What's in a Name?

From Death to Life

You have heard the phrase that death is part of life - and we know that all too well! We have experienced it, and it hovers ominously over us in so many ways. And yet, as we have seen - in Christ, death is not the end! There is resurrection life in Christ. The disciples had seen Him - they had seen the wounds on His hands and feet. They had become convinced that out of death, comes life. This morning, our text jumps forward a bit, past the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and the church was born. Let’s turn together to Acts 4:1-12 and read a remarkable story about Peter and John.

Acts 4:1–12 NIV

1 The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. 5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. 7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed, 10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11 Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

What an incredible scene! The story is told just before this, in chapter 3, of Peter and John approaching the temple for worship when they came across a paralyzed man who had given up hope. He was brought, ironically enough, each day to the temple gate called “beautiful” so that he could beg for money from those entering the temple. As Peter & John approached, he asked them, as he had been asking everyone else, for money. Most people try to avoid eye contact with such people. It is not easy to look into the eyes of someone that is so unfortunate and helpless. Peter & John, however, looked straight at him and Peter told him that he didn’t have any money. Usually, if someone has no money to give, they certainly will not look at the person. But Peter knew that he had something much better than financial help to give. Peter said, “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.”

The passage we read earlier comes the next day after this great story of healing has occurred. For just a few moments, let’s go back and consider what happened the last time that Peter was anywhere close to the Sanhedrin. It happened the night that Jesus was betrayed. Peter, we are told, followed Jesus and the crowd that arrested Him at a distance. He wanted to be close by to see what was happening, but he didn’t really want to be recognized as a follower. In fact, as Jesus was on trial, Peter warmed himself by the fire and took note of what was happening. But as he was talking to those gathered there, his dialect gave him away, and a young girl that was standing there accused him of being with Jesus as one of His followers. Over the next few hours, Peter was questioned three times about his knowledge of Jesus, and whether he was one of His disciples. Each of the times he was asked, he denied knowing Jesus. In fact, we are told that he finally called down curses upon himself and denied that he knew Him! He wasn’t even on trial, but he refused to even acknowledge Jesus.

What a difference there is now. Now, Peter is the one that is on trial, along with his friend, John, one day after causing a stir in the temple by not only healing a man from his infirmity, but by preaching a message about Jesus - and the resurrection of the dead. As he stands before the Sanhedrin, and the man that had been healed is there as well, Peter does not hesitate to acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth. The fear that had been present just a few months prior was now replaced with an air of confidence. He was utterly aware of what these men were capable of doing. He had watched with his own eyes as they trumped up charges against Jesus, but he doesn’t even consider backing down. He had come to understand who this Jesus that he had followed for three years truly was. He had experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous way on the Day of Pentecost. And he had seen people healed in the name of Jesus. He finally saw that Jesus truly is the one who saves.

It is said that Michelangelo, the famous Italian sculptor, painter, and poet, once stood before a great block of marble that had been rejected by builders and cast aside. As he stood there with eyes staring straight at the marble, a friend approached and asked what he was looking at. “An angel,” came the reply. He saw what the mallet, the chisel, and patient skill could do with that rejected stone. He set to work and produced one of his masterpieces. Likewise, God the Father has saved us and redeemed us according to the stone which the builders rejected. Christ has become the chief cornerstone, though he was the stone which the builders rejected.

Peter and John were standing on trial before those that would have been considered the builders. They were the religious leaders, and they had been given the responsibility to build the people of Israel spiritually. They had rejected the cornerstone—Jesus. He had come to be the one that would bring salvation, but they had rejected Him when they condemned Him and took Him to Pilate demanding that He be crucified. Now, Peter, this man that couldn’t even stand up to a young girl in the courtyard now stands up to the high priest and his court indicting them for casting aside the cornerstone upon which God would build His people. Not only was He the cornerstone—Peter adds that His name is the only name given by which people can be saved.

There are some interesting aspects of this verse that I want us to look at this morning. First of all, it implies that people need a savior. There is no doubt that is the case. There is no person apart from Jesus that has lived a life free of sin. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every person in this sanctuary & every person that hears my voice over one of our livestreams—every person in this city—every person that ever walked the face of this planet is in need of forgiveness and salvation. I know that is not popular to say today, but the truth has to be said whether it is popular or not. You and I are in need of salvation. Peter tells us that there is no other name that brings salvation—only Jesus.

If the Pharisees had their way, surely salvation would have come into the world according to their good deeds, good works, and keeping of the commandments of the Law. They had gotten really good at obeying the commandments. They had interpreted the commandments and they demanded that everybody obey them to the letter of the law. If anybody could find salvation through keeping rules it would have been the Pharisees. There are many today that try to earn their way to salvation as well, but it still can’t be done. That is trying to gain salvation by your own name. Let’s say that I am trying to earn my way into salvation. Technically, that means that I am trying to gain salvation by my own name and by my own power, and that just isn’t possible. If I have disobeyed God’s law at any point, and I have—then it is impossible for me to earn my way in by my own name. It is only by the name of Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross that I can stand before you having forgiveness of sin.

It is not politically correct in our society today to claim that there is only one way to God. We are encouraged to agree with the popular theory that there are many ways to God, but the problem with that way of thinking is that the Bible teaches exactly the opposite. If we believe the Bible, and I do, then if we really love others, we must bring them face to face with the reality that the Bible says there is only one way to find salvation. That one way is through the name of Jesus Christ and what He accomplished through His crucifixion and resurrection.

The Encyclopedia Britannica used 20,000 words to tell about Jesus, and never hinted that He did not exist. This is more words than the Britannica allowed for Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Cicero, Julius Caesar, or Napoleon Bonaparte. H. G. Wells blasphemed Jesus, yet he felt compelled to discuss Jesus on ten pages in his Outline of History and never questioned that a man named Jesus did live.[1] The facts of Jesus’ life are not the issues that are debated by even the secular historians. The debates come when we acknowledge that there is no other name through which people can be saved.

Peter had seen that in Jesus’ name there was healing and hope. He understood that even though He had been rejected by the Jewish leaders and put to death on a cruel Roman cross, Jesus had risen from the dead - He was and is the only answer to the harsh reality of death. When we think about the problems that we deal with today, there are many answers to some of the issues. Economically, there are different views about what needs to be done and how the problems can be fixed. Politically there are different philosophies that have answers to the issues that are present. There are also different philosophies of parenting that are good. In fact, as every parent who has more than one child has figured out, there are differences in the way each individual child must be raised. But there is only one answer when it comes to salvation. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life - He is the only answer!

If you truly believe what Peter says here, you’re going to be called intolerant, close-minded, backwards, old-fashioned, un-enlightened, & bigoted. Just imagine the gall! How dare you suggest that there is only ONE way to Heaven.

There are all kinds of things one can believe in… • All kinds of religions… All kinds of philosophies… • The acceptable answer to many is that It doesn’t matter what you believe… we’re all on the same journey, we’re just taking different paths, right? • That’s what our world wants to tell us…But what Peter told that panel of religious leaders in Acts 4 has never been more true!

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." NIV

A plague was ravaging a tiny village in the outermost bush of a remote African province. A lone missionary, a doctor who had given his life to fighting this particular disease, had gone in with the only cure available. It was made from plants indigenous to the region and could quite easily be reproduced by the villagers themselves just by taking some of the leaves and mixing it with some herbs & spices. When he went in, he found that there wasn’t a single person in the village who was free of the disease. They all had it and were dying at an alarming rate.

Characteristic of the disease was a rash on the back of the neck. All he had to do was treat the rash with the medication and the people could be healed… but he couldn’t get anybody to let him give them the medication. Despite the fact that people were dying… nobody realized that they were sick. They all had the same rash. There wasn’t anything unusual about it. Since everybody had the same markings on their necks, they just assumed it was normal and nobody realized any different. Nobody realized it was killing them.

That is what it is like in our world. We look around at the world and think this is normal. This is just the way it is, right? And nobody realizes that we’re all infected by sin and it is killing us!

We are all infected and there is only one cure… Jesus Christ! He has come into our village with the only cure available… and he’s the only one not sick!

There are two points of action that we need to take from this message as we close this worship service today.

1. If you have found forgiveness of your sins through Jesus Christ, then it is our responsibility to take Him to the masses. We must be bold as Peter in this passage, and share Him everywhere we go. So, I pray that God will make us bold through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us.

2. If you have not found forgiveness of your sins and you are still in need of a savior, there is one available this morning—Jesus Christ. He wants to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. There truly is no other name written under heaven by which we can be saved!

Sing—His name is wonderful

[1]Tan, Paul Lee: Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations : A Treasury of Illustrations, Anecdotes, Facts and Quotations for Pastors, Teachers and Christian Workers. Garland TX : Bible Communications, 1996, c1979