Thursday, August 6, 2015
Acts 4:5-7 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?"
IN HIS NAME IS POWER
When the leaders inquired after a name, it was not because they didn't know that a man had been truly healed the day before, or that the apostles had proclaimed the name of Jesus, and the resurrection from the dead. But those answers they had already rejected, and they were looking for a different answer. They knew that these were unschooled, ordinary men, who might be intimidated to give the answer that they desired.
Of course, you know what happened, how the Holy Spirit gave Peter the answer in his time of need. He carefully identified "Jesus the Messiah (Christ) of Nazareth, the one you crucified, the one God raised -- in His name and by the power of His resurrection this man stands healed before you."
And now the rulers knew something else. They knew that these uneducated men would not be intimidated. Peter went on to say, "There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." They inquired after the power or name. Peter gave them JESUS in capital letters, boldface type, so bold that the rulers marveled. And they knew that they had been with Jesus.
You can know a lot of things, but if you don't know Jesus the Messiah, you will fail. You cannot bully God. 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.
