Acts 4:1-12 CSB
While they were speaking to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them, [2] because they were annoyed that they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. [3] So they seized them and took them into custody until the next day since it was already evening. [4] But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. [5] The next day, their rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem [6] with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the members of the high-priestly family. [7] After they had Peter and John stand before them, they began to question them: "By what power or in what name have you done this?" [8] Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders: [9] If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man, by what means he was healed, [10] let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead-by him this man is standing here before you healthy. [11] This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. [12] There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved."
Galatians 1:8 CSB
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!
Resurrected Savior
There are so many fake things in this world that people mistakenly put their trust in. You can walk a street corner in New York and buy a “Rolex” out of the back of a van, thinking it is the real thing, only to discover it is a forgery when it stops ticking and you take it in for repair. There are expensive handbags sold at high-end prices, but you buy the bag at a deal, only for you to realize later that the logo is slightly off or the stitching is wrong. It was mass-produced—a fake. In a world full of these clever imitations, it shouldn’t surprise us that the same thing happens with the most important truth of all.
Many tell others about the real Jesus and point the way to salvation, but there are some that do not proclaim the real Jesus. Their Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible. They are puffed up in their own imaginations, trying to create a version of Jesus that fits their own desires, ultimately deceiving those who follow them.
The Apostles wrote down exactly what they experienced firsthand so we would know who Jesus truly is. This is one of the great blessings of the Bible: under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Word acts as a light that allows us to identify these forgeries and see through the agendas of those who do not preach the Truth.
We see this conflict play out as Peter, John, and the overjoyed healed man are confronted in the Temple. It wasn’t Roman soldiers who stopped them, but the Jewish authorities who policed the temple grounds. The Sadducees were “annoyed,” but their irritation had turned into a fury strong enough to have the apostles arrested. These leaders were the rationalists of their day, holding a strict interpretation of the law that flatly rejected the possibility of a resurrection—the very Gospel Peter and John were proclaiming. Sin has a way of growing; they had once arrested Jesus in the dark of night, but now they were bold enough to seize His followers in broad daylight.
The next day, the two apostles stood before the Sanhedrin, Israel’s Supreme Court. In this high-pressure moment, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, living out the promise Jesus made: that when His followers are handed over, the Spirit of the Father will give them the words to speak. With a courage not his own, Peter declared that it was by the Name of Jesus that the disabled man was healed. The council couldn’t deny it—the evidence was standing right there! Peter looked at the leaders and spoke the hard truth: “This Jesus is the one you killed, but God raised Him from the dead!”
In verse 11, Peter uses a powerful illustration to drive his point home to the Jewish leaders. He tells them:
“This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.”
To a modern reader, these building terms can seem a bit mysterious, but Peter was using an example they lived with every day. In ancient construction, the cornerstone was the very first stone set in place. It had to be perfect because every other stone in the building was lined up against it. If that first stone was crooked or weak, the entire building would eventually lean and collapse.
The Sanhedrin—the “builders” of the Jewish nation—looked at Jesus and saw someone they thought was useless. They rejected Him and threw Him aside. But Peter was telling them that God took that “rejected stone” and made Him the most important piece of the whole structure. Without Jesus, there is no foundation. There is no other name under heaven that can support our lives, and there is no other name that can save us.
There is no other name under heaven that can save us, yet many still try to circumvent this truth. Some may do so out of honest ignorance, while others are driven by vain goals. They might claim the crucifixion was a trick or that Jesus didn’t really die. They might teach that He isn’t truly the Son of God, or that the resurrection never happened. Some suggest He was merely a “lesser created god” or just a prophet. But like a fake watch or a counterfeit purse, these versions cannot stand the test of time. They are not the Truth that the early Apostles courageously gave their lives for.
Reflection Questions
- When you look at the “fakes” in the world, what is the one thing that usually gives them away? How does spending time in the Word help you spot a “fake” gospel?
- Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit while he was being interrogated. Have you ever felt the Spirit give you words to say when you were nervous or under pressure?
- Why is it so important to insist that Jesus is the only name by which we must be saved? What happens to the Gospel if we add other names or requirements to it?
Prayer
Father,
We thank You for the clarity of Your Word. Thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth so that we are not deceived by the forgeries of this world. We praise You for Jesus, our Cornerstone, who was rejected by men but chosen by You. Fill us with the same courage Peter had, so that we may unashamedly proclaim that there is salvation in no one else. Help us to keep our eyes on the True Light and to lead others to the only Name that saves.
In Jesus’ Name.
Amen.
