Acts 4:5-31 "No Other Name" May 6, 2007 What's the big deal about names? Why all this hoopla about the name of Jesus? In the 19th and 20th centuries names became someone irrelevant, but now, in the electronic age, names have gained a certain relevance again: think of the problem of identity theft. Your name, attached to a little piece of plastic, is a powerful thing. it is at least a very valuable thing! And someone called by your name make your life very miserable! But long before identity theft became a big deal, God had said that misusing his name was #3 on his top ten list: Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD in vain. You cannot help but see the importance of the name of Jesus in this passage. Peter had healed the man in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (3:6) Peter then proclaimed that it was his name that made the man strong (3:16) Now the inquiry of the elders starts by asking By what power or by what name did you do this? (4:7) Peter answers that it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth (4:10) and There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (4:12) Then the council in closed session decides Let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name (4:17) and then after calling them back, They charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (4:18) And then in the disciples' prayer, they ask God to continue to do wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus (4:30). The name of Jesus is powerful. Now for a little review: The book of Acts is structured around Jesus' statement in Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 2 is the story of how the Holy Spirit came upon them, and Peter bore witness. Acts 3:1-4:31 is also one story. It is the story of how the apostles continued the ministry of Jesus in Jerusalem, as Peter (and John) healed the man lame from birth in the name of Jesus, and how Peter (and John) bore witness before the council. In other words, Acts 3-4 is about how the apostles bore witness in Jerusalem. The story has two parts the healing and Peter's explanation of how this was done in the name of Jesus (3); the defense before the council, and the prayer of the saints (4:5-31) 4:5-31 is one section notice how it begins with Peter being filled with the Holy Spirit, and speaking of Jesus the Christ (4:8), and it ends with all the disciples being filled with the Holy Spirit, and continuing to speak the word of God with boldness (4:31) These two fillings form the bookends of the story. 1. Peter before the Council (4:5-12) The council is concerned about this precisely because they understand the power of names. In 1 Kings 18:24, Elijah had said to the prophets of Baal, You call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of Yahweh, and the god who answers by fire, he is God. To call upon the name of your God is to call upon his power. The name of God refers to his power and his presence. The name of Yahweh dwelt in his temple (Dt 12:5; 2 Chr 7:16). Zephaniah spoke of the nations calling upon the name of the LORD (3:9), because the name of the LORD is a refuge for the meek (3:12). So the council understands the importance of doing something "in the name" of someone else, and it is especially distressing to them that the apostles are doing in the name of Jesus, things that should only be done in the name of God. We should also make sure that we understand who the council is: 1) the rulers and elders and scribes are the leading authorities in Jerusalem; these are the same people who had condemned Jesus only a few weeks earlier. 2) Annas and Caiaphas, John and Alexander are members of the high priestly family; the high priests were appointed by the Romans, and so owed their office to Rome which is why they had declared before Pilate, "we have no king but Caesar!" Since the rulers in Jerusalem have declared their allegiance to Rome, they are concerned what other power, what other name, might be at work in their midst. By what power, or by what name did you do this? (4:7) Lame men do not just get up and walk. They understand that there is a power at work that is beyond their control. As we go through this passage, that is an important thing to keep in mind. The power of the Holy Spirit the power of the name of Jesus is something that is beyond our control. Indeed, when they are asked about this, we are told that Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them... What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Luke used this phrase to refer to John the Baptist being filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb (Lk 1:15), as well as Elizabeth being filled with the Holy Spirit in Lk 1:41, and Zechariah being filled with the Holy Spirit in Lk 1:67. In all three cases, the point is that the one who is filled with the Spirit proclaims the word of God. The book of Acts uses this phrase five times: 2:4 when the Spirit first descended upon the church 4:8 and 31 in our passage 9:17 when Saul is filled with the Holy Spirit at the laying on of the hands of Ananias 13:9 when Saul, now called Paul, blinds Elymas And in all of these instances, the one who is filled by the Holy Spirit proclaims the word of God. It is contrasted with the high priests who are "filled" with jealousy in 5:17, and the unbelieving Jews in Antioch of Pisidia who are also "filled" with jealousy in 13:45 Whatever "fills" you is what will pour forth from your lips. Because the movement of our passage is the very movement of worship and the movement of redemption from the powerful act of God is redemption (symbolized in the healing of the lame man) to the proclamation of that act (in the preaching of the Word) to the prayers of the saints (in asking God to continue to work his mighty work). And filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter said to the council, Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you 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 is standing before you well. (4:8-10) Peter is speaking to the very men who had Jesus crucified. Just weeks before Peter had sat in the high priest's courtyard and denied that he even knew Jesus. Now Peter stands before the high priest and declares that yes, he knows Jesus! He knows that Jesus has been raised from the dead, and furthermore, that Jesus is responsible for the healing of the cripple. How does Peter make his case? By pointing to scripture: This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. (4:11) Psalm 118 had spoken of the cornerstone that the builders rejected. This is the Psalm that the people had sung when Jesus entered Jerusalem: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! Now Peter says that Psalm 118 has come true. Psalm 118 speaks of the gate of the LORD through which the righteous will enter. And then it says that "the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" The image is that of builders who are constructing a temple a gate through which the righteous may come into the presence of God. Peter says that the priests and elders are the builders. They are builders who are supposed to be building a way into the presence of God, but they have rejected the very stone that would hold the building together the cornerstone. And so Peter very naturally draws the conclusion: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (4:12) If Jesus is the cornerstone of the gate through which the righteous may enter the presence of God, then the conclusion is that there is no other gate. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. There is salvation in no one else. There is no other way to God but through Jesus' name. This is why the "political correctness" of our day is so damaging. Prayers and blessings are supposed to be generally "religious" and "spiritual," but they cannot invoke the name of Jesus. And therefore they have no power. Apart from the name of Jesus, there is no salvation. 2. The Decision of the Council (4:13-22) The response of the council is fascinating. These are the men, after all, who had organized the death of Jesus. But they are genuinely troubled by the events of the last 24 hours. They see Peter and John, "uneducated, common men" who speak with uncommon boldness. They see the man who was healed, and had nothing to say in opposition. They recognize that this man, who had been a cripple since birth, is now walking. And so they are puzzled. So they go into closed session, and confer: What shall we do with these men? A notable sign has been performed through them... We cannot deny it! But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name. What troubles them most is the name of Jesus. Go ahead, Peter and John, continue your teaching about the kingdom of God; continue your healing. But do not speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. If only the apostles would be willing to exist as a Jewish sect, they could be tolerated. Just leave Jesus out of it! But Peter and John answered them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard (4:19-20). We have to speak in the name of Jesus. Because there is no other name that will do. It will not do to speak in the name of a generic deity, or even the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because there is no salvation in any other name. Now that God has revealed himself in Jesus Christ, there is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved. You may be asked at some time in your life to offer a "non-sectarian" prayer. If they mean by that, that you cannot pray in the name of Jesus, then you cannot accept. We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. We have seen the resurrected savior we have heard the message of redemption through his name! And so we must preach and pray and work and play in the name of Jesus as Paul says, "in whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him" The council threatened them, but could do nothing more, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old. 3. The Prayer of the Saints (4:23-30) Notice the response of the disciples. When Peter and John reported what the chief priests and the elders had said, they lifted their voices together to God and prayed. This prayer is useful for us as a reminder of how we ought to pray. This is a prayer of a people in trouble. This is a prayer of a church that has just been threatened by the authorities. What is their response? First, they start with Creation (4:24) Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them We should never forget that our God is the creator of the heavens, the earth and the seas, and everything in them. When we pray we are speaking to the one who made all things and rules all things. Second, they remember the Promises in Scripture (4:25-26) Who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his anointed. Notice how this prayer is rooted in scripture. The church in Jerusalem is faced with a crisis, and they respond by seeing themselves in a Christ-centered reading of the OT They quote Psalm 2:1-2, and they see that Psalm as being about Jesus and therefore as providing a foundation for their hope. This should be a common theme in our prayers. We should remember God's faithfulness to Jesus, because: Third, they remember what God has done in Jesus (4:27-28) For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Last time we saw how Peter connects the theme of Jesus the Anointed One (the Christ) with Jesus the Servant of the Lord (the suffering servant of Isaiah). You see the same thing in this prayer. David is the servant (v25), and Jesus is identified as the servant (v27 teknon could also be translated "child" but since it is the Greek word used in the LXX of Isaiah, it is best translated "servant.") But Jesus is not only the Servant, he is also the Anointed one the Christ. And it was God's plan that his Anointed Servant should suffer. This is what God had predestined. Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel are all guilty of their own actions, but the suffering of Jesus was the purpose and plan of God. When you remember that God predestined the sufferings of Jesus, it is much easier for you to endure suffering today. Because if God's purpose was to bring Jesus through suffering to glory, then we also may have confidence that our suffering is not meaningless. Our suffering is not pointless. God is using our suffering to conform us to the likeness of Jesus! So the prayer of the disciples in Acts 4 has a very solid theological foundation. But this theological foundation is not abstract it is not disconnected from the real-life situation of the people of God. Rather, this theological foundation gives them a perspective on their situation. They can now see that their suffering takes place in the context of Jesus. So many of our prayers do not do this! Our prayers are too often focused on ourselves. We do not pray "thy kingdom come," we pray "MY kingdom come" and then we are disappointed when God doesn't think that our kingdoms are so hot! Our prayers need to be grounded in creation, in scripture, in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ! Because only then can we pray for our situations like the disciples' prayed for their situation: Fourth, they prayed for God to Act (4:29-30) And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. Having spoken of Jesus as the servant-child (teknon) they speak of themselves as bondservants (douloi) But they come with great confidence, because they now understand their place in the kingdom. It is interesting that they do not ask for protection from the Jewish leaders; nor do they ask God to bring his curses upon them. What they ask for is time. "Grant that we might continue to speak" Whatever happens to us, grant that we might continue to speak. Other prayers might have been appropriate and it is possible that this prayer was much longer, and that it included other aspects of dealing with the situation. But the thing that Luke wants us to hear from this prayer, is the focus on speaking. The central concern of the apostles' prayer was that they might be allowed to continue to speak the Word with boldness. Notice also that they have great confidence that God will do his part! While you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. The Name of Jesus will be exalted. God will demonstrate the power of the name of Jesus. Their prayer is that as God does this, that they will be empowered to continue to speak. Conclusion: God's Response (4:31) And you cannot help but be impressed by God's response: And when they had prayed, the place in which they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. God shakes their meeting place, fills them with his Spirit, and they do the one thing that everyone does who is filled with the Holy Spirit they speak the word of God with boldness! The Spirit of God does many things. But in the book of Acts, the thing the Spirit of God does most vividly and most powerfully, is empower the people of God to speak the word of God. Do you believe that God still acts? Do you believe that God still responds? He may not shake this building today, but as truly as he shook the place where the apostles met, so truly does he fill his people with his Spirit today, so that we might boldly proclaim the glories of the exalted name of Jesus. May we be a people, filled with the Holy Spirit, who speak the Word of God with boldness!