JESUS: Salvation in No Other (No Other Name)
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Introduction:
“Good deed done to a helpless man” 3:2 tells us that Peter and John crossed paths with a man that was lame and begging at a certain place on the Temple grounds. In fact, he had been lame from birth. His entire life was lived without function in his legs. That chilling line soon followed from the lips of Peter in v6, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” “And immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.”
Just in front of the Temple, inside the gates, there was a place called “Solomon’s Porch.” After the lame man had been healed he walked, leaped, and praised God all the way into the Temple while still sticking close to Peter and John. Because of the amazement of the people, Peter was able to preach a sermon in response to what had happened. Part of that sermon is given in the second half of C3. He told those people “you…killed the Prince of Life, whom God raised from the dead…And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong.”
The Scripture says at the beginning of C4, “Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.”
Two men were taken into custody, but 5,000 men believed the word that day!
So it was the next day that all of the head-honchos of the Jews met together in Jerusalem and they put Peter and John in front of them in order to question them. And they opened the door wide for Peter! They threw him a fast ball straight down the middle that he could knock out of the park! They shined the ball and teed it up for him to knock down the fairway! They said in 4:7 “By what power or by what name have you done this?” No one could deny the miracle that had taken place. Not only did those men set him up nicely, but Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. Remember what Jesus told the Twelve Apostles about speaking in front of rulers. Matt 10:16-20
Point 1: Notice Peter’s Boldness
A. Holy Spirit filled
B. Confident faith
C. Witness to miracles (esp. Jesus’ Resurrection)
Point 2: Name – Jesus Christ of Nazareth
A. “Jesus” was/is not unique, it was VERY common among the people (tells us something)
B. Christ was a title (Messiah/Anointed One), came to be His name
C. Of Nazareth – this was a certain Jesus (early church used to specify)
Point 3: v11 The Rejected Stone
A. Comes from Ps 118:22-24 The stone the builders threw out, God has made the most important
B. Capstone idea here whereas other places it is cornerstone idea, completes the project
C. Goes back to Peter’s boldness “by you builders”
D. Despite what the people did, God accomplished His purposes (Isa 55:11Jn 1:14)
Point 4: Salvation
A. Peter has a great segue from the healing of the lame man to salvation in Jesus. The same word for salvation can have both meanings: restoration of health and preservation from eternal death.
He moves from the physical to the spiritual – This man’s body has been made whole, now do you want your soul to be made whole?
B. Both the healing and salvation are through the one name- Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Restoration, wholeness, salvation all come from Him alone. It is only this Jesus that was “crucified [and] raised from the dead.” When Peter preached there was no compromise or accommodation made for anyone or anything.
C. Jesus’ death and resurrection do not allow salvation for only Jews or only Americans, etc.
“There is salvation in no other name under heaven given among men.” All peoples!
D. Maybe Peter said most clearly what the entire New Testament teaches:
JESUS: Salvation in No Other
Conclusion:
There is an appeal here for those in Peter’s audience to end their rejection of Jesus. God has declared Jesus to be Lord and Savior; there can be no other way, no other savior alongside Him.
We see that the two negatives “no one else” and “no other name” declare the positive uniqueness of Jesus’ name worldwide.
The healed man is seen as a picture of salvation in Christ restoration, wholeness, celebration