Acts 4:1-22 Sermon: No Other Name | March 15, 2026

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, Igor mentioned in the announcements that uh 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.

Um, and we know that our reach actually goes beyond the uh folks in this room.

I used to have a pastor who said the only thing sheep counting is good for is falling asleep.

That's what he always said.

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, and Canada, from Sydney, Australia, from Nairobi, Kenya, and from Chicago, Illinois, not too far away.

Well, as I uh mentioned earlier, my name is Tom Yarbrough.

Tom is short for Thomas.

That's a name I was given.

Yarbrough 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.

Um, and your name is an important part of how you are distinguished from anyone else in this room.

It's part of why it can feel painfully awkward when we're having a conversation with someone and 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's given us many memorable names.

The reasons 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 six 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 too when I say them.

In other words, name is extricably 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 Gaether 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.

For 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, it'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 that 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.

And 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 four of Acts picks up right where chapter three left off.

Well, just as a quick refresher, you remember that Peter and John have encountered the lame beggar outside of the gate, and um, they have healed him.

He hasn't uh 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, it 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 uh Jesus.

They're can they're a uh a conniving uh 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 it protected the temple system as they wished to keep it.

Ironically enough, uh at once the temple is destroyed in 70 AD, 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 3, 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 4, but many of those who had heard the word, the word of the apostles, believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

Now, whether or not that is now the church is at five thousand, or five thousand 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.

Uh, and we're really not talking about more than six weeks or so after the resurrection.

Verse 5.

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.

Uh 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 Sanhedrin, 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.

Verse 7 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?

So 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 slow, 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 in, but they wanted to trap them much the way they tried to entrap Jesus in the gospel accounts.

If we can get them to say some name other than Yahweh, we've got them.

We've got something on them.

That's heresy.

And 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 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.

It's looking right at the Sadducees.

By him, this man is standing before you well.

Imagine that.

Pointed right at the Sadducees, right at this Sanhedrin, this religious elite who want to shut this message down.

He says, Let everyone in Israel know by what name we did this.

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 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, he's quoting Jesus, quoting Psalm 118.

I am the stone that the builders rejected.

I've become the chief cornerstone, right?

So why is he quoting that verse?

This is this is really important.

You don't have to turn to this, but later uh take a look at Psalm 118.

Psalm 118 would have been one of the psalms, along with Psalm, basically Psalm 113 through Psalm 118, that at that time in the Second Temple period would have been called the Hallel.

Okay, and so the rulers uh 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.

It was considered a song that celebrated and thanked God for vindicating Israel.

They saw themselves on the side of the rejected stone.

Israel is the rejected stone, and the pagan nations are foolish builder who has rejected the cornerstone, the most essential piece in building a building, right?

And what Peter's 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 psalm, 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 he do that right there?

Psalm 118, verse 25.

Psalms 118:25

They would have sung, save us, we pray.

Oh Lord, that's 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 a 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 that we see in chapter two 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 seventy 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 mustn't 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 gospel, several of them wrote the gospels, 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 have 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 the 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.

And it doesn't matter, it's been 30 plus years since I've lived there with my parents.

And I 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 uh is preaching.

He hasn't had theological training, that's true.

But if we remind ourselves how Luke closes out his gospel in uh Luke 24, verse 45.

Luke 24:45

You can turn there if you'd like to see this.

Luke says, then he, talking about Jesus, who is with the apostles at this point, opened their minds to understand the scriptures.

This is the resurrected Jesus, 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, 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 are 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 the whole time like not being still.

He's just like enjoying his legs and kicking around.

He's doing river dance stuff.

Some of you don't remember river dance, I'm sorry.

Seeing him, they had nothing to say in opposition.

It shuts them down.

They're silenced.

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.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

And the hearts of the people are pierced as they realize their sin and they realize the reality of the resurrected Jesus.

And 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 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 is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

We can't get around that.

It says, we cannot deny it.

17, 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, we'll bully them into being quiet about this, is what they're essentially saying.

18, 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.

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.

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.

It's 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, through signs and wonders.

Verse 10, 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 4, we see the power of the name of Jesus as it catalyzes the rapid growth of the early church.

5,000 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?

See Kevin Rowe, 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 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 aim, wide offer.

Don't get hung up on that.

The challenge of the name of Jesus, we also see Jesus' 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 Nubigan in the Gospel in a Pluralist Society.

It 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 miss Christianity.

It's the most diverse, multi-ethnic, 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 Santahedron.

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, is actually not an option.

The very sense that we are undecided is itself a decision to hold him a 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 and 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 2,000 years.

We do not have the option of neutrality.

We must deal with the resurrection of Jesus.

Another response, a right response, repentance and submission.

What did we see in Acts chapter 2?

Acts 2 · chapter mention

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 the person, 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 in 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.

It's broad, it's personal, it's life-changing, it's eternity-altering.

It's the best news for those who receive it, and 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 and 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 conquer 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 Yaroslav 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 in the rapid growth of the early church.

Those once bound by fear are now bold in faith, we see.

We sang 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're 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 him, 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.

So 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.

But only one name that has the power to save, and only one story that 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, and 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 Wearsby quote.

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.

A 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.

And it's in that name, the name of Jesus Christ, that we ask all these things.

Amen.