A Study of the Book of Acts
Sermon # 8
“THERE IS NO OTHER NAME!”
Acts 4:1-12
The story began at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the apostles. Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter and John, were on their way to the temple to pray, at 3: 00 in the afternoon. As they came to the gate called “Beautiful” they came upon a man lame from birth. This man asked them for money, but he received much more. In the name of Jesus Christ, Peter commanded him to get up and walk. The spectacle of this man clinging to Peter and John as he continued to leap up and down praising God, caused a large crowd to gather. Peter then preached to the crowd, when a party of temple guards came up and arrested them. And this is where our story takes up in Acts 4.
(Acts 4:1-12)
“Now as they spoke to the people, the priest, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them.(2) being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus name the resurrection from the dead. (3) And they laid hand on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. (4) However, many of those who heard the word believed; the number of the men came to about five thousand. (5) And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders and scribes, (6) as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. (7) And when they set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (8) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: (9) “If we this day are judged for a good deed done to the helpless man, by what means he has been made well,(10) “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. (11) “This is the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ (12) Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which you must be saved.”
I. THE REACTION OF THE RELIGIOUS
LEADERSHIP 4:1-3
“Now as they spoke to the people, the priest, the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them.(2) being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus name the resurrection from the dead. (3) And they laid hand on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.”
In Acts 1, the promise is given by Jesus that the disciples would receive power. In Acts 2, on the day of Pentecost, they received that power. It was the power to become mighty witnesses for Jesus Christ. Thousands of people were saved that day and the power of God was unleashed. In Acts 3, we see the power of God used to help people. The man by the Temple gate called Beautiful was healed. Now, in Acts 4, we see the fallout of that healing among the religious leaders of the day.
What we see here is a confused inquiry. The religious leaders didn’t know what to do. They had never encountered this kind of situation. The power of God had come down, and now they had to deal with these people with power. The believers had been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and were now proceeding to live biblical Christianity in their secular society. Whenever that kind of radical transformation takes place, it always creates a stir. People living in the power of God stand out in the crowd, and the world doesn’t know quite what to do with them. This was the confused query of the religious leaders. In verse 16, we hear them saying, "What are we going to do with these men?" They didn’t know how to respond. God’s power had fallen and God’s people were on the move. Things were happening — things these religious leaders had not counted on. The disciples were preaching boldly in the name of Jesus. A notable healing had taken place right under their noses and they couldn’t deny it. What would they do with these men now? They didn’t have the answer. They were in a state of confusion.
The question they asked is the same question the world asks today. Just as the religious leaders did not know how to respond, so the world does not know how to respond. When a Christian attempts to live biblically, he stands out. When a believer attempts to live with high moral standards in honesty and integrity, in purity and holiness, refusing to engage in any activity or conversation which would violate the principles of God’s Word or hamper His testimony, this kind of person cuts across the grain of secular society. And what does the world do?
I believe the tactics of the world are quite predictable. The first thing they do is try to ignore us. They simply act like we’re not there. If they can’t ignore us, their next strategy is to belittle us, or at least belittle our faith. Sadly, the events in the ranks of the televangelists have given them much ammunition in this regard. If belittling doesn’t work, they seek to intimidate and threaten. They try to use their power or position to control and manipulate us into giving our Christianity a little lower profile. This is how they attempt to answer the question, "What shall we do with these Christians?" In our text, we find the religious leaders deciding on a plan of intimidation, they try to intimidate Peter and John by arresting them.
Our enemy, Satan, uses the process of developing fear to come against us and to keep us from fully following Jesus. This process is called intimidation. To “intimidate” is defined as “to make timid or fearful.” And intimidation is a strategy of Satan by which he attempts to control people. The people in the world who do not know Christ, seek to control Christians through intimidation. As we attempt to live out biblical Christianity in a secular society, we will come face to face with intimidation. The real question is what we will do when we face intimidation. Will we yield to fear, or will we find a way to overcome intimidation.
Being bold about our faith is not an easy task! As I look back over my live I recognize many opportunities for me to have been bold in faith and I have to confess that I often failed to do take these opportunities. How about you? I ask each of you this morning, “Are you bold for Jesus Christ?” Do you stand before those who do not believe and tell them what Jesus means to you?” Many of us seem to face a major crisis every time we feel we should take a stand or share our faith with others. Perhaps it means not going with our friends. Perhaps it means telling those that we go to school with why you attend church rather than go to a conflicting school activity. Perhaps it means sharing God’s love with the neighbor next door. Perhaps it means telling the saleslady that under charged you or returned to much change, why you told her, because Jesus would have wanted you to!
To be bold does not mean to be arrogant and insensitive to pushing our faith on people. It means taking a stand based on our relationship with Jesus and then letting people know why we took our stand. Letting people know that we are serious about our faith. That we have a deep desire to follow and obey Jesus.
Most of us have two obstacles within us which can prevent us from being bold about our faith. 1) The love of human affection and praise and 2), The love of comfort and security. Paul speaks to us on these issues in (1 Thess 2: 4-6). “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. (5) For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. (6) Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ.
II. THE RESULT OF PETER’S PREACHING
4:4
“However, many of those who heard the word believed; the number of the men came to about five thousand.”
No matter how you define the number, that the total number of believers was now 5,000 men or whether 5,000 men were added on this day, the Christian message is spreading and there is nothing they can do to stop it.
III. THE RESPONSE PETER MADE TO THE
CHARGES vv. 5-12
“And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders and scribes, (6) as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. (7) And when they set them in the midst, they asked, “By what power or by what name have you done this?” (8) Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them,”
We to remember that this Spirit-filled defense was in direct fulfillment of Jesus' warning given to the disciples just months earlier and recorded in Luke 21:12-15. It was our Lord himself who warned them, "But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict." And here, before the Sanhedrin, we find Peter and John in this very circumstance, and as Jesus had promised, he did indeed give them words to say; words that the ruling council could not refute. For here before them stood a forty year-old man, who had been crippled from birth, miraculously healed. There was nothing the Sanhedrin could say or do to stop them.
A. HE TOLD THEM WHAT HAD BEEN DONE WAS
DONE IN THE NAME OF JESUS vv. 8-10
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: (9) “If we this day are judged for a good deed done to the helpless man, by what means he has been made well,(10) “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. (11) “This is the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ (12) Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which you must be saved.”
Peter told them that the only thing that they could be charged with was with doing a good deed. The lame man that stand before you whole has been made whole in the name and authority of Jesus of Nazareth.
B. HE TOLD THEM THAT JESUS IS THE CHIEF
CORNERSTONE v. 11
“This is the stone that was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’
Peter hear quotes from Psalm 118. What both Peter and the Psalmist are referring to is the occasion of the building of Solomon's temple. The Bible tells us that when Solomon built his temple, on the place where the Dome of the Rock now stands in Jerusalem, there was no sound of hammer or saw. The temple was erected in silence. The stones that formed the temple were quarried from a rock quarry underneath where the temple stands. And to this day in Jerusalem you can go down there and see what they call "Solomon's stables," where Solomon kept his horses, and see that they were hewn from solid rock. And from the stones removed from there the temple was built. It was built to such exacting dimensions, according to blueprints provided, that the rock was fitted perfectly before it ever left the quarry. Then it was sent up and put in place without the sound of hammers or pounding of any kind.
And there is a Jewish tradition which says that during the building of the temple, a great rock was quarried out and shaped by the stone mason, and sent up, but the builders could find no place to put it. It did not seem to fit in any of the blueprints they were working from, and so they left it on the side. It sat there for some time. Then, as it seemed to be in the way, someone pushed it over the edge and it rolled down into the valley of the Kidron and was lost in the bushes. When the time came to put in the cornerstone, the great square rock that held everything else in place, they sent word for the cornerstone to be sent up. The quarrymen sent back word that it had already been sent up some time before. They looked around for it, and no one could find it. Then somebody remembered the great rock which had been pushed over the edge. Down they went to the valley of the Kidron and found it in the bushes. With great effort they raised it again and brought it to the top and fitted it into place. It fit perfectly -- the cornerstone of the temple.
This stone is also a stone of salvation. In 1 Peter 2 beginning with verse 4 we read, "As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen and precious to him. . ." Peter was quoting from Isaiah 28 in reference to Jesus Christ, and we want to note that not only did the Sanhedrin reject Christ, but people throughout the centuries have rejected him, refusing to submit to him. But what does Peter say? Jesus was chosen and precious to God.
And in verse 6 we read, "For in Scripture it says: ‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’" That describes salvation. The same stone that the builders rejected will save you. He will bear the weight of your guilt, your punishment, your death and your hell. He is a powerful, foundational stone.
Then Peter says "to you who believe this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone. . .has become. . .a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’" If you reject Jesus Christ, he will see to it that you fall. Some people may ask, "Why do you say God will make us fall? Isn’t God love, and isn’t it his business to forgive?" Wait and see. Try telling him on the day of judgment, "God, I thought you were love and that your job is always to forgive, no matter what we do." See what God tells you then.
C. HE TOLD THEM THAT JESUS IS THE ONLY
WAY TO SALVATION v. 12
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which you must be saved.”
Oh how the world hates such statements. There is a lot of pressure in the world today for us to not to say that only those that believe in Jesus are saved. If you want to be laughed at, scorned, hated, even persecuted, then testify to the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ. Say that Jesus is the only Savior, that only by believing in him can one escape hell. The world will fight you to the death, because nothing is so offensive to the unsaved man as teaching that we cannot do anything to save ourselves, that we cannot choose our own way of salvation, and that if we are going to be saved it must be by God in the way that He has appointed. It is Christ or nothing! Christ or judgement! Christ or Hell!
When Peter got to the end and summed it all up, he threw their question right back at them and said in effect, “It is not only the lame man who was healed by the name of Jesus. That name is the only name by which anyone can be healed. What needs to happen to you is what happened to the lame man. You too must be saved by Jesus.”
Conclusion
Don’t be surprised telling others about Jesus is not the most popular thing to do. Don’t be surprised when unsaved people are unhappy to be told that Jesus is the only way.
