Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Acts 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?"
TO KNOW HIS NAME
The temple rulers were looking for a name. They had found Peter and John in the temple, along with the no-longer-lame beggar, teaching the resurrection through Jesus' name. This did not sit well with the leaders, for they were Sadducees, and did not believe in the resurrection. They arrested Peter and John and held them overnight.
Now, when the leaders inquired after a name, it was not because they didn't know what was going on. *They knew* that the man was truly healed after forty years of being a cripple. *They knew* that the apostles had proclaimed the name of Jesus, and through his name the resurrection from the dead. But those answers they had already rejected, so they remained ignorant.
You can know a lot of things, but if you don't know Jesus, you will fail.
You can be ignorant of a lot of things, but if you know Jesus, you know the only true God, and have life in His name. In His Name is power and deliverance from every trouble. That is the name given to you in your baptism.
The Sanhedrin knew that Peter and John *had been* with Jesus. Peter and John knew that Jesus was with them now, and always.
The Sanhedrin knew how to use threats and intimidation. They say: "Do not speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." Peter and John knew Jesus. They say: "We cannot help but speak the things which we have seen and heard" (4:20).
Or to put it another way: Here we stand, we can do no other. God helps us. Amen! 