“THE POWER OF JESUS’ NAME”
ACTS 3:12-18
I. Introduction
“What’s in a name?” That’s the question asked by the young Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet,” Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers. It was in Act II, Scene ii, where what Juliet actu-ally said was, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Romeo and Juliet were in love, but they had a serious problem. His family (the Montagues) and her family (the Capulets) were at war with each other. By asking this rhetorical question Juliet is telling Romeo that she believes a name is just an artificial and meaningless conven-tion. She is in love with the person who is called “Montague.”
She doesn’t care about the Montague name or the Montague family. So Romeo, in his pas-sion for Juliet, rejects his family name and vows to be her lover, no matter what. However, even though their names mean nothing to them, they do to their respective families. And in the end, Shakespeare’s famous tragedy ends with the deaths of both Romeo and Juliet.
But the question remains – “What IS in a name?” Most everyone in this room has at least some familial connection back to Europe. Our last names reflect that. Even a group as small as ours has family names that have their roots in England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, Russia, Poland, Germany, Holland, Greece, Italy, and Spain. How many times have those countries gone to war with each other? And yet, it’s not uncommon for people with such varying backgrounds to fall in love and marry.
Here are some examples: A Shroat marries a man named Fell; a Fisher marries a woman named Stephens; a Doyle marries a man named Gregornik; a Siert marries a woman named Patterson; and a Vosicky marries a man named Timms. And so it goes. Maybe Juliet had a point – “What is in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” So in that respect our names really aren’t important.
But there’s one name that IS all important. It’s the most important name there is because eternity is wrapped in it. It was an angel who told Joseph what to name Mary’s baby boy.
Matthew 1:21
21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.”
When the church was in its infancy Peter and John preached the same message.
Acts 4:12
12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under hea-ven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.”
Brock told how glorious the name of Jesus is when he read Paul’s words to open the service.
Philippians 2:9-11
9…God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In today’s text in Acts we’ll be reminded that we must place our faith in that name. Why? Because, “Whoever will call upon the name of the LORD will be saved (Romans 10:13).”
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II. Review
In Acts 2:14-36 the Apostle Peter preached his first sermon. In it he identified Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, proclaimed His resurrection from the dead, and placed the responsibility for the Lord’s murder at the foot of the Jews.
*Acts 2:36
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ – this Jesus whom you crucified.”
As a direct result of preaching this truth, multitudes of Peter’s hearers were convicted of their sins and came to repentance. And in Acts 2:37-47 they, along with the other apostles, became the first church.
*Acts 2:46-47
46 And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
47 praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
In Acts 3:1-11 Peter and John entered the temple for afternoon prayers. They came upon a lame beggar who asked them for alms. Peter said, “I do not possess silver or gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – walk!” The beggar was immediately and completely healed and began praising God. The response from the multi-tudes who witnessed this miracle of God was predictable.
*Acts 3:11
11 And while he (the beggar) was clinging to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them at the so-called portico of Solomon, full of amazement.
The portico of Solomon (“Solomon’s Porch”) was a popular place for discussion and debate.
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III. Text
That brings us to this morning’s text.
The Apostle Peter will make the most of this opportunity to preach the gospel.
*Acts 3:12-18 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
12 But when Peter saw this (the multitude’s amazement), he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?
13 “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered up, and disowned in the pres-ence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.
14 “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.
16 “And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him (Jesus) has given him (the lame beggar) this perfect health in the presence of you all.
17 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.
18 “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”
Back in v. 6 Peter invoked the “…name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene.” It must be under-stood that Peter, in and of himself, had no ability to heal the lame beggar. It was only by the power and authority of Jesus’ name that the man was enabled to walk and leap as he did.
The name of Jesus is central to our understanding of God’s power and authority in our lives.
If I may quote Shakespeare’s Juliet once more – “What’s in a name?” The answer is every-thing when that name is Jesus.
In Greek the name Jesus is “Iesous,” which is transliterated from the Hebrew “Yeshua” or Joshua. But regardless of the spoken language used, it means the same thing: “The Lord is salvation.” The very purpose of the church is to lift up and exalt the name of Jesus. The Book of Acts made this crystal-clear from the moment the church was born on Pentecost.
• The first believers were baptized “…in the name of Jesus (2:38).”
• The first miracle was consummated “…in the name of Jesus (3:6).”
• Philip preached the gospel “…in the name of Jesus (8:12).”
• All of the apostles risked their lives “…for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (15:26).”
• And Paul said that he was willing “…to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus (21:13).”
Are you detecting a pattern here? It’s about the name of Jesus! In my own personal studies I’ve identified no less than eighty separate names and titles applied to Jesus in the NT alone.
One source says there are at least one hundred twenty others. Here, alphabetically, are just a few of the more familiar ones.
~ The Alpha and Omega (Revelation 22:13) ~ The Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) ~ The Bread of Life (John 6:48) ~ The Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4) ~ The Creator (Colossians 1:16) ~ The First and the Last (Revelation 1:7) ~ I AM (John 8:58) ~
Immanuel – God with Us (Matthew 1:23) ~ King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16) ~ The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25) ~ Savior (Luke 2:11) ~ The Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6) ~ and the Word of God (Revelation 19:13) ~
And He has another name that none of us yet know.
Revelation 19:11-12
11 And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
12 And His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.
But regardless of how many other names God has bestowed upon Jesus, all that matters to a lost soul is what Luke says in Acts 4:12: “…there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” In Jesus’ name we are forgiven and saved. In Jesus’ name our prayers are answered. And in Jesus’ name we will one day be glorified with Him.
Now look back with me to Acts 3:11. The multitudes have seen a miraculous healing and they’ve gathered around Peter, John, and the (formerly lame) beggar. They’re “…full of amazement.”
*Acts 3:12
12 But when Peter saw this, he replied to the people, “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?”
Peter’s addressing the crowd as “men of Israel” tells them that he knows they’re God’s peo-ple. But when he asks them, “…why do you marvel at this,” he’s really rebuking them for their lack of faith. Don’t they know that their God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the God of miracles? Don’t they know that Jesus had performed countless miracles dur-ing His three-year ministry among them? Of course they do! So why do they “marvel” when a miracle is performed by one of Jesus’ apostles?
Then Peter asks them, “…why do you gaze at us?” He’s asking the people if they think that he and John are so powerful or religious that they could make the lame beggar walk. Peter’s point is clear. The only explanation for what has just happened is that the power and author-ity of the name of Jesus did it. Back in v. 6 Peter hadn’t invoked his own name. Rather, he said, “In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene – walk!”
In this we should find a lesson of critical importance for us:
In our Christian witness the focus must never be on us. While it is right and proper to have a testimony as to what God has done in our lives, the focus must always be on Jesus. Peter himself says so.
1 Peter 3:15a
15 …sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a de-fense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you…
So in Acts 3:12 Peter finds what preachers are always looking for – a theme for a sermon. This theme is easy to find. It’s all about the name of Jesus. And Peter launches into the second sermon recorded by Luke in The Book of Acts. His first sermon (Acts 2:14-36), which he preached on the Day of Pentecost, identified Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, spoke of His resurrection, and placed the guilt for His murder on the Jews.
Now today, in the first half of Peter’s second sermon, he will again tell the Jews of their guilt, reiterate Jesus’ resurrection, and call them to saving faith – faith in Jesus’ name.
*Acts 3:13
13 “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus, the one whom you delivered up, and disowned in the pres-ence of Pilate, when he had decided to release Him.”
Calling Jesus God’s Servant was a familiar OT term for the Messiah. In Isaiah 42 God gives us a picture of the Servant within the Holy Trinity.
*Isaiah 42:1
1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul de-lights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.
In Matthew’s gospel he not only quotes Isaiah’s prophecy, he reports its fulfillment.
Matthew 12:17-18
17 …what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, might be fulfilled, saying,
18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul is well-pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
And back in Isaiah 53 the prophet tells us more about the Servant’s suffering. (52:12-53:12)
*Isaiah 53:3-5, 10-11
3 He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we our-selves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourg-ing we are healed.
10 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied, by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.
God’s Servant! That’s how Jesus presented Himself again and again in the gospels. In fact, the entire theme of Mark’s gospel is Jesus as God’s Servant. The key verse being…
Mark 10:45
28 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (back to Acts 3:13)
Peter tells the crowd that the Messiah they had hoped for, God’s own Servant, had indeed come. But instead of falling at His feet in praise and worship, they refused to receive Him.
John 1:10-11
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
Not only did His own (the Jews) fail to receive Him, they rejected Him outright and had Him murdered. And that was after Pilate (a Gentile) was willing to release Jesus because he had found no validity to the Jews’ accusations against Him.
Why did the Jews reject Jesus? They did so for the same reason anyone rejects Jesus. He told them the truth about their sin and made them confront it. Listen, Christian, Jesus is the light of the world, and the darkness hates the light. Why? You know why – light exposes the darkness for what it is.
*John 3:16-20
16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that who-ever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.
18 “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19 “And this is judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.
20 “For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
Do you see? The world’s problem today is the same as Israel’s problem two thousand years ago.
It refuses to receive Christ because Christ exposes both the evil deeds and the individuals who do them.
*Acts 3:14-15
14 “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you,
15 but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”
In these two verses Peter emphasizes the guilt of those who are listening to him. Now listen to this commentary on Acts 3:14-15 by the Jewish Christian scholar, Steven Ger.
“Israel had chosen to ask for freedom for the murderer, Barabbas, and had given Jesus over to execution. Peter used a unique phrase for Jesus in Acts 3:15, calling Him the ‘Prince of Life.’ Peter’s emphasis was that Jesus was the originator, the pio-neer, the leader, the source, the champion, the very author of life. Jesus was the tem-plate for a perfect humanity. Yet when given the choice, Israel chose an eradicator of life over the originator of life.”
Man, in his fallen and sinful condition, is no different than he was two thousand years ago. I know that because we do the same things today. America’s claim to be a Christian nation has always been open to debate, but today such a claim is hypocritical and ridiculous. Our nation has long since turned its back on the God of Bible.
If you need proof just consider this one fact: We have all but eliminated capital punishment for even the most vile and repugnant crimes. It seems that the more demented and evil the crime, the more we try excuse the guilty and keep them alive. But at the same time our dis-regard and disdain for the innocent is absolutely staggering. To date America has murdered over fifty-five million defenseless children in their mother’s wombs, and the death toll keeps rising. And now Planned Parenthood (What a ludicrous name!) is harvesting and selling the body parts of these aborted babies for money, and our government does nothing.
To paraphrase Steven Ger, “America has chosen the guilty over the innocent.” Listen, in the same way that a holy, righteous, and just God judged Israel, so too He must judge America.
In Acts 3:14 Peter’s indictment of Israel is devastating. Given the choice between a murder-er and the Son of God, they chose the murderer. And in v. 15 the irony is complete. Peter tells them that they put to death the originator of life, the very One who gave them life.
*John 1:1-4
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. (but men loved the darkness)
Jesus said as much about Himself right before He raised Lazarus from the dead.
John 11:25
25 Jesus said to (Lazarus’ sister Martha), “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies.”
Years later, when John wrote his first letter to the churches, he said…
1 John 5:11, 20
11 And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. (back to Acts 3)
In the first part of Acts 3:15 Peter speaks of Jesus’ death. But, of course, the story doesn’t end with the Prince of Life going into the grave, does it? The preaching of the gospel is unfinished and incomplete without Jesus’ resurrection and Peter has no intention of leaving the gospel unfinished and incomplete. So in the second part of v. 15 he reminds them of something they already know. God has raised Jesus from the dead!
Today that fact is questioned by skeptics and cynics, and denied outright by multiplied mil-lions of unbelievers. But consider the time when Peter is speaking. And consider the place where he is speaking. How foolhardy would it have been to claim Jesus’ resurrection from the dead if it had not happened? Hundreds of people had seen the Lord and heard Him speak between His resurrection and ascension. Thus the apostles’ testimony was undeniable.
But facts are routinely denied and dismissed by unbelief. Listen carefully, please. It is this denial and subsequent dismissal of divine truth that proves unbelief is not an intellectual problem. Neither I.Q., nor S.A.T. scores, not membership in Mensa have anything to do with it. Unbelief is a spiritual problem. The Apostle Paul makes this abundantly clear in his second letter to the church at Corinth.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
So in Acts 3:12-15 Peter has deflected the light away from himself and John and focused it on the risen Christ.
*Acts 3:16
16 “And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him (Jesus) has given him (the lame beggar) this perfect health in the presence of you all.
It’s the power of Jesus’ name that has healed the lame beggar’s body, and it’s faith in Jesus’ name that has saved his soul. Is this not the core truth of the gospel? And is this not testi-mony to the supremacy of spiritual healing over physical healing? This is why the needs of our souls are infinitely more important than the needs of our bodies. Our bodies are tempor-ary, but our souls are eternal. And that is precisely why Jesus taught that it’s better to go to heaven “…crippled or lame, than having two hands and two feet, to be cast into the eternal fire (Matthew 18:8b).”
*Acts 3:17
17 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.”
Peter calls them “brethren.” This is an indication of his compassion for them. He says, and I paraphrase, “Yes, you did murder your Messiah, but you didn’t know any better. You acted in ignorance. But the Lord’s offer of forgiveness, redemption, and eternal life still stands.” That can be said of us as well. Wasn’t it our sins – yours and mine – that put Him on the cross? Do you remember the first thing He said when they nailed Him to it? “Father, for-give them; for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).” Such is the matchless grace of God. It does not matter what you have done. God’s offer of forgiveness and salva-tion is still there.
Now, before Peter tells his hearers how to obtain that forgiveness and salvation, he reassures them that everything that has happened has been God’s plan.
*Acts 3:18
18 “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”
All the OT prophecies about the Messiah’s first coming have been fulfilled. Jesus has come, suffered, died, been resurrected, and has gone back to heaven. And now the church will be built and await His return in power and glory. God’s plan for the ages is moving forward. And in that, all is well. We can be saved! In the rest of Acts 3 Peter will tell us how.
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IV. Conclusion
Do we truly understand that all we have to offer the world around us is the gospel – the call to faith in Jesus’ name? In Acts 3:12-18 we’ve seen how the Apostle Peter presented Jesus to the lost.
1. He deflected the glory away from himself.
2. He told people who Jesus is and what He has done.
3. He told people they are sinners and warned them of judgment to come.
4. He offered God’s grace to all who will repent and trust Christ.
That’s it! That’s the good news of the gospel. May we all be blessed by telling someone of sins forgiven and salvation in Jesus’ name. ~ Pray ~