WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Opening Prayer
Jesus, Lord of my salvation, thank you for the victory that is mine in you, because you came to die for me.
Read ACTS 4:1–12
Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin
4 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. 2 They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.
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.’[a]
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.”
Footnotes
- Acts 4:11 Psalm 118:22
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What does your name mean? (Look it up online or ask a relative if you’re not sure!) How well does it fit who you are?It didn’t take long for the early church to upset the Jewish religious establishment. Whether the crowds that gathered could have provoked Roman fears of rebellion, or the assertions of the resurrection that ran contrary to Sadducean belief (v. 2)—whatever the reason, the apostles found themselves in prison (v. 3). On trial the next day, the one question aimed at them went straight for the jugular: the source of their miraculous activity (v. 7). Making a lame man walk was clearly beyond natural human capacity. What the religious leaders wanted to know was where the apostles’ ability originated…and so they ask about the power, or the name, behind it.
Names are significant. In biblical times, someone’s name encapsulated and communicated the fullness of their personhood; using their name invoked all that was true about them and communicated their authority. Acting in the name of Jesus brought the beauty of his heart, and all of heaven’s powerful resources, into a broken earthly situation. His authority remains ours to continue using as we minister in his name today. How fully do you appreciate and avail yourself of that?
Apply
There is such richness and depth to discover in exploring Jesus’ name; meditate on his name this week.
Closing prayer
Father, continue to shape me to be like Jesus—more in tune with your Word, filled with the Holy Spirit, and eager to do your will.
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