NO OTHER NAME
Acts 4:5-22 (NIV) 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.”
13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14 But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15 So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16 “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17 But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”
18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
21 After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22 For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
There is a saying that “seeing is believing.” Yet, the Sanhedrin saw that a man who was lame from birth was healed in Jesus’ name and they did not want to believe. Furthermore, they did not want the news to spread. So, they instructed Peter and John to keep silent. But Peter, still empowered by the Holy Spirit, challenged the panel with the words “what is right in God’s eyes.”
Christians have always been at odds with the culture in which they lived. In Greek culture, the agora, an open space used for selling goods, was often accessed by way of an offering to whatever god was worshipped in the area. Since Christians could not give an offering to a false god, they were not allowed to buy or sell.
What would you do if you were unable to feed your family unless you swore allegiance to a false god? In 21st century America this may seem like an impossibility, yet we are told in the book of the Revelation that there will be a time when only those receiving the mark of the beast can buy or sell.
May we pray that whatever happens in our lives, we will remain strong in the Lord and be of good courage. And may we remember there is no other name by which we can be saved.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Hoy Spirit. Amen
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Seeking Holiness 