Fourth Sunday of Easter, 3 May:

The Only Name You Need


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Scripture reading: John 10:11-18.

Sermon text: Acts 4:1-12.


“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” We’ve all seen examples of this statement in business, in jobs, and in communities. Many of us know someone who earned a job through personal connections rather than through their qualifications. We’ve also seen the results of this policy cause serious trouble.


Today’s sermon continues the story from last week, in which St. Peter and St. John participated in the miracle of healing a lame man and then preached to the worshipers in the Temple. In today’s passage, St. Peter and St. John stood before a familiar group because of the miracle and St. Peter’s subsequent sermon. In today’s sermon, we see that St. Peter and St. John both knew the truth about Jesus’ resurrection and knew the resurrected Lord. Their story continues to inspire believers today as we come to know more about Our Lord and seek to follow their example by serving Him in our lives.


St. Peter’s sermon in the Temple convicted many of his listeners and led them to repent and convert to their new lives as believers in Jesus. (See last week’s sermon for details.) As on the Day of Pentecost, several thousand new believers joined the Church and found a new family in their new faith.


However, something happened this time that didn’t occur at Pentecost. Understanding the rest of the story requires that we remember the politics of first-century Jerusalem.


The Sadducees, the party of the Jewish aristocracy and priests, controlled the Temple. The Sadducees denied that Scripture taught anything about the resurrection. Furthermore, the Sadducees collaborated with the Romans in return for control of the Temple and its enormous profits. Annas and Caiaphas headed this party as high priests. Annas had served as high priest until the Romans replaced him with Caiaphas, his son-in-law. In the Jewish religion, the high priest served for life, leading most Jews to recognize him as high priest after his son-in-law succeeded him.


The Sadducees had rigged the trial of Jesus when He threatened their control of the Temple and spooked them into fearing Roman retaliation if He declared Himself the Jewish Messiah. (The Pharisees colluded in Jesus’ show trial, but Caiaphas convened the trial.) The Sadducees had also supported the Roman guards who had witnessed the resurrection of Jesus and paid them to spread the rumor that the disciples had stolen Jesus’ body.


Now, St. Peter and St. John had appeared in the Temple, with a man miraculously healed, declaring that Jesus had risen from the dead (something the Sadducees had flatly refused to believe before) and reminding the Jewish laypeople that their leaders —especially the Sadducees — had engineered His death. To the Sadducees, this seemed like the worst of all possible scenarios. First, the Sadducees lost legitimacy before the people they controlled by confirming the rumors they would do anything — even executing an innocent man — to stay in power. Secondly, St. Peter’s bold declaration of Jesus’ resurrection undercut their primary doctrinal difference with the Pharisees. We can almost hear someone in the Temple muttering, “Someone had better do something about this!”


Unlike the Day of Pentecost, the priests acted quickly this time. St. Peter and St. John were arrested and imprisoned overnight until the Sanhedrin could convene the next morning. (For some reason, the Sadducees didn’t attempt another illegal night trial.) The next day, Annas, Caiaphas, and the rest of the Sanhedrin met with one question for the pair of disciples: “By what power or by what name did you do this?”


The rest of today’s passage records St. Peter’s response to this one question and tells us how we must respond to questions such as this today.


We must first notice that St. Peter didn’t respond on his own when asked to explain the power and name by which he preached. St. Luke recorded that St. Peter was “filled with the Holy Spirit.” In his first defense of the resurrection before a hostile crowd, God Himself came to St. Peter’s defense. Jesus had told the disciples, “When they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11).


Next, St. Peter did not attack his audience. Instead, he addressed the issue directly. “If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed….” Something had occurred that the Sanhedrin could not deny. Too many people had witnessed the healing of the lame man; in fact, we read later in this chapter that the healed man actually accompanied the disciples to their trial, standing as a mute testimony to the power of Jesus’ name. As with last week’s sermon, St. Peter’s explanation reminds us of words he would write later on, instructing believers we must always be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience…” (1 Peter 3:15-16). The more I ponder our interactions with hostile unbelievers, and the more I examine the Scriptures for guidance in those interactions, the more I begin to appreciate the absolute necessity of gentleness. We will never argue anyone into the Kingdom of God, but untold numbers have come into the Kingdom through the love exhibited by believers in their lives.


St. Peter now explained how this miracle occurred: “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.”  When he gave his explanation, St. Peter claimed no power of his own; he gave himself no credit for the miracle. All glory for this miracle belonged to Jesus Christ, “Whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.”


At this point, the Sadducees had no way to respond. They knew the truth of St. Peter’s testimony. Many of those present had attended Jesus’ show trial and voted for His crucifixion. Even worse, when they heard St. Peter refer to Jesus’ resurrection, they knew they had no defense. Isn’t it interesting that none of the Sadducees at the trial attempted to deny the resurrection of Jesus or try to discredit St. Peter’s story?


“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” St. Peter’s words must have cut to the hearts of those present. For one thing, St. Peter’s reference to the rejected stone referred to Psalm 118, one of the Hallel Psalms. These psalms were very familiar to the priests on the Sanhedrin since they formed a major part of the liturgy in the Temple. St. Peter also chose the passage in Psalm 118 (verse 22) that referred to the restoration of the Davidic throne in the Messianic age; this reference would have brutally reminded the Sadducees that their alliance with the Romans actually prevented the restoration of David’s throne to his Descendant, Jesus.


Finally, St. Peter extended his challenge to the priests with his final statement: “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.” In this statement, St. Peter blasted the corrupt regime by exposing their true reason for crucifying Jesus. The Sadducees had feared the Romans would destroy the Temple, leaving them powerless before the Jews. Lest we forget this fear of the Sadducees, remember the charge with which the false witnesses at His trial finally accused Jesus: “This man said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to rebuild it in three days’” (Matthew 26:61). I would also remind you of the final gloat the Sadducees threw at Jesus while He hung on the cross: “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40).


The Sadducees’ authority over the Jewish laypeople rested on their role as intermediaries between God and the laity. Now, St. Peter declared, salvation no longer relied on the petitions of a priest for the people. Instead, Jesus had replaced the priests as the ultimate intermediary between God and humanity. No longer would the Levitical priesthood stand between God and the worshipers of the Temple, interceding for the worshipers through a sacrificial system. Jesus’ death on the cross served as the final sacrifice for all humanity. As St. Peter stated in his previous sermon in the Temple the day before, faith in Jesus’ name had healed the lame man; faith in Jesus’ name would now heal the spiritually dead as well.


Does St. Peter’s statement before the Sanhedrin give us any hope today? Does St. Peter’s defense help the Church in our defense of our faith before an unbelieving society?


I believe St. Peter’s defense first gives us the ultimate example of God’s provision for His people in times when we present the gospel. Note that St. Peter said nothing until directed by the Holy Spirit, God Himself. Christian, never fear that your testimony will fail. The Holy Spirit that will guide your words will also guide the hearts of those to whom you present the gospel and will accomplish His purpose as He works in their lives. The Holy Spirit will take your words and work in the hearts of those who see your witness and hear you testify to His presence in your heart.


St. Peter also tells us a key point in our relations with unbelievers. We must never forget that we cannot expect personal attacks to gain us a hearing with unbelievers. The more I study the Scriptures, the more I see the term “gentleness” appear in descriptions of how we must present our case for faith in Christ. St. Paul would later remind the Ephesian believers, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Never mistake the “flesh and blood” for the true enemy. Remember that Jesus died for the “flesh and blood,” the human to which we must minister in Jesus’ name and present the gospel of Jesus’ victory over sin and death through His sacrificial death on the cross and His resurrection on Easter Day.


Lastly, St. Peter gave the ultimate statement of the Christian faith. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” This statement clearly describes what some call the Christian “scandal of exclusivity.” Our faith rests on the historical facts of Jesus’ divinity, His sacrificial death by crucifixion for our sins, and His victory over death through the reality of His resurrection. Only those who accept these facts, repent of their sins (again, see last week’s sermon), and confess Jesus as Lord can receive salvation and eternal life. Only in Jesus can anyone find forgiveness of sins and a relationship with God, and anyone’s discomfort or denial of this fact does nothing to alter it. When we confess Jesus as Lord, we must accept that only through Him can anyone hope to receive a relationship with our Creator and enjoy eternal life in the resurrection to come.


This confession should free us spiritually even as it leads to our salvation. Jesus Himself serves as our intermediary before God (1 John 2:1-2), giving us the freedom to approach God directly. The author of Hebrews called Jesus “our High Priest,” eloquently stating, “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11-12). God Himself, in the Person of Jesus Christ His Son, now intercedes for us.


If you’ve never confessed Jesus as Lord, believing in His resurrection, I encourage you to believe in His name today and receive salvation from your sins. If you’re already a believer, you must lovingly, gently, and clearly present the gospel in your life, your attitudes, and your words. The truth of salvation in Jesus’ name saved the lame man; it will save your soul and the souls of those God has called us to serve.