Acts 4: 1-12 | No Other Name

The human heart is a well of depravity that runs deeper than we suspect. It’s so dark and wicked that even undeniable good news can provoke rage instead of giving thanks and yet, this is what the Gospel does. The Gospel does two things: it either converts the soul or exposes the wicked. It either transforms us to be followers of Christ filled with the fruit of the Spirit or it proves that we detest God and His ways. Today we are going to see in Acts 4 this happen in the same room and we are going to see three points from the passage.

Let’s stand together in honor of God’s Word as we read Acts 4:1-12

1 And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. 5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 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. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 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.”

The books of the Bible were not written with chapters and verses. The little headings that divide the Bible are not actually part of the original text. Those are called “pericopees” and they were made by editors to make the Bible easier to navigate. In our passage today, it’s best to just see verse 1 as a continuous flow of everything we’ve been talking about for the last couple weeks. Peter was preaching about why Christ came and the truth of the resurrection when “As they were speaking” they are interrupted in their teaching because the priests, the temple captain, and the Sadducees arrived.

Now who are these people? The priests were the official religious people in Israel. They were responsible for keeping order in the temple, keeping the sacrifices going, offering prayer, etc. The priests felt that they were the authority in religious matters and we must remember that institutional authority and genuine spiritual authority are not the same thing.

The captain of the temple was the second in charge of the political and administrative tasks. His job was to make sure there was public order and at this time, there was nothing more important to Rome than peace within the empire. So much so that there were Roman barracks overlooking the Temple Complex.

The last group is the Sadduccees. These are the wealthy elites who are a small group of well-connected people, much like most political leaders throughout time. They were extremely secular by Jewish standards and Peter’s sermon opposes their four core beliefs: 1) They held that only the written Torah was binding and rejected any oral traditions, 2) they denied any future bodily resurrection or judgment, 3) they denied the existence of angels, spirits, or a supernatural realm, and 4) they denied God’s sovereignty and emphasized human determinism.

So when we see that these people were “greatly annoyed” in verse 2, it’s because Peter’s sermon is attacking all three of these groups, not because he is attacking them, but because the truth of the Gospel opposes everything they stand for. The Gospel isn’t simply theological, it makes a difference in how it impacts our lives. It changes our religious thoughts and even our political beliefs if this passage is to be believed.

This is why in verse 1, they “came upon them”. That word in the Greek is ephistemi which means to surround someone. For weeks we have seen the church flourish as God worked and now you have servants of Satan surrounding the apostles. This is the first skirmish in the spiritual war that continues to rage to this day.

The annoyance was Acts 4:2

2 … because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

THE GOSPEL ELICITS OPPOSITION

Remember the crime is not because of a healing. The healing drew the crowd and as we said for the last several weeks, “The Wonder Exists for the Word”. Now, the enemies of Christ are getting their heads on straight and they are opposing the Gospel. Why? Because they opposed Christ!

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

In World War 2, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said “Suffering… is the badge of the true Christian. The disciple is not above his master… Discipleship means allegiance to the suffering Christ."

In 258, there was a wave of intense persecution against Christians in the Roman Empire. In Utica the Roman proconsul Galerius Maximus imprisoned 300 believers. One day, he brought the prisoners to a field and gave them an choice: give a pinch of incense as an offering to Jupiter or be burned alive in a kiln. Their bishop, Quadratus, encouraged his flock and all 300 Christians met the flames with courage.

Tertullian said that “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Gospel” and this is the truth. Wherever persecution rises up, we can be confident that God is at work in powerful ways. The last time we heard a number of followers, there were 3,000. In verse 4 we read that there were 5,000 men which is much higher when you include women and children. This shows us that despite the best efforts, “many who heard the word believed”.

Remember, Christian, that opposition doesn’t strangle the message but God uses it for growth. The real threat in our modern world, especially here in Camden County is not the threat of persecution, but being comfortable and irrelevant. Revelation 3:1

1 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.

Christian, would Satan and his devils be glad if you died because you were out of the fight or would that dark kingdom not even notice your impact? The truth is that the cost of the Gospel in our community will likely not touch our bodies but it may touch your reputation. It might impact your job, your ego, your hobbies. So you can fly under the radar and avoid persecution and no one will be able to tell your compromises, your surrenders. You might have a good reputation and be honest, but take the warning to you in Revelation because Satan may not be opposing you because you aren’t doing anything worth opposing.

Now, since these events took place over the span of a couple hours, Peter and John were arrested and placed in jail until they could be questioned the next day. Can you imagine Caiaphas and Annas’ reaction when Jesus of Nazareth was brought back up? That would have been fun to see their faces!

But you have the Sanhedrin brought all together the next morning. This is the Supreme Court of Israel. 70+ men all together and the leaders surround Peter and John and they inquire, but the question reveals the motives.

THE OPPOSITION'S QUESTIONS REVEAL THEIR MOTIVES

This question is important Acts 4:7

7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?”

We already know based on verse 2 that it was in the name of Jesus that these things happened. So they knew what was happening so why arrest them? It’s because they didn’t want people to listen any more and when they were confronted, they didn’t want the people to see their boldness. They’re not seeking truth, they’re managing exposure to the Gospel! It is like John Chrysostom said in the 4th century, “that the hearers may not profit by their boldness.”

And if they say anyone other than Yahweh, they will try to exercise capital punishment according to Deuteronomy 13. We need to also remember that this same group said Matthew 12:24

24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”

When someone cannot refute your fruit, they will interrogate your sincerity. What questions are you tempted to ask when God is at work? “Is this an approved curriculum?”, “What’s their real agenda?” “Why now?” These may be legitimate questions, but if those are the only questions, then it exposes insincerity and a lack of graciousness. Let’s not be like the religious elites, battling for our own influence, but let’s be like Peter and John who were zealous for the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

So they've asked their question, and verse 8 says Peter was “filled with the Holy Spirit” and this doesn't mean a wild, out-of-control experience. What we see is not an emphasis on self, but a dependence on the Holy Spirit and a confident obedience to the Word of God. It's not that the situation brought the filling, but the filling is the result of being submitted to Christ. It's not about an emotional high, and I want you to see five characteristics of someone who's filled with the Holy Spirit.

If you're taking notes, write down "clarity." There's no beating around the bush. It's not a political answer, it's very frank. What name? "By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth." Even if you don't like the answer, it's a clear one, and that's much better than ambiguity.

Think about Monday morning at work. A coworker asks what you did this weekend, and you went to church. Do you say that plainly, or do you reach for "I was just busy" because it just feels awkward? Peter had every reason in that room to reach for something vague but he didn't. Clarity doesn't mean you're rude about it, it just means you don't hide what's true to keep the peace.

The second characteristic is "courage." It's implicit here but it's clearly in verse 13, and it's used twelve times in the book of Acts, almost always tied to preaching the gospel under pressure.

If you're a teenager, this is your group chat. Somebody mocks what you believe, or the conversation turns and everyone's waiting to see if you'll go along with it. That's not as dramatic as standing before the Sanhedrin, but it's the same fork in the road, right? You can stay quiet to keep your standing, or say what's true and let the chips fall where they may.

Thirdly, being "Christ-focused." Peter said, "By him this man is standing before you well" with no emphasis on himself, all of it pushing toward Christ's glory and name.

Dads, ask yourself what's actually running your household. Is Christ the center of gravity in your home, or is it your kids sports schedules, their grades, them getting into the right college? None of those things are evil, but if they're what your family actually organizes its life around, you've built the house on the wrong stone.

Next is a focus on "conversion." Everything Peter says is aimed at the gospel, that is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the fact that there is no salvation anywhere else but in Him.

If you're here today and you've never actually called on this name, not just respected Jesus, not just agreed He was a good teacher, but actually trusted Him to save you… Peter isn't leaving you room to stay neutral. Every word of his answer is aimed at a decision, not just information.

The final characteristic is found in Acts 3:17: "And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers." And it's "charity." He assumes ignorance rather than willful malice and open opposition to God Himself. Love covers a multitude of sins, and the more you and I deal charitably with each other, the more Christ is glorified in our lives.

This is the grandmother who's watched a grandchild walk away from the faith she helped raised them in, deciding whether to keep the door open with patience or slam it shut with judgment. It's the mom in the carpool line who was hurt by a friend's comment, choosing grace over keeping score. Charity doesn't mean pretending sin isn't sin. It means treating people the way Peter treated the very men who orchestrated Jesus's death. Assuming they need the truth spoken to them, not a verdict handed down.

THE SPIRIT-FILLED ANSWER EXPOSES AND INVITES

Peter has already answered their question in verse 10 and He could’ve stopped there because the healing was explained, the name was given. Case closed. But verse 11 is where Peter stops defending himself and starts putting the Sanhedrin on trial.

11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

Now, what is Peter is doing here? Psalm 118 was not some obscure text Peter dug up to win an argument, it's the last of the Hallel Psalms. These were the songs sung at Passover, the very psalm the nation had just finished singing together weeks earlier at the Passover Feast. Which means Jesus himself sang these exact words with his disciples at the Last Supper, hours before his own arrest. Days before his crucifixion, the crowds had shouted Psalm 118:26 over Jesus at the triumphal entry,

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.

And Jesus had already applied verse 22, this very verse, to himself — in this same city, in the temple, in the parable of the wicked tenants, while some of these same religious leaders stood listening

17 But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 19 The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

Peter isn't inventing a clever new argument in front of the Sanhedrin. He's handing them back their own traditions and he's reminding them of a text Jesus already claimed for himself, in their hearing, before they crucified him. The builders, that's them, the ones responsible for constructing and maintaining the house of Israel, looked at the Stone (Jesus) and said it doesn't fit, throw it out. And the Father, the Master Architect, picked that same stone back up out of the grave and made it the cornerstone of a whole new building.

A cornerstone matters. A cornerstone isn't decorative. It's the first stone laid, the one that determines the angle, the alignment, the whole direction of everything built after it. Every other stone in the structure has to be squared against it. What Peter is telling the Sanhedrin is “you rejected the very Person God chose to build his whole house around!” Which means it isn't Jesus who's out of line with the temple. It's the temple that's out of line with Jesus! And Peter doesn't let this text go after this sermon. Years later, writing to churches scattered across Asia Minor, he reaches for the same psalm again

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

It seems to me that Peter built his whole theology of the church on this central truth. Peter says that every believer becomes a living stone in the same building, because the cornerstone held.

12 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.”

People will tell you this is arrogant. That somehow it is super bigoted and judgmental to say that Christ Jesus is the only way to be saved. Spurgeon faced the same charge in 1858 preaching this exact verse, and his answer still holds: "A hundred lying religions may sleep peaceably in one bed, but wherever the Christian religion goes as the truth, it is like a fire-brand."

Every other religion can make peace with its neighbors because none of them are actually claiming to be the only door. Christianity can't make that peace, not because Christians are proud, but because the Word of God won't let us. If Jesus is who He says He is, then saying "one of many ways" isn't humility, it's just wrong.

And notice exactly what Peter says is required. Not "Jesus is one legitimate source of power among others," but "no other name."

That matters. It's not enough to benefit from Christ's power without knowing him, Peter is saying salvation runs specifically through calling on His name. Which is exactly what Paul writes about later.”

13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

This not some abstract theological point. It’s the entire reason you and I exist as a church and what your purpose is as a Christian. If salvation required only sincerity, we could all go home. But salvation requires the name of Jesus Christ, people need to know about Jesus and call on His name.

Head: God wants you to know that Jesus Christ, whom men rejected, is the only Lord and the only Savior.

The very men in the room with Peter crucified Jesus, and God raised him anyway. This isn’t a footnote, that is God settling the question of who Jesus is, no matter who rejects Him.

Heart: God wants you to believe that because Jesus alone is Lord and Jesus alone saves, I don't have to fear what opposition costs me.

You can know this fact and still live scared of what your boss or friends, or your family might think of you. Belief means letting this truth settle your fear, not just your theology.

Hand: God wants you to share Jesus’ name plainly and courageously this week.

Peter didn't wait for a safer moment to share Jesus’ name, he said it standing in front of the men who had the authority to kill him. If he could say it there, you can share Jesus at your kitchen table or your break room this week.