“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)
Seminarian,
Summer is over. The next academic year is here. Whether this semester begins your first or last year of seminary, look beyond the syllabi to graduation day. How do you want to leave seminary?
By definition, seminary is a means to an end. The English word seminary comes from the Latin word seminarium, meaning “seedbed.” Merriam-Webster defines “seedbed” as, “soil or a bed of soil prepared for planting seed; a place or source of growth or development.”[1] That is what seminary is—a place of preparation, where not seeds, but seminarians, are planted to grow and develop. After spending four years in the seriously joyful soil of Bethlehem Seminary, what’ll be produced of you? If seminary is a means to an end, what’s the end?
In Acts 4:13, Luke records how two seminary graduates left seminary, “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).
Despite having Ph.D.s in the Law, the rulers (4:5–6) wrongly “perceived” what it meant to be educated. In one sense, Peter and John were “uneducated.” Like Jesus, they had no formal rabbinic training. At the same time, Peter and John were educated, “they had been with Jesus.”
The disciples went to seminary, the seminary of Jesus. For three years, twelve students studied under the Savior, learned from the Lord, and apprenticed with the Almighty. As a result, two students, Peter and John, were “recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
Notice that Peter and John were not recognized for their credentials, but for their Christlikeness. Rather than being recognized for having a piece of paper, they were recognized for being with a person. They left seminary not merely informed, but transformed.
While the rulers may have recognized Peter and John for having physically been with Jesus, this should be true not only of these two disciples, but of every disciple—to be recognized that they had been with Jesus. Jesus said this is the goal of his seminary: “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). Christian, seminarian or not, we’re now Jesus’ disciples. Are we becoming like our Teacher? Do others recognize that we’ve been with Jesus?
Specifically, it was the Christ-like “boldness” (Acts 4:13) of Peter and John that caused the council to recognize that they had been with Jesus. But their boldness came from being “filled with the Holy Spirit” (4:8). It was because of the Spirit, not seminary, that the rulers recognized that Peter and John had been with Jesus. Peter and John were like Christ because they were filled with the Spirit of Christ.
This is what the world is starving for—seminarians who leave seminary not merely filled with scholarship, skill, or strategy, but the Spirit; graduates who are not merely intellectual, but spiritual.
Seminarian, when you leave seminary, what will you be recognized for? Will you be recognized for your GPA? Will you be recognized for your résumé? Will you be recognized for your knowledge of the Bible or mastery of biblical languages? Will you be recognized for your theological positions? Will you be recognized for your ministry methodologies? Will you be recognized for your preaching or musical gift? Or will you be recognized for being with Jesus?
We’ll only be recognized for being with Jesus if we’ve actually been with Jesus.
In seminary, we have the great privilege to be with Jesus as our four-year vocation. But proximity to Jesus doesn’t mean conformity to Jesus. Judas also attended the seminary of Jesus. Therefore, we should be careful not to equate being with Jesus with being like Jesus. Yet, it’s no coincidence that Peter and John were among the three disciples closest to Jesus during his earthly ministry (Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:33). Because they were with Jesus, they became like Jesus.
While we may be in classrooms not Capernaum, through the Spirit, we are no less with Jesus. Each class we attend, each assignment we complete, each paper we write, each page we read, each vocabulary word we memorize is an invitation to be like Mary “who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching” (Luke 10:39).
What’s Greek, if not a means of hearing the voice of Jesus more clearly? What’s theology, if not a means of knowing the mind of Jesus more deeply? What’s church history, if not a means of witnessing the work of Jesus more faithfully? What’s seminary, if not a means of sitting at the feet of Jesus more closely?
This is the aim of seminary: to graduate not merely with a diploma, but as the aroma of Christ.
May what was said of Peter and John also be said of every Bethlehem Seminary graduate: And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
Brandon Andrews, Seminarian
[1] Merriam-Webster, s.v. “seedbed,” accessed August 19, 2025, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seedbed