SEPTEMBER 12, 2023
“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)
Peter explains to the Sanhedrin by what authority he had healed a lame man in Acts 3. Specifically, the council asks him by what name he did this. Peter claims that he did it through the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. One’s “name” includes the sense of one’s identity, power, authority, and reputation. Jesus’ name is the only name that saves.
“Salvation” is from the Greek root word sōtēria. It means “deliverance and preservation” and can imply rescue in a worldly, physical context, such as from enemies, or it can suggest eternal spiritual recovery. The salvation that Christ offers delivers us from sin and hell and preserves us for heaven. This salvation provides rescue for us from evil; it gives us safety.
In Acts 4:11, Peter calls the Sanhedrin the “builders” responsible for the Jewish people and the proper observance of the Jewish religion. As “builders,” the elders, priests, and scribes should have recognized Jesus. Several places in their Scripture (our Old Testament) give precise descriptions that identify Jesus as the Messiah they have been waiting for. In just the last week of His life, He fulfilled prophecies of the donkey He rode into Jerusalem on, the way the Roman guards cast lots for His clothing, the fact that His bones were not broken, and even on the cross, when He was given vinegar to drink. His life, and even death, was the ultimate fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies, and it is unbelievable how the Jewish leaders failed to see it. But sadly, the Jews had a long history of ignoring, abusing, and killing their prophets. And so they missed the coming of the One they had waited so long for, the only one who could bring them salvation.
In I Corinthians 3:11, Paul writes a similar thought, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Paul’s point is that one’s faith needs to be grounded in Jesus, not a person, and not in some other concept. It is Jesus who is the only true cornerstone of proper worship. The Jewish rulers would have recognized this if they’d spent less time worrying about tradition and more time reading their own prophets. The prophets of the Old Testament gave obvious descriptions of the Jewish Messiah. But the leaders of their time ignored them. And so when the priests, scribes, and elders standing before Peter faced their Messiah, they didn’t even recognize Him.
Jesus Christ is the only true name by which we can have salvation. He is the foundation, and we must be careful how we build thereupon. Pastors, teachers, and even parents should all be cautious of teaching that there is any other name by which salvation can be achieved. For there is no other name, and there will never be another as crucial as Jesus.
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