leaders were not complimenting the Christlikeness of the apostles. It was just a plain statement of fact, even though these religious leaders did not know the magnitude of what they said. The words and deeds of the apostles made it obvious that these men had spent time with Jesus of Nazareth.

This is a great way to describe a preacher of the gospel. He has been with Jesus. Unfortunately, until my friend’s passing statement, I had never heard a preacher’s pulpit ministry described that way.

After scanning my mental files for a moment, I double-clicked on my own ministry. Could this be said of me? When I stand to preach, is it obvious to those who hear me that I have been with Jesus.

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