Acts 4:12- Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” NKJV
In my last post, I interrupted my study to express my absolute joy at the majesty of God’s creation. However, in this post, I return to the study of Acts. We’re moving to the fourth chapter, where the disciples have been arrested. In the third chapter, a lame man was healed by the power of God when Peter and John were headed into the temple. In chapter four, we continue with the backlash of this miracle; another wonderful display of the Holy Spirit moving in this book.
I was just chatting with one of my daughters and I marveled, as I have in times past, that miracles don’t always draw people to God. In the case of the ministry of Jesus, many believed and embraced Him, while others did not. Especially the religious leaders. Now, the disciples are experiencing the same persecution that Jesus experienced before His crucifixion:
Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
Acts 4:1-2 NKJV
As Peter and John preached the resurrection of Jesus, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees were greatly disturbed by their message. So they had the apostles arrested! I have found that people are okay with me talking about God because everybody has a “god”. But when I start talking about Jesus, some people become uneasy or upset, referring to me as narrow-minded. Fortunately, I haven’t been arrested yet! But the apostles were arrested! Not for illegal activities or being immoral; but because they preached the resurrection of Jesus and demonstrated the power of His Name, and a man was completely healed! But amid that confusion and obvious attack from the devil, the Holy Spirit was moving!
However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
Acts 4:12 NKJV
The church was growing! Despite the attempts of the religious folks to shut it down, it rapidly grew beyond their wildest dreams. This actually reminds me of a parable that Jesus shared with the disciples about the kingdom of God:
Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.”
Mark 4:30-32 NKJV
Isn’t this a picture of what they experienced in Acts? They started out with 120 disciples in the Upper Room in chapter 2. (The Early Church was really small). But now it is growing by leaps and bounds.
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
Acts 2:41 NKJV
By verse 41, three thousand souls have been added to the church. By chapter four, they are numbering around 5,000. We call that a revival! And the kingdom has begun to grow in such a way that it is larger than any other movement or religion on the face of the earth! Don’t get caught up in the devil’s lies about the diminishing effectiveness of the Church of God! It’s still growing, not dying!
After spending a night in jail, they were called before the Sanhedrin. Keener described the Sanhedrin as a ruling council or senate. Typically, the Sanhedrin consisted of the leading citizens of the area. Jerusalem’s Sanhedrin had some influence on national affairs, only to the extent that the Roman government allowed them (Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary, 2013, Vol. 2, p. 1138).
And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?”
Acts 4:7 NKJV
Keener noted that the Sanhedrin sat in a semi-circle around the accused. So with Peter and John in their midst, they asked the disciples, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” This question, of course, referred to the healing of the lame man. I believe the religious rulers asked Jesus a similar question before His crucifixion! When they didn’t answer His question about John, He told them He wouldn’t answer their question (See Matthew 21:23-27)! You’ve gotta love the way Jesus so skillfully handled His adversaries.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:
Acts 4:8 NKJV
We read that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit before he addressed the Sanhedrin. The Holy Spirit empowered him to speak boldly to them, and gave him the words needed to wisely do so! He pointed out that they were the rulers of the people and the elders of Israel implying that he had a higher authority than them. God! Peter continued his defense before the Sanhedrin by stating:
If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.
Acts 4:9-10 NKJV
Peter declared that the man was healed by one name, the name of Jesus! At the same time, he reminded them that this was the same Jesus they had crucified, but whom God had raised from the dead! Isn’t this something? I can hear Peter as he turns the tables on them from being the accused to making an accusation against them for crucifying the Lord! Thank God for the Holy Spirit’s boldness!
This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’
Acts 4:7 NKJV
Now Peter is getting in their faces! He references this scripture from Psalm 118:22, ascribing to them the place of the builders who rejected Jesus, yet despite their rejection of Him, He had become the chief cornerstone. Keener called the cornerstone, “the final stone fitted in place to hold the others in place (Keener, Acts: An Exegetical Commentary, 2013, Vol. 2, p. 1149).” In other words, the One they rejected was the One upon whom everything was held together!
By itself, Peter has preached a powerful message! But the Spirit of God isn’t done, yet! He’s been building to a specific point, a climax; and here it is:
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12 NKJV
That’s it! That’s the statement that the world hates so much! That there is no other name by which man can be saved! They hate that there is no other way a person can be saved! There is no getting around Jesus to get to God! He is the only way to the Father! And the world hates that truth because they are offended by it!
Not only can men be saved by the name of Jesus; but there is healing in that name! The lame man was physically made whole in the name of Jesus! The Sanhedrin had a problem with this! They had crucified Jesus, but they thought that would be the end of their problem with Him! But their problems had only just begun! There is no other name; none like Jesus! Salvation is in the name of Jesus! Wonderful Jesus!
Wonderful Jesus! 