This article is a reflection based on Acts 4, which is the continuation of our study series of the Book of Acts. 

To make sense of what’s going on in chapter 4, you will need to review chapter 3. In fact, you should also take a look at chapter 2 (part one and part two) and chapter 1. 

Chapter 4, the foundation for our reflection today, talks about two things resulting from what has taken place in chapter 3, the healing of the crippled man. 

First, as a result of that healing, the Church has grown way beyond the 3,000 + (as it was according to Acts 2:41). Now, read the following verse to see how bigger the movement has become, 

But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand. Acts 4:4. 

The miracle Peter and John performed, which healed the lame man, based on Acts 3, has helped many more people believe in Jesus Christ. 

Remember that some versions of the Bible talk about 5,000 men, which means the total number of members of this Apostolic Church was probably over 10,000 when taking into consideration the number of women and children. 

Keep in mind that this group of people (pretty much like what we would call today a mega Church) are in Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel. So far, everything from chapters 1 to 4 is taking place in Jerusalem, the place where the religious leaders made sure to completely shut Jesus’ movement down by crucifying him. 

Now, the message is back in the air and in town. It’s so real with tangible signs of God’s healing power that people experience and witness. 

Second, and as a result of the healing of the lame man, the disciples now face resistance from these religious leaders in Jerusalem. Consequently, and following the indisputable healing of the crippled man, they are going to arrest Peter and John. 

 

 

By What Power and Name Did you Do It?  

 

 

Read this, 

They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” Acts 4:7. 

Peter’s response is what you find in verses 8 through 12, which I will summarize into two points: 

• • The power that comes with the name of Jesus (verse 10). 
  • Jesus is the cornerstone (verse 11).

What Peter is saying is that we can only experience salvation through the name of Jesus because it was in the name of Jesus that the crippled man received his healing. 

[bctt tweet=”Our salvation is found in no one else other than Jesus, for there is no other name under heaven given to humankind by which we must be saved rather than the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12).” username=”emmanuelnaweji”]

What makes the name of Jesus so powerful is when we allow Jesus to become the cornerstone of everything we want to build. 

In the case of the religious leaders in Jerusalem, they rejected Jesus, and that is why they were void of God’s Spirit and power. That’s also the reason why they could not do what the disciples were able to do as led through the Holy Spirit. 

 

 

They Wanted to Quiet Them 

 

 

When you read Acts 4, notice that the man who used to be crippled is also in the room where Peter and John are being questioned. Also, keep in mind that this man is in his forties. So, he is not a child to manipulate. Everyone who goes to the temple knew this man as a lame person since birth. 

So, his healing was indisputable. How would anyone argue with such a tangible sign of God’s healing power! 

With that in mind, the religious leaders would do this, 

They called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus (verse 19). 

But, hear Peter’s response:

Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard. (Verses 19 and 20). 

Efforts to shut down the name of Jesus didn’t only start with the religious leaders in Jerusalem. It started even when Jesus was just a little boy. It started with King Herod. Read about it in Matthew 2:13-23. 

Jesus’ arrest and eventual crucifixion are other efforts humans used attempting to shut down anything that has to do with the name of Jesus. They even made sure that the tomb, where Jesus’ body was buried, was completely sealed. 

Just as they thought it was over, three days later, the name of Jesus came back up again with the news that Jesus had risen from the dead. 

Now, and based on Acts 2, after following Jesus’ command to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit, the movement has now grown from a hundred people to over 3,000 people in just one day. 

So, what Peter is saying are two things (see verses 19 and 20). First, we choose to listen to God rather than people. Second, we only speak of what we have seen and heard. 

That’s what made the disciples, and with us today, Christ’s witnesses (see Acts 1:8). 

Today, there is also a movement that’s trying to quiet you and me from using the name of Jesus. It doesn’t seem apparent, but we see its existence in so many ways.

First of all, the plan is to make you believe that Jesus was just like any other prophet or holy man in our history.

Second, they want you to stop believing that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And, that no one comes to the Father (God) without passing through Jesus (John 14:6-7). 

Last, but not least, the movement makes you think that believing in Jesus as the only way to God the Father makes you unwelcoming to people from other religions. 

[bctt tweet=”That’s not right. Actually, faith in the name of Jesus empowers us to show more radical generosity and hospitality to the stranger. It doesn’t matter whether they believe the way we do or not. ” username=”emmanuelnaweji”]

The name of Jesus gives us the power to help others come to know Jesus as the only name under heaven that can heal anybody (spiritually, physically, mentally, emotionally, and even financially). 

 

 

The Praying Church

 

 

After Peter and John have been released, they went back to their community of believers. They shared everything that had happened to them. Then, together with everybody else, they prayed. 

There are two things we learn from their prayer. 

The reality of life is that the world will always plot against the Lord and His anointed, Jesus (verse 26). But, that doesn’t mean we have to give up on the name of Jesus. 

The truth is what we need to hold onto as God’s Church, and which we experience through prayer: 

• • Prayer enables the Church to constantly feel God’s presence through the Holy Spirit, no matter what resistance we face. 
  • Prayer grants the Church more boldness to share God’s Word. 
  • Prayer allows us to experience God’s healing power and see signs of God’s mighty works through the Church. 

 

 

In Conclusion

No matter what you go through, prayer is what you need to do. And, every time you pray in the name of Jesus, God comes to your rescue, one way or another, in God’s timing. You experience God’s presence and power, which grants you more boldness to live at your best as a disciple of Jesus Christ. As a result, not only do you see God’s wonders in your life, you also become a sign of God’s power in your everyday life.