Acts (6): The Name of Jesus (Acts 4:5-31)

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

Acts 3 records the first miracle of the Early Church. Peter and John healed a man who was born lame. Because of this miracle, five thousand men believed in the Lord, and this prompted persecution from the Sanhedrin. In Acts 4:5-31, we find three groups of people: first, the Sanhedrin; second, the apostles; and third, the Church. The focus of the discussion and concerns of these three groups of people is the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

V.7 “They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?”” In v.10, The apostles said, “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.” In V.12, The apostles said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” In V.17-18, the Sanhedrin determined to stop the apostles from speaking in the name of the Lord. Verses 29-30 records how when the apostles reported everything to the Church, it prayed in unity. They asked the Lord `to stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’

We see that these three groups of people were discussing the name of the Lord, but the themes of their discussion were different. The Sanhedrin was opposing the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; the apostles were exalting the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; the Church was calling out in prayer to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, let us reflect on this passage and learn how we must regard the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I. Defend the Name of the Lord – Exalt the Name of the Lord 5 -11

V.5 “These people who were well-known, had position and authority in society, wealthy people ordered the apostles to stand in their midst. They surrounded the apostles, then questioned them, ‘By what power or what name did you do this?’”

From their question, we can see two things: First, they acknowledge that this was a miracle. The man, who had been healed, had sat daily by the gate of the temple asking for alms. These rulers, elders and teachers of the law and Pharisees went into the temple daily. They had certainly seen this man before. They may even have given him some alms, so they couldn’t argue that his healing was a fake. Second, they refuse to acknowledge that this was the work of God, so they asked the apostles: “By what power or what name did you do this?” In their hearts, they believed that the apostles had accomplished it by the power of the devil, by the king of the demons. When the apostles heard this, they could not keep silent, they had to defend the name of Jesus.

How did the apostles defend the Lord’s name? Let us take note of two aspects:

1. The Apostles Defended the Lord’s Name Upon Being Filled by the Holy Spirit

Acts 2 records the coming of the Holy Spirit. This happened only once. The Charismatics often claim that there must be two Pentecost, there must be two experiences of the filling of the Holy Spirit. This is unbiblical. The Holy Spirit only comes to indwell a person once, but a person can be filled with the Holy Spirit numerous times. In Acts 2, the apostles had been filled with the Holy Spirit, now that they stand at trial before the Sanhedrin, they were filled with the Holy Spirit again. Acts 2:31, “When they returned to the church, they prayed together and were filled with the Holy Spirit.” We see from this that being filled with the Holy Spirit is not a one-time experience; we can be filled with the Holy Spirit again and again. We become indwelt with the Holy Spirit only once, but we must often be filled with the Holy Spirit.

What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit? In simple terms, it is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit, to not quench the Holy Spirit, to not grieve the Holy Spirit. Jesus instructed his disciples, saying: “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 13:11) This does not mean we are completely not going to be using our mind, but that the Holy Spirit will help us and give us what to say when we need it. When the apostles were filled with the Spirit, they were able to speak and defend the Lord’s name. When we are faced with persecutions or interrogations, we must learn to ask the Holy Spirit to help us know what to say.

There is a good example in the Bible and that is Nehemiah. Nehemiah had to ask the king of Persia for permission to return home to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. In Nehemiah 2, when the king asked him, “What is it you want?”, the Bible says, “Nehemiah prayed to the God of heaven and answered the king….” Nehemiah didn’t have time to pray because he could not tell the king, “Please wait a minute, let me pray first.” He immediately sought to answer the king but he first prayed silently to the God of heaven. He was seeking the Spirit of God to guide every word he will utter. This is what Paul said in 1 Thessalonians, “Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.” When we do that, we will not forget to pray in every circumstance, to ask the Lord’s spirit to guide us.

2. With Truth and Courage the Apostles Defended the Lord’s Name

They said, “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.”

And the result can be found in v.13-14, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.” When the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, they defended the Lord courageously with the truth, as a result, their accusers were astonished and unable to say anything. Their enemies were speechless.

2a. The Truth the Apostles Presented – “He is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.” This is quoted from Psalm 118:22. The apostles knew the Scriptures very well. They quoted from the Psalms in the Old Testament to point out the errors of the elders and rulers The cornerstone is the sturdiest stone, it can withstand tremendous pressure. Only the most experienced craftsman can spot a cornerstone, because the cornerstone must not only be perfect in appearance, most importantly it must be solid in its structure. Craftsmanship is different nowadays, we don’t go find a piece of rock and make it into a cornerstone anymore, but the spiritual principle here is that we must have spiritual foresight. The world sees Jesus as a useless piece of stone, but the Lord Jesus is the precious cornerstone. The world is spiritually blind, they have eyes but cannot see, they crucified Jesus on the cross. Peter wisely used the Scriptures and rebuked them, saying, “You have eyes but do not see, and you rejected the cornerstone.”

Let me share you a story. In China, during the Spring and Autumn period, a man by the name of Kahe discovered a piece of stone, inside the rock, he saw a jade. He presented the stone to Emperor Chu Li. The emperor then ordered a jade craftsman to take a look at the stone. The man came back and reported that the stone is but an ordinary piece of stone. The emperor was furious and had Kahe’s left leg cut off. Later, Emperor Chu Li died. Emperor Wu succeeded him. Kahe once more offered the stone to the new emperor. The emperor ordered the stone surveyed, once more it was deemed an ordinary piece of stone. Kahe’s right leg was cut off this time. Later Emperor Wen succeeded the throne, Kahe held the stone and cried for three days and night. Emperor Wen felt this very strange and asked him, “Why are you so sad?” Kahe told the emperor his story, and so, the emperor ordered the stone cut open. True enough, there was a piece of jade inside, and the piece of stone became named “He’ di bi`”. The world considers Jesus a mere human, it rejects Him. When we share the gospel, people make fun of us because they fail to see how precious Jesus is. Someday, when they can see with eyes of truth, they will realize Jesus is truly the treasure of life.

2b. The Apostles’ Courage – The apostles not only said Jesus is the stone you have rejected, which has become the capstone. The apostle said courageously, “salvation is found in no else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” The apostles didn’t compromise, not only did they point out the people’s sins, they even told them `If you will not believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you will not be saved.’ The apostles openly opposed the rulers, teachers of the Law and the Pharisees!

During the 16th century Protestant reformation, Martin Luther was brought to trial before a congress where many notable people were present, he said, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason, I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. May God help me. Amen.” This was a very brave thing for him to have done. No wonder Martin Luther was able to change the history of the Roman Catholic Church. Church, we must courageously testify for the Lord, boldly exalt the name of the Lord.

The exclusivity of the Christian faith is very strong, because only Christianity asserts that there is absolute truth, that apart from him salvation is found in no one else. We do not accept that there is another way to be saved. There is a saying `all roads lead to Rome’ – they mean that it is alright whether you believe in Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism or Shintoism, for to them all religions are the same. They believe that Jesus is their Buddha.

In Taiwan, there is a religion called Yi Guan Tong or Oneness, it is a combination of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity and Islam. It is a mixture of many different religions. This religion has attracted people from places all over because it is very inclusive. If I say, “From now on, Christians may worship their ancestors, even worship Buddha”, many parents will no longer forbid their children to believe in Jesus. However, that is not Christianity, neither is it the faith that can save men. The apostles said, “Apart from Him, salvation is found in no one else.” If they didn’t have courage and boldness, they wouldn’t have been able to say this.

II. Call on the Name of the Lord – Testify the Name of the Lord 23-31

When the apostles were released, they went back to their own people. `Their own people’ means the Church. When we say the church, we do not simply mean the church building; the Church refers to those called by the Lord. We are the Church. The Early Church had indeed been a family. When believers encounter difficulties, they immediately go to the church, because the church was their family, spiritual family. Family is where we run to when we are hurt; there, those who belong to the Lord pray and praise God in unity. In this prayer, we notice two things, the prayer lifted up together in unity and its outcome:

1. They prayed together in unity – This prayer is even greater than the prayer at Pentecost (chapter 2), because there were now 120 people praying together, not just twelve. At this point, there were about probably eight to ten thousand church members. With so many people and, therefore, many different point of views, how could the believers be in unity in their prayer? This was a marvellous thing! And, what did they pray about? V.29-30 tell us they prayed for two things:

1a. They asked the Lord for boldness to preach the Word of God – The Sanhedrin had already openly forbidden the apostles from preaching in the name of Jesus, yet they continued to do so, they defied the Sanhedrin. Now, let us differentiate between sin and crime. As Christians, we should not commit sins nor commit crimes, Christians ought to be the best citizens in this world. But we must understand that committing a crime may not necessarily be equivalent to committing a sin, neither is committing a sin necessarily committing a crime. Committing sin is sinning against God, committing a crime is breaking human laws. If for example, one day the law of our nation sins against God (banning prayer, reading the Bible, meeting as a church, preaching the gospel), if we obey these laws, we sin against God. We must rather choose to break human laws than sin against God, we must rather be punished by men than by God. The church prayed together in unity and asked the Lord seemingly to `give us the boldness to break the law of men, because we want to continue preaching Your word. We will face persecution and troubles, O God, give us courage to suffer for You.’ The church nowadays is too comfortable. We have a comfortable air-conditioned environment for assembling, with personal vehicles and church vans to bring us to and from church, as a result, some believers do not want to come if the church van isn’t available to pick them up. When the air conditioner is not cool enough we fret, with a little rain we fail to show up for church service, no one wants to suffer a bit for the Lord. May the Lord help us be bolder and stronger.

1b. Ask the Lord to Continue Performing Signs and Wonders in the Lord’s Name – The Church wanted to continue preaching the word of God. This is what the church is supposed to do and what it can do, however, signs and wonders are not what it can do on its own. These are the work of God. On one hand, the Church asked the Lord for courage to share the gospel, on the other, it asked the Lord to perform signs and wonders to substantiate their testimony. This is a very important principle. Our God is not a magician, he is not out to entertain. There is purpose to every miracle he performs, that is to confirm God’s Word, to help people know the gospel. From the Church’s prayer, we see the cooperation between God and man. 1Corinthians 3 explains this clearly. Paul said, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.” The gospel work is a work of cooperation between God and man.

2. Outcome of the Prayer in Unity – v. 31 “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.”

We see three outcomes from this passage:

2a. The Place was Shaken. Was it coincidental that an earthquake occurred right after they prayed such that the whole place was shaken? I believe not, this is evidence of God’s presence with them. In the Old Testament, when God came down to Mt. Sinai, the whole mountain shook. When the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost, there was a loud sound and a violent wind such that the whole room was obviously shaken. This shows us God is in our midst. Jesus said, “When two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them.” When we pray together in unity of heart and mind, God is with us.

2b. The Disciples were Filled with the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came, the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit. In chapter 4, when Peter faced the rulers, Pharisees and scribes, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, after their prayer, they were once more filled with the Holy Spirit. Being filled with the Holy Spirit should be a constant occurrence. If we want to be victorious and strong, we must constantly be filled with the Holy Spirit. The more we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the stronger we become, the more victorious we are. This is called the cycle of goodness. Adversely, if we are not filled with the Holy Spirit, we will be filled with worldliness, fear, worry, arrogance, pride, inferiority and this will give rise to the cycle of wickedness. We will become more and more arrogant and proud, full of worry and fear. This is a question of choice, which one will you choose, to be filled with the Holy Spirit or with worldliness?

2c. They Boldly Preached the Word of God. This was one of the content of their prayer. They asked the Lord for boldness to speak his word. Seemingly, after they prayed, they continued to speak the word courageously, then God performed signs and wonders, confirming his presence with them, and so they became bolder and bolder in preaching the gospel. This is what the Great Commission says. In Mark 16:20, it says, “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” After Acts 4, we see how the Early Church is filled with signs and wonders, even Peter’s shadow was able to drive away evil spirits. When the Church prayed in unity of heart and mind, God was in its midst. As they boldly testified for the Lord, the Lord used signs and wonders to confirm the word they spoke.

Church! We must lift up the name of the Lord, call on the name of the Lord, testify the name of Lord! Have we?