Some names are considered so great that they cannot be mentioned.
That’s Voldermort in the fantasy world of Harry Potter, a person so evil that one should not name him. At the other end of the spectrum, in the real world, Jews still do not mention God's Old Testament Covenant name, Yahweh. They believe it is so holy that it cannot be mentioned. When they see it written, they do not say it, but they say, Adonai, 'My Lord' or hashem, the name, instead.
Great names open paths to people. A rich noblewoman Lady Catherine de Burge says in the Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, 'just mention my name, you will get good service'. And of course we know about name-dropping. A good name can open doors heretofore closed.
Jesus Christ? What about that name?
Some people think Jesus Christ's name is a swear word. Even this week at SRE I hear a child use it so. And he is only copying our culture, and our movies. Something they never do with other religious names, out of fear that they will be killed.
Others think with disdain about those who bear the name ‘Jesus’. Oh no, not the Jesus freaks, those God botherers. I don't want to hear about it. Don't talk to me. That's the name that starts wars and causes division and conflicts and fights.
Or others think of it with pity. Those pathetic Christians. Like children who believe in the tooth fairy and santa clause. And their particular make believe fairy tale hero is Jesus Christ. That’s the name of their imaginery friend.
Others prefer other names. Mohammad, Buddha, Hare Krishna, John the Baptist, Marx, Mao. Truth is found in these names instead of Jesus Christ.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me. Well, there’s one name the Jewish leaders believed would hurt them: Jesus Christ.
Our long reading today tracks the progress of the name of Jesus Christ. And over the two chapters, opposition escalates.
Names have always mattered to believers in God. God himself says not to take his name in vain. Proverbs 18:10 says: The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. (NIV)
When Jesus was born, the angel gave him his name: 'And you shall give him the name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins' (Matthew 1:21) Because the name Jesus means ‘Yahweh’ saves.
Now Jesus warned his disciples that bearing his name was a dangerous thing. Luke 21:12-13:
But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 This will result in your being witnesses to them. (NIV)
But they would not be alone. Their Lord Jesus would help them as they bear his name. Luke 21:14-15:
But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. (NIV)
The name of Jesus is costly to bear. But it has great power.
Up until now in the story of Acts, the Christians have not experienced opposition. So far they have carried all before them. And the church has just kept growing.
And the question should be: Will the Christians have it all their own way? When will the empire strike back?
And the answer is, chapters 4 and 5. For the Sadduccees re-enter Luke’s account. They are the empire about to strike back. Because they don't believe in the resurrection – any resurrection. And especially the resurrection of Jesus. And there is nothing more annoying than having your most cherished conviction contradicted by the facts.
The Sadduccees were the ruling class in Jerusalem. They included the High Priests.
Before his trial, Jesus took the Sadduccees on and silenced them. But the Sadduccees had the last laugh, so it seemed. They killed Jesus. But here is that name again – Jesus – coming back to annoy them.
The Sadduccees will not tolerate any threat to their power. So they arrest Peter and John (Acts 4:4).
But it all seems a bit late. The horse has bolted. Already the number of Christians have come to about 5000 (Acts 4:4). And that's just the men! This is more than Jesus did. Jesus could get 5000 men to turn up to get free medical treatment and luncheon. But the Apostles now have 5000 men as part of a new community, with one heart and mind, in the very heart of Jerusalem. Peter and John have done more than even Jesus did when he was on earth. Because it’s not Peter and John. It is the risen Jesus Christ.
Peter and John are brought before the Rulers of Jerusalem, just as Jesus promised (Acts 4:5-6). The Sadduccees cannot deny the miracle – the crippled man was walking and leaping and praising God. But they want to know in whose name it has happened. Chapter 4 Verse 7:
They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this? ” (NIV)
The name in which the miracle was done will tell us the source of the power. And the Apostle’s give a clear answer. Look with me at Acts 4 verses 10 to 12:
10… 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 He is“ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. ’ 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. ” (NIV)
Arrest has not blunted their message. The Apostles are hitting even harder.
Peter makes a slight change to the Old Testament quote. He doesn't say, 'the stone the builders rejected'. He says 'the stone YOU builders rejected' . When you crucified Jesus, you unwittingly fulfilled Psalm 118:22, a book you Sadduccees reject. Those who reject the warnings of prophecy are bound to fulfill them. That’s the Sadduccees. They fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures they rejected, which said the Christ would be rejected.
But God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. And here is the proof. The risen Jesus Christ has healed this man. What Jesus did once on earth, he now does from heaven.
The healing miracle is both an act of kindness and also a sign. It’s kindness to the man who begged at the beautiful temple gate. But it also points away from itself to something else. The healing miracle points to the risen Jesus Christ, who did the miracle.
But that is not all. Now, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has revealed something about himself. He has revealed his saving name.
In the Old Testament, God revealed himself as Yahweh, the only Saviour. But with the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has revealed a new name for himself: Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only Saviour.
It is not that the name ‘Jesus’ replaces the name ‘Yahweh’ as Saviour. Jesus is Yahweh the Saviour. Jesus is Yahweh come in the flesh, as a man. Jesus, fully God and fully man, is Yahweh come to save us. And so Peter can rightly say to the Jewish eldership and rulers, who accept that the only saving name is Yahweh, a name that they will not say:
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. ” (NIV)
Jesus Christ is the only saving name that we have. There is no other. Jesus' name means 'Yahweh saves'. And Jesus embodies and incarnates 'Yahweh saves'. Because Jesus is God who came to save us as a man.
Friends, here is the exclusive claim of the risen Christ. He said: "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6 NIV).
No other name saves. No other religious name, no political name. Certainly, my name doesn’t save, and neither does yours. The only saving name is 'Yahweh Saves'. And that name is Jesus.
Our world would like to tell us there are many saving names, one alongside the other. Mohammad, Allah, Buddha, the Greens, the environment, a strong economy. You have your prophet and I have mine. And everyone is right, and all religion is OK, as long as it doesn’t say that it’s the only one.
The one religious sin is to be an extremist and a fundamentalist. And yet Jesus comes along and says, ‘No one comes to the Father except through me’, and his Apostles say ‘there is only one name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved’. And we need to stand with Jesus Christ, and his claim to be the one saving name.
Christianity is Christ. If you reject Christianity, you reject Christ. It’s just not going to cut it to say to Jesus, ‘Hey Jesus, nothing personal, but I’m really not into you. No offence, but you never existed, you’re not God, nor God’s Son, nor the Messiah. But please don’t go and take it personally.
It is personal, and Jesus does take offence. Rejecting Jesus is profoundly personal. Because Christianity at it’s heart is a personal relationship with the risen Jesus Christ, king of the universe.
Chapters 4 and 5 chart the spread of the name of Jesus Christ. So far, the name of Jesus has spread in peacetime. But chapters 4 and 5 also chart the escalating efforts to suppress the name and silence the Apostles. But it seems, the harder the religious leaders try, the wider they spread it. Like when you pull up onion weed. You just spread all those tiny white seeds further and further. And in a few weeks you will have twice as many.
During peacetime, the name spreads. During conflict, the name spreads. That is the story of Acts. Peace or Persecution, Church gathered or scattered. The outcome is still the same. The name of Jesus grows and spreads, and more are added to their number.
Now, we saw the Apostles facing all manner of intimidation to get them to stop preaching in Jesus’ name. Warnings. Threats. Arrests. Imprisonment. Kangaroo Courts. Floggings. Prohibitions on the name of Jesus. And later Stephen will be stoned, and the Apostle James will lose his head. And the Christians will be scattered from Jerusalem.
Yet their answer to these attempts at intimidation is typified by chapter 5 verse 29:
“We must obey God rather than men." (NIV)
Here is a holy belligerance, a godly rebellion. In the face of opposition the Apostle's are revolting. They do not submit to the High Priests in this matter. Because they have a Higher Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is not always the case that we have to obey God rather than men. Most of the time we obey God by obeying men.
Most of the time, almost always, we obey God by obeying the government. Kings, political leaders and government, parliament and politicians, police and courts, are God’s servants and ministers (Romans 13). They give their full time to government and we owe them our taxes, our obedience, our respect and fear, and of course our prayers on their behalf.
Most of the time, almost always, we obey God by obeying our parents. Our mothers and fathers love us, and speak for our good. Honour your father and mother most of the time means obeying them.
Almost always, we obey God by obeying our church leaders. We are told to obey those who are over us in the Lord, so that their job may be a joy and not a burden.
But in each of these areas, the obedience we owe is not absolute. It is not an unconditional obedience. It is an obedience based on rightful authority, for there is always a higher authority than the law of the land, the family, and the church. It is God’s word, God’s law, and the rule of God’s Christ that is absolutely to be obeyed.
Now, the question is, ‘How can we stand firm?’ The opposition is great, the pressure is to succumb. How will we hold out until Jesus returns?
Well, the early disciples show us how. They pray to the Sovereign God who controls all things for boldness and for his work in the world (Acts 4:23-31) They look at the fact that God predestined and planned the death of the Messiah by the hand of wicked men. They observe that nothing has happened that is not part of God’s plan. And so they ask, verses 29-30:
29 And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. ”
The believers ask for boldness, and for God to work. They, like their Lord, want to give a good confession before rulers and kings. They ask to continue preaching the name of Christ in spite of opposition. They also ask for signs and wonders, confirmation to Jerusalem that Jesus is indeed the risen Christ and king of the Jews.
There is a thing they do, and a thing God does. Their job is to speak boldly and to ask faithfully. God’s job is to empower them to speak, and stretch out his hand to heal and do signs and wonders.
And it is the same now. It is our job to speak boldly of Jesus’ name. It is God’s job to do the signs and wonders. It’s our job to ask for healings. It’s God’s job to actually do it.
It’s up to the sovereign God to give it, if he so decides. Sometimes he heals, sometimes he doesn’t. Sometimes he releases from prison, like Peter and John. Sometimes he doesn’t, and the Christian preacher is stoned, like Stephen, or beheaded, like James. Either way, God is glorified, whether in extending our life, or cutting it short. The miraculous rescue gives God the glory. Dying well gives God the glory. As Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said:
‘If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O King, that we will not serve your gods' (Daniel 3:17-18 NIV).
In the end, all opposition to the name of Jesus Christ is a lost cause. It is bound to fail. In the words of Psalm 2:
‘Why do the nations conspire, and the peoples plot in vain, the Kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his anointed one.
But it is hopeless. God and his Christ laugh from heaven and scoff at their opposition. The decisive victory has been won. Jesus Christ is Lord. He died and rose again to free us by his blood. He is now exalted as King of the Universe. And every knee will bow to him.
At the end of chapter 5, nothing has changed for all their opposition and persecution. Jesus Christ is the risen Lord. More and more people accept the name. And floggings just give the Christians more reasons to rejoice.
Know this friends. The victory is assured no matter what happens. Peace or persecution doesn’t change the facts. Miraculous rescue and wonderful sign, or ordinary weakness, thorn in the flesh, led by the hand to an ordinary death. None of this changes the fact that Jesus is enthroned in heaven. His name is the name above all names. His name is the only saving name.
If you haven’t called on the saving name of Jesus, today is the day. Now is the time. Hear the words of the Apostle Paul:
‘That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [Jesus Christ] will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13 NIV)
And if you have done this, and Jesus is your Lord, may you and I rejoice in our suffering, as they did. May we respond well to whatever God wills for us. Because either way, the triumph of the name of Jesus is assured. And may we never stop teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ, no matter what they say or do.
Let’s pray.