There’s an old spiritual song, “Jesus is the Sweetest Name I Know.” It was written in the 1920’s of an Oriental lady who was saved but forgot the name of the one who saved her, who asked the missionary again who it was, and he said, “Jesus.” She walked away repeating, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.”
Then there’s the Gaither song, “There’s Something About that Name.”
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus; there’s just something about that name.
Master, Savior, Jesus, like the fragrance after the rain;
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, let all Heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there’s something about that name.
These songs, though admittedly schmaltzy compared to the majestic hymns of the faith, revel in the merciful and matchless grace of Jesus’ name. To the 40-year old lame beggar who was healed by and in the name of Jesus, perhaps he was later known to sing these refrains as he walked along the way with a spring in his step.
But Peter (and John) now stood in the center of a group of men who would have their heads. These conniving leaders had to have suspected “the name” by which this man was healed, since they were quite aware of who Jesus was and what he did. They perhaps simply wanted them to incriminate themselves, and Peter, filled with the Spirit, left no doubt.
“By the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.” Acts 4:10-11
While Peter and John possessed no credentials in their eyes, the leaders admitted to one another that the facts of the case were undeniable, especially with the healed man standing there as Exhibit A. The indictment against them for killing Jesus had to be shelved for the time being. What was pressing now was the need to detach what they were doing from Jesus’ name. Acts 4:13-17
But anticipating their threat assessment, in the power of Jesus’ spirit, Peter uttered one of the most powerful evangelical statements of all time,
“And 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.” Acts 4:12
What’s in a name? In His name, everything!
Leave a Reply