Acts 4:1-22

Discussion Questions

• Who is your favorite person in history and why? Can you discuss Jesus with the same level of detail and enthusiasm?
• Have you found the name of Jesus to be a challenge in your life? Do you have experiences where Jesus’ name transcended differences between family, friends, or society? Has it created a wedge?
• If you were asked who Jesus is to you, how would you respond? How would you discuss the Holy Spirit?
• Does it just seem to go better if you know you have Jesus in your life?

Transcript

We study through books of the Bible, so if you’d like to follow along, which I would encourage you to do, just slip up your hand and someone will be glad to bring you a hard copy of the Bible this morning. You know, Ivor mentioned in the announcements that one of those service opportunities helps the church feel a little smaller, which I think is a really good thing. But I want to also add that when I get up to preach, one of my goals is not to literally make the church smaller. And I just want you to know that that’s a fear of mine. Can I get an amen from the SLC on that? Yeah. So, I’m joking, of course. And we know that our reach actually goes beyond the folks in this room. I used to have a pastor who said the only thing sheep counting as good for is falling asleep. That’s what he always said. And he said, “Trust the Lord with who comes to your church and how many of them there are.” We know that our reach is broader than just this room, though. We’ve had folks joining us recently from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada; from Sydney, Australia; from Nairobi, Kenya; and from Chicago, Illinois; not too far away.

Well, as I mentioned earlier, my name is Tom Yarborough. Tom is short for Thomas. That’s a name I was given. Yarborough is a name I was born into, as was my father and his father and his father before him. And you get the picture. I had no control over either of those names. In fact, I have three names that go into my full name, and I did not choose any of them. But I like my name. It’s my name, and somehow, it’s connected to the essence of my being. It’s part of how I’m known. It’s the main way that you’re able to distinguish me from anyone else in the room, other than perhaps how I look, which is less unique than my name. I’ve been confused with many men who look like me over the past 10 to 20 years. Trust me. And your name is an important part of how you are distinguished from anyone else in this room and is part of why I can feel painfully awkward when we’re having a conversation with someone. We don’t remember their name, or we get their name wrong, or they get our name wrong. Not having names would somehow make us feel less us.

History has given us many memorable names. The reason these names are memorable is because they are attached to memorable individuals or rather individuals who did memorable things. Some of these things were famous, some were infamous. When we tell the story of these things and these people, we use the names. For instance, we don’t speak of an unnamed, charismatic French female military leader who claimed to have visions from God and was tried and executed for heresy. We tell the story of Joan of Arc. We don’t teach about an unnamed German maniac who tried to take over Europe and slaughtered 6 million Jews. We talk about the atrocities of Adolf Hitler. In fact, whether the acts were heroic or villainous, the names themselves are often enough to communicate the stories associated with them. So, as I say the following names, see what images they conjure up for you. Napoleon Bonaparte, Amelia Earhart, Winston Churchill, Susan B Anthony, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr. Assuming you’ve heard these stories associated with each of these figures, these names evoke some of their stories and they probably evoke some emotion for you to say them. In other words, name is strictly linked to fame. Now, if the world spins long enough, these names will be forgotten. To time, a new list of names will replace them. We’re not going to remember their stories forever. That’s not how the world works. But I would seek to persuade you, today in all of history, there’s a name so important and a story so impactful, and a person so powerful that though time marches on, His name will never be forgotten.

And that’s the name of Jesus Christ. I’m reminded of the old Gaither hymn that many of us used to sing, “Kings and kingdoms will all pass away, but there’s something about that name.” You see even beyond significance or impact. The name of Jesus is powerful. And when we talk about the power of Jesus’ name, we aren’t talking about a word that somehow contains power. We’re talking about a word that communicates the full essence of being, of a person with ultimate power. What greater power is there than power over death itself, which the resurrection of Jesus is evidence for? The name of Jesus communicates the beauty and the majesty and the authority of Jesus. It’s the name of God. That’s “the name that God has bestowed on Him that is above every name at which every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,” as the apostle Paul writes to the church in Philippi. It’s a name that communicates the power of the story of what Jesus has accomplished in His great love for us. And as we will see in today’s text, it’s the only name by which we can be saved. This is why that name became so central to the work of the apostles, and to the preaching of the Gospel in the early church, as the Holy Spirit began to breathe on the flame, which would become a movement that would spread like wildfire around the world.

And so, as we consider today’s text in Acts 4, let’s keep in mind the singularity and centrality of the name of Jesus to the church then, and to our church today. So, pray with me: Father, thank You for Your new mercies that were waiting for us this morning. Thank You for Your Word, Your love for us that is evident through it. Thank You for the Holy Spirit. Spirit, I ask You to fill us afresh today. Speak to me. Speak through me. I pray in Jesus as we seek to understand Your Word today. What we really desire is to know You more. Draw near in this time, we ask. We pray all of this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

So, Chapter 4 of Acts picks up right where Chapter 3 left off with. Just as a quick refresher, you remember that Peter and John have encountered the lame beggar outside of the gate, and they have healed him. He hasn’t walked his entire life. He’s been lame since birth and now he is jumping and praising God, and a crowd begins to gather – a very large crowd. This gets the attention of the people there in Jerusalem, and Peter seizes the opportunity to preach the resurrected Jesus and to preach in the name of the resurrected Jesus after this sign has been performed. Verse 1 says, “And as they were speaking to the people, [this is the apostles] the priests, and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them greatly annoyed [Some of your translations might say “disturbed.] because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” Now let’s refresh ourselves on who this group of people is that comes upon the apostles while they’re teaching the Sadducees. We know through the Gospels they show up in several different situations with Jesus there. They’re a conniving, bunch of elite religious rulers. I kind of see them as the ultimate Disney villain in a way. That’s kind of how I picture them. They would have been sneaky. They would have been powerful. They would have been very interested in their own power and protecting that power at all cost.”

There’s a difference between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Oddly enough, there are religious differences between them. There are also social, economic, and political differences. But some of those religious differences would have included a denial on the Sadducees part to believe in anything supernatural, including the afterlife, including angels, including demons, and definitely including the resurrection. So, we see that they’re greatly annoyed by that. Some of the other differences that are important to point out there, the political differences. The Sadducees would have been in league in a way. They had an arrangement with Rome, and that arrangement protected their status, and that protected the temple system as they wished to keep it. Ironically enough, once the temple is destroyed in 70 A.D., the Sadducees go away. They’re no more. They only existed in Jerusalem at the temple. They were not in synagogues around Israel the way the Pharisees were. And so, they were not really, favored by the people the way the Pharisees were. They did put an emphasis on the Torah, but not anything beyond that in terms of oral tradition, the way the Pharisees would have. And they’re very annoyed and disturbed that the apostles are proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. If the resurrection is true, then they’re wrong, and if they’re wrong, then their power is at stake, and they see that as a threat.

Verse three: “And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening.” So, we see what is essentially the first persecution of the early church, beginning here. Verse four: “But many of those who had heard the word, [the word of the apostles] believed, and the number of the men came to about 5000.” Now, whether or not that is now the church is 5000 or 5000 men, just believed as a result of the message of the apostles. I’m not sure if that matters, because at this point, we can safely say that the church is in the 8 to 10,000 range. When you’re talking about including women and young believers, along with the men that are named, we’re somewhere up there right now, and that’s just in Jerusalem, and it hasn’t begun to spread out. This is rapid, wildfire-like growth of the church in Jerusalem. And we’re really not talking about more than six weeks or so after the resurrection. Verse five: “On the next day, their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem.” So, this is a convening of those who are in charge here. This would have been the Sanhedrin council, we’ll talk about them in a minute, with Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. Luke doesn’t tell us exactly who John and Alexander were, but what he is establishing here is that what Peter and John were up against was the full weight of the high-priestly power in Jerusalem. Okay, these are the top Sadducees. Annas would have been a figurehead at that point. And Caiaphas was his heir to the high-priestly seat.

And so, everyone’s showing up for this. The council is convening. This would have been the 70-member Sanhedrin. You’ve seen them in the Gospels, primarily made up of Sadducees. There was a minority of Pharisees there, and they were responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus. In verse seven it says, “And when they had set them [set the apostles] in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’” Imagine the scene here. There’s probably multiple sort of semicircles here of these men gathered and the apostles, and we assume the healed man has gone to jail with them and is now standing there with them, being questioned. And they ask this question, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” And I think Peter and John saw that as the slo-mo perfect, right up the middle softball pitch, that they needed, and they were ready to go. Easiest thing they could have asked them. Why? Because in verse 16 of the previous chapter, what do we see? He tells everyone “In His name, by faith in His name,” talking about Jesus has made this man strong, whom you see and know. And the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. And the Sanhedrin knew that they knew what name they had done this, but they wanted to trap them, much the way they tried to entrap Jesus in the gospel accounts.

“We can get them to say some name other than Yahweh, we’ve got them. We’ve got something on them. That’s heresy.” They asked, “By what power? By what name did you do this?” “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit…” Anytime we see “filled with the Holy Spirit,” we know that what’s next is going to be pointing to Jesus. When someone in the early church is filled with the Holy Spirit, they’re about to preach the Gospel. They’re about to magnify Jesus. The Holy Spirit points to Jesus. “Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed…” I love that what he’s what is essentially saying is, “I just want to get this straight. What we’re being tried for right now is that we healed that guy, right? We did something good. Is that what we’re on trial for? Just checking if that’s why we’re being questioned.” “Let it be known, [verse 10] to all of you and to all the people of Israel. This is no secret that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth…” Yes, that Jesus, he uses Christ. He’s the Messiah. You know, the one from Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. So, looking right at the Sadducees, by him, this man is standing before you.

Well, imagine that pointed right at the Sadducees. Right at this, the Sanhedrin, this religious elite who want to shut this message down, he says, “Let everyone in Israel know by what name we did us. We did this by the name of Jesus.” And he’s declaring by using the word “Christ,” that’s the Son of God. By the way, verse 11, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved.” Now what’s Peter doing there? He’s using these structural engineering metaphors just randomly, just out of nowhere, for no reason. Does he think that they’ll understand that in some way? No. He’s quoting Scripture. He’s actually quoting Jesus, quoting Psalm 118: “I am the stone that the builders rejected. I become the chief cornerstone,” right? So why is he quoting that verse? This is really important. You don’t have to turn to this. But later, take a look at Psalm 118. Psalm 118 would have been one of the Psalms, along with Psalm 113 through Psalm 118. But at that time in the Second Temple period would have been called the whole world. Okay. And so, the rulers of that time, the rulers in Jerusalem of that time, would have sung this before great feasts. And this was considered a psalm of thanksgiving that was considered a song that celebrated and thanked God for vindicating Israel. They saw themselves on the side of the rejected stone.

Israel as the rejected stone and the pagan nations are the foolish builder who has rejected the cornerstone. The most essential piece in building and building right. And what Peter is essentially saying to them is, “You know, that thing you sing? You’ve read yourselves into that wrong. Jesus is the cornerstone and you are the builders. And every time you sing that song, you are indicting yourselves for the rejection of the Messiah.” Imagine that. Imagine that he’s taking this thing they all knew well. And he goes on and immediately says, there’s no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. Why did they do that right there? So, they would have sung, “Save us, we pray, O Lord, that Yahweh save us. We pray, O Yahweh, we pray. Give us success.” What does he say? There’s one name by which you can be saved, and that’s the name of Jesus. What was true of Yahweh is now also true of Jesus. He’s saying to them, “Jesus is God.” Imagine the tension in the room as they hear this. And maybe when you hear him declare that there’s only one way to salvation, maybe that produces a little bit of tension for you. I’m curious about that. Maybe that feels exclusive in some way to you. It feels limiting in some way to you. And you would say, why? But why would there only be one way? If God is loving, why would there be only one way? Why would it be that narrow?

And one of the things that we tend to say around here that I completely agree with is, “When I consider my own sinfulness, a better question is why is there even one way to be saved, let alone one way to actually be saved? Why is there even one way, let alone more ways? And so, he’s not drawing any harder boundary than Jesus drew when He said, “I am the way, the truth, the life. And no one comes to the Father except through me.” But let’s not mistake narrow aim, in this case the one way to salvation, with a narrow offer. This offer is so broad. This offer is for anyone who hears and believes. In fact, I would say that had the Sanhedrin at that point been pierced to the heart as the people earlier, and that we see in Chapter 2, were pierced to the heart and repented and believed they would have been added to the church that day, and Luke would have said, “…and 70 more men were added to the church.” Imagine that it was on offer to them right there. That’s how wide the offer is.  So, let’s not mistake narrow aim with narrow offer. Verse 13: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” We must not make the mistake in thinking that these apostles were illiterate in some way.”

They would have had traditional Jewish educations. They would have been educated in the Torah from a young age. They would have known the Scriptures. And, you know, some of them were business owners. Matthew had been a tax collector. They wrote the Gospels, several of them wrote the Gospel. So, we know that they could write, they could read. They’re not saying that these men were illiterate. What they’re saying is they knew they didn’t have formal theological training, years and years of theological training the way they did. And yet Peter’s commanding the scriptures in a way that indicts in a sharp and pointed way, these men who are so learned and they’re astonished, and they recognize because of that that these men had been with Jesus. And that is so much truer than they might have even known, because not only had they been with Jesus in His earthly ministry, they had been with Jesus in His resurrected form, and they were with Jesus at that moment in the room. Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was in the room, and the Pharisees and Sadducees and the Sanhedrin could not, could not miss that. They bore the accent of the kingdom of Jesus.

You have people in your life who, when you talk to them, you kind of walk away sounding a little bit like them. They’re that influential on you. My dad is that way for me. I go home for a week or a weekend. I come back and my kids say, “You sound like grandpa. You’re joking like grandpa. You’re saying words like grandpa.” There’s a way that we say things in Oklahoma. It doesn’t matter. It’s been 30-plus years since I’ve lived there with my parents, and still, it only takes a day or two for me to slip into that accent of where I’m from. The accent of my father, and this accent of being with Jesus is recognizable to these guys. But there’s something more going on here in terms of the power with which Peter is preaching. He hasn’t had theological training. That’s true. But if we remind ourselves how Luke closes out his gospel in, Luke 24, verse 45, you can turn there if you’d like to see this. Luke says, then he is talking about Jesus, who is with the apostles at this point, opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. This is the resurrected Jesus who opens the minds of his disciples to understand the Scriptures and said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ should suffer, and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem,” right there where they were. “You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my father upon you. [The promise of the Holy Spirit.] But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” So, what’s happening here? These men have had so much more than they would have gotten in a formal theological education, like the men of the Sanhedrin.

Why? Because they not only had sat at the feet of Jesus and heard Him teach the Scriptures, but a resurrected Jesus had opened their mind to understand where He was in all of that. And then he said, you’re my witnesses. Start in Jerusalem. They’ve been commissioned. They’ve been trained and commissioned by the greatest teacher. They could have had. So, no wonder the Sanhedrin were astonished and recognized Jesus there. Verse 14: “But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them…” There he is. He’s probably there the whole time, not being still. He’s just enjoying his legs and kicking, or he’s doing Riverdance stuff. Some of you don’t remember Riverdance. I’m sorry. “Seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.” It shut them down. They’re silence. Verse 15: “But when they had commanded them [the apostles] to leave the council, they conferred with one another, saying, ‘What shall we do with these men?’” What shall we do? We see another. What shall we do?”

In Acts, Chapter 2, after Peter preaches his first sermon, the first of many great sermons, and the hearts of the people are pierced as they realize their sin, and they realize the reality of the resurrected Jesus, they say, “Brothers, what shall we do?” In other words, what do I do about this truth that I now realize is truth and my condition that I now realize this is serious? And this is a different kind of “What shall we do?” This is a hardness of heart. We can’t deny that this has happened. What are we going to do about it? How do we shut this down? What shall we do with these men for that? A notable sign has been performed through them, it’s evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. We can’t get around that. We cannot deny it. Verse17: “But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” Okay, well, we’ll bully them into being quiet about this is what they’re essentially saying. Verse18: “So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.” Again, the name of Jesus is a threat to them. Verse 19, what does Peter say? Imagine Peter here. Peter, who’s been through the agonizing experience of having denied Jesus before the crucifixion and then being restored after the resurrection to Jesus? Do you think he is going to miss an opportunity to claim the name of Jesus?

These guys don’t know what they’re asking. They don’t know who they’re dealing with. Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.” In other words, there’s an authority higher than the men in this room, and we’re going to listen to that authority, not this authority. “You must judge [that],” he says at 20, “…for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Again, they’ve been made witnesses by Jesus himself. Verse 21: “And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people who all were praising God for what had happened.” So here we have a praise movement that’s broken out because of this miraculous thing that has been done in Jesus’ name, and it’s really just more of a problem to the Sanhedrin than anything else. Verse 22: “For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than 40 years old.” In other words, there’s no other explanation of why someone who’s over 40 years old and has been lame his entire life is now running around. No other explanation is undeniable, and they know that. And the crowd at this point is too much of a threat for them to do what they’d like to do, which is really, really punish the apostles to shut this whole thing down.

So, what do we see here in these verses? First, we see the power of the name of Jesus. We see it displayed through healing signs and wonders. Verse ten, we see that this man was standing before them healed. We see this throughout the gospel accounts when Jesus is performing miracles as well. But in Acts, we really see here that the power of Jesus by name is on display. Through this healed man standing before them all, we see the power of Jesus that is recognized in the dramatic transformation of these apostles recognized by the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin are astonished at the boldness of these men who they knew had been with Jesus. These were men who had been scattered and in hiding after the crucifixion. And now look at their boldness. Number three, we see the power of the name of Jesus as it silences religious opposition. In verse 14, they had nothing to say in opposition to them. They were left literally speechless. Verse four, we see the power of the name of Jesus as it catalyzes the rapid growth of the early church. 5000 added to the church.

The church is growing. Why is that important? Why is that important that a group of people call on the name of Jesus together? C. Kavin Rowe wrote a really interesting and good book on Acts called World Upside Down. A little academic, but there’s really some really good stuff in it. “The revelation of God in Christ…necessarily entails the formation of a people who bear witness to God’s name.” And indeed, that was the intention of Jesus, that a people would bear witness to His name. The apostles had been witnesses to this revelation, and now the number of witnesses is growing and growing and growing. And though we here today were not there in the first century, we also bear witness to His name because of the role of the revelation of God in Christ. Fifth, the power of the name of Jesus we see in verse 12 offers the only way of salvation. Again, I want to remind you, narrow and wide offer. Don’t get hung up on that. The challenge of the name of Jesus. We also see Jesus. His name is a challenge to some. It confronts empty religion, just like Jesus did in His earthly ministry. These men knew so much about the Word. They had very little going on in their hearts. I would say they were void of a heart relationship with the living God.

The challenge of the name of Jesus. Relativizes human authority. What do I mean by that? All human authority, whether it’s legitimate or illegitimate. And I’m not making the claim here that human authority is somehow a bad thing. But whether it’s legitimate or illegitimate, it is derivative and secondary to the authority of God, to the authority of Jesus. And that’s exactly why the apostles answer them, “…whether it’s right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than God,” you’ll have to decide that. God’s authority sets the standard by which all other authority falls into its rightful place. And I can tell you what I need in my life when it comes to my claims of authority on myself. I need the name of Jesus, the power of Jesus, to undermine that to the degree that it collapses totally on neediness and reliance on Him. And maybe you feel the same way. Leslie Newbigin in The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, says “The real government of the universe, the final reality which in the end confronts every human being, is the crucified and risen Jesus.”

Jesus’ name is also challenging in that it transcends our differences and unites us as His followers. Look around the room. What is the likelihood, when you really think about it, that this combination of people would be sitting here together today? That we would fellowship together in each other’s homes, that we would serve together, that we would sing together if not for the name of Jesus. That’s not to say that I don’t like all of you. I would hang out with you, I promise. But really, think about it. We’re diverse, and we’re not even the most diverse representation of the body of Christ that there is. But think about the diversity of the Body of Christ. What is the likelihood that that group of people would all be singing the same praise? Would all be declaring the same name? Rebecca McLaughlin says in Confronting Christianity, which is a fantastic book, if you haven’t read it, please do. “If you care about diversity, don’t dismiss Christianity: it is the most diverse, multiethnic and multicultural movement in all of history.”

There are multiple responses to the name of Jesus, some that we see here in the text. One would be willful unbelief. That’s the saddest response. It’s the one we see from the Sadducees. John Stott says, in the Cross of Christ, “God could quite justly have abandoned us to our fate. He could have left us alone to reap the fruit of our wrongdoing and to perish in our sins. It is what we deserved. But He did not. Because He loved us, He came after us in Christ. He pursued us even to the desolate anguish of the cross where He bore our sins, guilt, judgment, and death. It takes a hard and stony heart to remain unmoved by love like that.” That’s what was happening with the Sanhedrin. Hard and stony hearts. Maybe some of them believed, I don’t know. We don’t see that. Maybe some of them believed. Jesus will leave us sometimes to the hardness of our hearts. We won’t put this on the screen, but you probably know well the C.S. Lewis quote, that “…there are two kinds of people, those who say, ‘Thy will be done” to the Lord, and those to whom the Lord says, “Thy will be done.’” If it’s what you want, it is what you will get. And that is the difference between heaven and hell.

Number two, another response would be the illusion of neutrality. Why do I call it the illusion of neutrality? Neutrality, when it comes to Jesus, it is actually not an option. The very sense that we are undecided is itself a decision to hold Him at safe distance. The reality is that we are always either moving toward Him in faith, or we are backing away in resistance. When we try to have the good, safe stuff of Christianity without dealing with the resurrected Jesus, we get something other than Christianity. Os Guinness in The Call says, “For many believers the Christian life is now the good life: It simply ‘goes better with Jesus’ even if there is no God and no Resurrection. The result is a series of adaptations of the Christian faith to modern man that are a capitulation with few rivals in 2000 years.” We do not have the option of neutrality. We must deal with the resurrection of Jesus. Another response, a right response, is repentance and submission. What did we see in Acts, Chapter 2? “Brothers, what shall we do?” they said, when they were pierced to the heart.

Lastly – worship, praise and glory as a response to the name of Jesus. Verse 21 of this text: “All were praising God for what had happened.” The healed man was praising more than anyone else, I can promise you that – his life had been changed. John Piper says, “Referring to the name of Jesus so often as a way of saying, ‘This person is not to be dealt with in private. He is not to be hidden, a hidden essence in your heart or in your closet. He is to be public, globally known, acknowledged as a person with an identity that people talk to and people talk about – that people praise and sing about. The emphasis on His name goes with an emphasis on His public, outward, globally known claim on people’s attention.” And indeed, we do a lot of singing, we do a lot of praising, a lot of worshiping here at The Village Chapel. And we would desire even more of that. And before this service is over, we’re going to respond and praise and worship as well. Surprise!

Some questions to consider as we wrap this up: What is my personal response to the name of Jesus? What is my personal response? Is that a threat to my autonomy? What do I do with that? What is most clear about me to the watching world? What is clear about me, to my friends, to my family, even to those who might consider themselves my enemies? What would they say is clear about me? How have I spent my time? Where have I been? Who have I been with? What is keeping me from Spirit-filled boldness in the name of Jesus? Is there fear there? Rosaria Butterfield says, “We proclaim Christ crucified, and we take every opportunity to do so. This is what it means to offer our post-Christian world authentic and bold Christian truth.” The world needs us to be bold in claiming the name of Jesus, not to beat them over the head with it, but to offer them real hope in a world that offers no real hope. Lee Strobel says, “The Gospel is divisive, it’s inclusive; it’s comforting, it’s challenging; it’s complex, it’s simple; it’s broad, it’s personal; it’s life-changing; it’s eternity-altering; it’s the Best News for those who receive it, it’s the Worst News for those who reject it.”

And what is this gospel message that he’s referring to? It’s the same message that got Peter and John dragged before the council, that Jesus is the Son of God, that He was crucified for our sins and that He was resurrected from the grave, now reigns powerful and victorious with God the Father, until the day when He will come again with the same power and the same authority that conquered death, and make all things right. And because of this power, He is the only means to salvation for us. This resurrection truth that so threatened the religious establishment of the first century in this time of the apostles, is central to our hope as Christians today. The resurrection is central, as the late Jaroslav Pelikan puts it, “If Christ is not risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is risen, nothing else matters.” That’s not some sort of nihilistic viewpoint that would claim that life here on Earth is somehow meaningless. The resurrection of Jesus offers me more meaning and more hope. Because if He died and rose again, my earthly body and your earthly body, as fearfully and wonderfully made as they are, they’re not the best it gets for us.”

There’s going to be a day when you and I are not defined and limited by our addictions, by our anxieties, by our fears. The worst things about us won’t be true, because the worst thing that could happen to us won’t be possible. If the resurrection of Jesus is true, then death does not have the last word. And I would seek to persuade you that one of the ways we know that it is true is by the undeniable change in the apostles and the undeniable power of the Holy Spirit and the rapid growth of the early church. Those once bound by fear are now bold in faith, we were saying that earlier, and so we are no longer bound by fear either. We can live in the confidence that Jesus has done all that is necessary for us to spend eternity with Him. If we believe and receive, the offer is wide. The offer is for you today. Perhaps you’ve never called on the name of Jesus for salvation. Perhaps you’ve been curious. You’ve been living on the edges. You’ve felt that you were undecided. But you’ve never said, “Jesus, I believe and I need you. Save me, wash me, make me new.” What is stopping you from doing that today? What concern do you have that keeps you from doing that? Would you be willing to talk to me? To talk to Pastor Jim, to talk to someone from the prayer team today about that?

Perhaps you are a Christian, but you don’t bear the clear marks of having been with Jesus. You believe, but you lack boldness. You lack that accent of the kingdom that clearly marks you as His brothers and sisters. We have all been there. We are in constant need, not only of fresh filling, but of time spent with Jesus. We won’t bear that resemblance if we aren’t spending time in His presence, worshiping Him, thanking Him, enjoying studying His Word, listening to Him, allowing His Spirit to overflow in our lives. The Holy Spirit working in us and flowing through us always points to Jesus. Ask Him today to give you that desire to know Him and see how generous and faithful He is with that desire. So many names throughout history that tell so many stories, many that are important, many that are formative, inspiring, impactful, tragic, noble. Only One Name has the power to save, and only one story tells us of our sinful condition so grave and God’s love so deep that He was willing to take on fleshly form and sacrifice His life on a criminal’s cross in the place of every man and woman who ever lived. And then, after enduring the punishment of the wrath of God the Father to save us from the penalty of our sin, He sealed the futures of all those who would believe by defeating death once and for all. And now He reigns, resurrected, glorified with God the Father, and intercedes on our behalf.

And so, we do lift high the name of Jesus. We do sing “All hail the power of Jesus’ name.” We bless His name because He is our King. It is the name of our King Jesus. I’ll close with this Warren Wiersbe quote: “Great names come and go, but the name of Jesus remains. The devil still hates it, the world still opposes it, but God still blesses it and we can still claim it! “In the name of Jesus” is the key that unlocks the door of prayer and the treasury of God’s grace. It’s the weapon that defeats the enemy and the motivation that compels our sacrifice and service. It’s the name that causes our hearts to rejoice and our lips to sing His praise.” Amen.

Let’s pray: Jesus, thank You for Your deep, deep love for us – a love that knows no limit, for love faithful unto death and powerful over death. As we go from here and consider the beauty and the majesty of Your name today, instill in us a greater hunger for the person behind that name. Give us joy in suffering for the sake of that name, and grant us Spirit-filled boldness to claim and proclaim that name. In that name, the name of Jesus Christ, we ask all these things. Amen.

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs:

“Blessed Be Your Name“ by Beth Redman and Matt Redman
“Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed“ by Keith and Kristyn Getty and Ed Cash, Arr. by Paul Campbell
“Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God“ by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
“All Hail The Power Of Jesus Name“ by Oliver Holden, Edward Perronet, and John Rippon
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used with permission. CCLI License no. 2003690

Looking for our Hymns of the Week or resources to worship anytime? We’ve curated a playlist of hymns TVC Worship has led over the years on our YouTube Channel!

Call To Worship: Psalm 100

All: Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;
Give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the LORD is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.

Classic Prayer: Augustine, 354-430

Look upon us, O Lord, and let all the darkness of our souls vanish before the beams of Thy brightness. Fill us with holy love, and open to us the treasures of Thy wisdom. We seek Thy face, turn Thy face unto us and show us Thy glory. Then shall our longing be satisfied, and our peace shall be perfect.

Confession of Faith: New City Catechism

Part 1, God, Creation & Fall, Law; Q. 3-5

LEADER: How many persons are there in God?
PEOPLE: There are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.

LEADER: How and why did God create us?
PEOPLE: God created us male and female in His own image to know Him, love Him, live with Him, and glorify Him. And it is right that we who were created by God should live to His glory.

LEADER: What else did God create?
PEOPLE: God created all things by His powerful Word, and all His creation was very good; everything flourished under His loving rule.

TVC Prayer Ministry

TVC Ministry: College Ministry, led by Jeremy Martin
Vocation: Creatives, Writers, Artists, Designers
TVC Mission Highlight: Inglewood Elementary School
Local Church: Rolling Hills Community Church, Senior Pastor & Founder, Jeff Simmons
Praying for the Persecuted Church: Mozambique

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