No Other Name

In Acts Chapter 3 Luke gives us the account of Peter and John healing a lame man through the authority of Jesus Christ the Nazarene. Of course, the man himself and the crowd observing were astounded by this event. Peter made it clear that it was not by the apostles' power that this was done, but by the name (authority) of Jesus, Whom they had crucified.

As chapter 4 begins, the temple officials had decided they could not tolerate the apostles proclaiming salvation through Jesus Christ. The men must be jailed and silenced. They were a little too late, though, because Acts 4:4 tells us that already 5,000 of those who heard the message had believed. Nevertheless, the religious leaders put the men on trial, demanding to know "by what power, or in what name, have you done this?" (Acts 4:7). In the filling of the Holy Spirit, Peter replied:

"..let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12

Acts 4:12 is among my top five favorite scriptures. There is no denying the absoluteness of it. Anyone who thinks there are "many ways" to God does not know or believe the Bible, for in the Bible Jesus is presented as the ONLY way. Wise sages, brilliant philosophers, heroic champions, extreme ascetics, "good" men come and go, but only one person has paid the penalty for your sins, died and been resurrected to demonstrate power over death. Only one name is given Who is the provider of our salvation. Jesus. You cannot rationalize this. He, Himself said it: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." John 14:6. Another of the top five. You can't do it yourself. No one else except Jesus can do it for you. So, who you gonna call?

Israel's leaders couldn't stop Jesus the Man from teaching and miraculously healing those who came to Him for help. Now that they had "killed" Him, the miraculous gifts were being multiplied in His apostles and throughout the Church (John 12:24). They still could not stop it. It has always been beyond their control, but the legalists don't ever seem to grasp that reality. They keep trying to plug the opening that the glory is shining through. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:5. The light always finds an outlet and bursts through.

What could the religionists say? Nothing. They recognized these apostles as being Jesus' men, and knew that they had not had professional scholarly training, yet spoke eloquently about the scriptures, applying the Old Testament prophesies to their Master, Jesus of Nazareth. So, they had to confer among themselves:

..saying, “What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in this name.” (Can you believe the arrogance? These Galileans are performing miracles in their midst and they are going to WARN them?!) And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:16-20

The Holy Spirit was indwelling and filling these men. They had a mission to fulfill and no man would be able to silence them. God's Word and God's commission take priority over the demands of the world. Having entered into the work they had been called and equipped to do, they could only keep preaching. This was their destiny.