THE NAME ABOVE ALL NAMES

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.

The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem. Annas the high priest was there, and so were Caiaphas, John, Alexander and others of the high priest’s family. They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! 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, 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. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:1-3, 5-12

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Through the ages, people have been known by a multitude of different names, names that serve as an identifier to know one person apart from another.

Names are important because they create an immediate reference point. Say the name “Elvis” for example in regard to music and you typically don’t need to even say his last name, Presley, because everyone knows who you’re talking about by way of the first name only. The same could apply to any other category of social interest whether we’re talking about movies or sports or politics.

We see this translate to the Bible as well. All we need to do is say Abraham or Moses or Isaiah or Paul and most people with even just a base knowledge of the scriptures would know who you’re referring to.

Yes, whether we’re talking about the Bible or the world in general, we often find names always coming to the forefront but despite the seemingly endless array of people we have to talk about, there’s only one that matters the most and that is the name of God’s one and only Son, the Savior of the world. By way of God’s perfect plan, it’s been true since the dawn of creation and it always will be. Life now and then hinges on the name of Jesus, the name above all names.

As we look at the events that directly happened after the promised Holy Spirit fell on Jesus’ disciples in Jerusalem, we found the name of Jesus front and center.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter preaches to a crowd of people and invokes the name of Jesus, leading nearly three thousand people believe in Him as Savior.

A crippled man, resigned to be carried daily to the temple gate to beg, suddenly finds healing through placing his faith in the name of Jesus.

And as we see in today’s passage, the name of Jesus can be lifted up and presented to others even in the most challenging of times as Peter and John are taken into custody by the Jewish religious authorities.

Both of Jesus’ faithful apostles had been speaking to the people, teaching and proclaiming salvation through the name of Jesus. This disturbed the priests, Sadducees, and the captain of the temple guard who had to think they had eliminated such behavior when they crucified the apostle’s Master. Unwilling to allow any more influencing, especially since the Sadducees refused to believe that there was such a thing as resurrection from the dead, we read where they seized Peter and John and put them into jail until the next day because it was evening. Both men were wrongfully arrested and then brought to trial the following day.

Sound familiar?

The same thing happened to a man named Jesus.

Back to the scriptures because when the next day came, we read where “the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem” and just to show you how my earlier words about names and reference points are true, here we find specific people mentioned who comprised the court that questioned the two apprehended apostles. They included the high priest Annas, Caiaphas, John, Alexander and other members of the high priest’s family. They had one main inquiry in mind, asking:

“By what power or what name did you do this?”

And with that, we see Peter invoke the name above all names, the name of Jesus while fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit. Look at his words again here:

“Rulers and elders of the people! 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, 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. Jesus is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

The Jewish religious authorities knew full well about the name and power of Jesus. They had been exposed to it over and over during His three years of public ministry as He miraculously healed others and spoke of the salvation people could find in Him and Him alone. And they knew Him at the end in a very personal way as they schemed to frame Him and then hand Him over to be killed by the Romans. They murdered the perfectly innocent man who was sent by God as the promised Messiah, breaking the very commandment given by the God they claimed to be so devoted to.

The Jewish religious leaders thought they had torn down the house that Jesus had built but they were now realizing that they had not destroyed anything. Now Peter, John, and the other apostles were simply building the church from the ground up on the cornerstone Jesus, the only name under heaven through which anyone can be saved.

Today, the Christian church is alive and well. It has grown and grown since those early pupil stages in Jerusalem as the apostles began to execute Jesus’ Great Commission and make new disciples. And it will continue to grow until that appointed day when Jesus returns to judge all creation.

Indeed, past and present, all that really matters in life, here and eternally, hinges on one name and one name only, the name above all names, the name of Jesus.

I pray His name is the one that matters most in your life.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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