Friday, August 5, 2005
Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
JESUS -- THE ONLY NAME THAT SAVES!
Have you ever thought about or wondered about the value, or meaning of a name? Have you ever wondered what your name means, or why your parents gave you that name? It used to be that names had a great deal of meaning behind them. The name itself would tell a story. Today, names still tell a story, but quite often, names aren't chosen for the stories they tell or their meaning, but rather because people like the way they sound.
This was not the case with Jesus. He was sent by God the Father for a special purpose, and the name that He was given tells the story of what He came to do: The angel of the LORD told Joseph, "Do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:20-21).
In the verse above, Peter was standing before the Jewish leaders after being imprisoned overnight for preaching to the people in the temple about how Jesus had suffered, died and had been raised again. These were the very same people that had condemned and crucified Jesus not long before. The last time Peter had been questioned about Jesus he had denied being Jesus' disciple. He even denied knowing Jesus.
But this was a different Peter. We are told that Peter was "filled with the Holy Spirit" as he responded to these men who were questioning him. Through the power of the Holy Spirit Peter testified to the name of Jesus -- the only name that saves! This wasn't what these people wanted to hear, but it was what they needed to hear. Without Jesus, there is no salvation from sin, and there is no deliverance from eternal death. Peter was a sinner just like all of us are. But the Holy Spirit empowered him to proclaim that saving name of Jesus to unbelievers, and the same Holy Spirit has also empowered us to proclaim the name of Jesus to an unbelieving world. Thanks be to Jesus, through whom is our only hope of salvation!
