No Other Name

Acts chapter 3 verse 17 to Acts chapter 4 verse 12.

Acts 3:17 Acts 4:12

Please follow along with me as I read.

And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers.

But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.

So, repent, therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus,

whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.

Moses said,

The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers,

you shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.

And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.

And all the prophets who have spoken from Samuel and those who came after him also proclaim these days,

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers,

saying to Abraham,

And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first,

to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.

And as they were speaking to the people,

the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day,

for it was already evening.

But many of those who had heard the word believed,

And the number of the men came to about five thousand.

On the next day,

their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem

with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander

and all who were of the high priestly family.

And when they had set them in the midst,

they inquired,

By what power or by what name did you do this?

Then 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,

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,

whom God raised from the dead,

by him this man is standing before you well.

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.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

Many of the world's great literary and cinematic works

have a messianic archetype,

a self-sacrificing savior,

the chosen one,

a hero who transcends all his peers

and surpasses all those who came before him.

Whether it's Aragorn or Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings,

Neo in The Matrix trilogy,

people have still seen that, right?

The Chronicles of Narnia,

Aslan,

Jim Casey in The Grapes of Wrath,

Simon in Lord of the Flies,

Harry Potter,

Superman,

E.T.,

even Goku of Dragon Ball,

or Anakin Skywalker

in the Star Wars trilogy.

These are compelling stories

because they are reminiscent of the greatest story ever told.

And these figures are compelling

because they resemble Jesus,

the original Christ,

the real Messiah

that all of these other messianic figures point to.

And in this passage,

Luke tells us that Jesus

is greater than all other prophets,

he is greater than all other priests,

and that we must, therefore,

repent and turn to him

who alone can save us.

That's the main point of this passage.

In the preceding passage,

Peter didn't hold back

from giving his fellow Jews

a piece of his mind.

He told them bluntly

that they denied the Holy and Righteous One

and killed the author of life

whom God raised from the dead.

And that this Jesus,

whom they rejected,

was the chosen one of God,

the one that the God of Abraham,

the God of Isaac,

the God of Jacob,

the God of their fathers,

had glorified.

But now in verse 17,

he cuts them some slack

and says,

And now, brothers,

I know that you acted in ignorance,

as did also your rulers.

What they did to Jesus was horrible,

but they did it unknowingly.

They did not know

that Jesus was the promised Messiah,

the servant of the Lord,

the Holy and Righteous One.

This is why Jesus prayed on the cross

in Luke 23, 34,

Father, forgive them,

for they know not what they do.

Ignorance does not erase guilt,

but it is a mitigating circumstance

that God takes into account.

And Peter understands that,

and so he says,

I know you acted in ignorance,

and offers another chance

for them to repent.

But the fact that the Jews acted

in ignorance in killing Jesus

doesn't mean that Jesus' death

was a mistake

or an accident of human history,

because as Peter continues

in verse 18,

it was a fulfillment

of God's sovereign plan.

He says,

What God foretold

by the mouth of all the prophets

that his Christ would suffer,

he thus fulfilled.

Many prophecies of the Old Testament,

including the one we looked at last week,

Isaiah 52 to 53,

Psalm 16, Psalm 22, Psalm 69,

Jeremiah 11, Daniel 9,

Zechariah 12, 13,

plenty of other places,

all of these prophecies

point to Jesus,

pointed to a suffering Messiah.

Therefore, Peter exhorts us

in verses 19 to 21,

Repent and turn back,

that your sins may be blotted out,

that times of refreshing

may come from the presence of the Lord,

and that he may send the Christ

appointed for you,

Jesus,

whom heaven must receive

until the time

for restoring all the things

about which God spoke

by the mouth of his holy prophets

long ago.

The commands,

repent and turn back,

form a complementary pair.

To repent is to turn away

from something,

from our sins

and from our rejection of Christ,

and then to turn

towards Jesus Christ.

To turn back

is to turn toward Jesus Christ.

So two complementary actions.

The Jews had turned away from God

by rejecting his chosen Messiah,

whom he sent,

and now they must return to God

and his promises

by believing in Jesus.

We have all sinned against God.

We've all rebelled against him,

and the default path

of human life

is disobedience.

And it is for that reason

there isn't a single human being

on earth

who can continue to live

as he or she has been living.

Imagine the most

righteous,

moral,

ethical

human being

you can imagine

that does not know Christ.

That person cannot continue

to live as he or she is living

and be saved.

Every single person

must repent

and turn

toward Jesus.

We all need

a change in direction.

And when you do that,

the result

is threefold.

Peter describes this.

First,

he says that your sins

may be blotted out.

The word

blot out

is used throughout Scripture

to wiping out

something completely.

For example,

it's used in Exodus

Exodus 17:14

chapter 17

verse 14

to speak of blotting out

the memory of Amalek

from under heaven.

When your name

is blotted out

from under heaven,

there's not even

a memory of you.

Not even a faint

memory of that person

remains.

It refers to

complete

annihilation.

When you repent

of your sins

and turn to Jesus Christ,

your sins

will be

wiped out.

the blood

of Christ

is not like

many of the erasers

that I happen

to have in my house

where you erase

a pencil mark

and it leaves

these traces.

It's

plain and obvious

that something

was there before,

a mistake.

The blood

of Jesus

is not

like that.

We Christians

sometimes live

with this lingering

guilt and shame

as if Christ's

atoning death

on the cross

on our behalf

is insufficient.

But it is

totally

sufficient.

If we repent

of our sins

and turn to Jesus

in faith,

our sins

will be blotted

out,

wiped clean,

scrubbed clean,

a clean slate.

we live in the

internet age

where it feels

like we can't

erase or hide

from anything

in our past.

More and more

people's applications

are rejected

and jobs

are lost

because of

something he or she

said on social

media a long

time ago.

Our past

returns to

haunt us

and we have

this

foreboding

sense that

we can never

get away

from our

mistakes

and our

regrets

but this

is not

the case

with God.

He will

blot out

your sins

if you trust

in Jesus.

God will

never

hold those

sins

against you.

Our sins

will never

be dredged

up again

because as

far as

the east

is from

the west

so far

does he

remove

our

transgressions

from us.

The second

result is

this,

that times

of refreshing

may come

from the

presence

of the

Lord.

This is

the only

place

where you

find

this

wonderful

phrase

in

scripture,

times

of

refreshing.

The word

refreshing

refers to

providing

relief

from an

obligation

or trouble,

some

breathing

room,

a sigh

of relief.

This

verse is

parallel to

chapter 2

verse 38

where Peter

says,

repent

and be

baptized

every one

of you

in the

name

of Jesus

Christ

for the

forgiveness

of your

sins

and you

will receive

the gift

of the

Holy Spirit.

Both

verses

command

people

to repent

and both

verses

promise

forgiveness

of sins.

Forgiveness

of sins,

blotting out

one's sins.

And so

given these

parallels,

the final

results

is also

likely

related.

So in

chapter 2

verse 38

it spoke

of you

will receive

the gift

of the

Holy Spirit

that the

Lord Jesus

sends from

the presence

of the

Father.

And in

chapter 3

verse 20

it says

that the

times of

refreshing

may come

from the

presence

of the

Lord.

So the

times of

refreshing

are connected

to the

Holy Spirit

who comes

from the

presence

of God

and His

presence

is

refreshing

because

He provides

release,

relief from

our bondage

to sin.

He gives

us rest

from the

burden

we can't

bear.

As 2

Corinthians

3

16

to 17

says,

When one

turns to

the Lord

the veil

is removed

and now

the Lord

is the

Spirit

and where

the Spirit

of the

Lord

is there

is freedom.

when you've

been stuck

in a

stuffy

room

all day

and you

finally

venture

outdoors

and the

sun is

shining

on you

and a

gentle

breeze

is blowing

on your

face

and cooling

you down

and you

take a

deep

breath

that's

refreshing.

When you've

been cramped

inside a

car

wearing a

seatbelt

all day

and you

finally get

to your

destination

and you

step

outside

you

unbuckle

the seatbelt

and step

outside

and you

stretch

out your

legs

that's

refreshing

relief

rest

when you

repent

of your

sins

and believe

in Jesus

Christ

and get

baptized

when you

receive

forgiveness

of sins

you are

filled with

the Holy

Spirit

and what

you experience

is not

times of

stress

or times

of burden

but times

of refreshing

this is

exactly what

Jesus promised

in Matthew

11 28

to 30

come to

me all

who labor

and are

heavy laden

and I

will give

you rest

take

take

my

yoke

upon

you

and learn

from

me

for I

am

gentle

and lowly

in heart

and you

will find

rest

for your

souls

for my

yoke

is easy

and my

burden

is light

a yoke

is the

wooden frame

that joins

two oxen

together

so that

their strength

can be

combined

to pull

a heavy

weight

that one

ox

can't do

on its

own

it's a

metaphor

of subjection

even

oppression

but Jesus

turns this

metaphor

onto its

head

when he

says

my

yoke

is

easy

the word

easy

is elsewhere

translated

kind

Jesus

yoke

is not

harsh

it is

kind

his

burden

is not

heavy

and

onerous

it is

light

because

servitude

to Jesus

is

freedom

because

subjection

to Jesus

is to

share

in his

rulership

those

who live

apart

from

Christ

have

no

recourse

when

they

are

feeling

the

crushing

legalistic

burden

and

overwhelming

shame

and guilt

from

falling

short

of it

but

Christians

do

have

a

recourse

we

turn

to

Jesus

we

trust

in

what

he

has

accomplished

for

us

on

our

behalf

on

the

cross

that

he

paid

the

debt

that

we

owed

and

he

received

the

punishment

that

we

deserve

so

that

the

gift

of

the

Holy

Spirit

the

third

result

is

this

that

he

may

send

the

Christ

appointed

for

you

Jesus

whom

heaven

must

receive

until

the

time

for

restoring

all

the

things

about

which

God

spoke

by

the

mouth

of

his

holy

prophets

long

ago

this

result

lies

in

the

future

currently

Jesus

must

remain

in

heaven

but

a

time

is

coming

when

Jesus

will

return

to

us

to

restore

all

the

things

about

which

God

spoke

by

the

mouth

of

his

holy

prophets

this

is

when

the

kingdom

of

God

the

reign

of

Jesus

Christ

will

be

consummated

brought

to

its

fruition

fullness

when

he

will

make

all

things

new

sometimes

you

might

feel

this

cognitive

dissonance

as you

read the

promises

of God

and examine

your

present

life

there

seems

to be

a

gulf

between

the

ideal

and

the

reality

and

that's

because

we

live

in

an

already

but

not

yet

kingdom

the

kingdom

of God

has

already

been

inaugurated

but

it

has

not

yet

been

consummated

do

do

do

do

you

wonder

why

your

body

is

wasting

away

do

you

wonder

why

you

still

feel

the

pull

of

your

sinful

flesh

do

you

wonder

why

this

world

is

broken

it's

because

Christ

is

coming

back

and

when

he

returns

he

will

restore

all

the

things

about

which

God

spoke

by

the

mouth

of

his

holy

prophets

long

ago

if

we

forget

that

final

piece

of

our

salvation

we

will

be

disillusioned

in

this

life

so

then

to

summarize

verses

19

to

21

repenting

and

returning

to

Christ

leads

to

removal

of

sin

spiritual

refreshment

and

renewal

and

then

in

the

future

return

of

Christ

which

brings

restoration

and

then

in

verses

20

to

23

Peter

combines

Deuteronomy

18

15

to

20

and

Leviticus

23

29

to

prove

that

Jesus

is

the

one

that

Moses

had

prophesied

about

it

says

the

Lord

God

will

raise

up

for

you

a

prophet

like

me

from

your

brothers

who

shall

listen

to

him

in

whatever

he

tells

you

and

it

shall

be

that

every

soul

who

does

not

listen

to

that

prophet

shall

be

destroyed

from

the

people

in

Deuteronomy

18

in

that

original

context

Moses

is

anticipating

the

fact

that

Israelites

will

enter

the

promised

land

and

dispossess

the

nations

that

serve

other

gods

and

listen

to

other

prophets

soothsayers

and

sorcerers

and

witch

doctors

and he

tells

them

you are

not to

listen

to

any

of

them

instead

you

are

to

listen

to

a

prophet

like

me

that's

what

Moses

tells

them

and

whoever

does

not

listen

to

that

prophet

will

be

held

accountable

by

God

himself

while

that

prophecy

does

refer

to

the

succession

of

true

prophets

that

followed

Moses

messianic

expectations

grew

around

that

prophecy

and

many

Jews

expected

a

second

Moses

and

Jesus

according

to

Peter

is

the

one

who

fulfills

that

prophecy

when

Moses

was

born

the

Egyptian

king

sought

to

wipe

out

all

the

male

children

of

Israel

in

order

to

suppress

them

and

make

his

rule

more

secure

similarly

when

Jesus

was

born

king

Herod

massacred

all

the

male

children

in

an

attempt

to

kill

the

prophesied

Messiah

and

secure

his

throne

like

Moses

Jesus

was

not

recognized

by

his

own

people

and

at

one

point

almost

stoned

to

death

by

them

Jesus

likewise

was

not

recognized

by

his

own

Moses

sent

12

spies

to

the

promised

land

on

a

reconnaissance

mission

and

Jesus

sent

12

apostles

to

proclaim

the

kingdom

of

God

like

Moses

Jesus

fasted

for

40

days

and

went

up

on

a

mountain

to

give

God's

people

the

law

of

God

like

Moses

whose

face

was

shining

after

meeting

with

God

on

the

mountain

Jesus

his

face

shone

when

he

was

transfigured

on

the

mountain

like

Moses

who

fed

God's

people

in

the

wilderness

with

bread

from

heaven

Jesus

multiplied

bread

in

the

wilderness

to

feed

the

multitude

and

he

declared

that

he

is

the

bread

of

life

like

Moses

who

brought

out

water

from

the

rock

for

God's

people

to

drink

Jesus

said

that

he

is

the

living

water

from

people

from

whom

people

must

drink

in

order

to

receive

the

Holy

Spirit

and

eternal

life

like

Moses

who

lifted

up

a

bronze

serpent

on

a

pole

to

satisfy

the

wrath

of

God

and

bring

healing

to

all

of

God's

people

Jesus

was

lifted

up

on

a

cross

to

satisfy

the

wrath

of

God

and

bring

healing

to

all

of

God's

people

but

Moses

ultimately

failed

to lead

God's

people

into

the

promised

land

he

came

just

short

he

could

not

bring

rest

for

God's

people

but

Jesus

the

new

and

greater

Moses

goes

ahead

of

us

and

leads

all

of

his

people

into

the

eternal

promised

land

and

this

is

not

something

that

Moses

alone

prophesied

of

Peter

says

every

subsequent

prophet

pointed

to

Jesus

Peter

says

in

verse

24

and

all

the

prophets

who

have

spoken

from

Samuel

and

those

who

came

after

him

also

proclaim

these

days

Samuel

is

the

next

prophet

after

Moses

and

he

along

with

every

prophet

after

him

pointed

to

a

greater

prophet

a

prophet

like

Moses

who

would

come

Elijah

was

not

the

one

Elisha

was

not

the

one

Isaiah

was

not

the

one

Jeremiah

was

not

the

one

Ezekiel

was

not

the

one

right

up

until

the

time

of

John

the

Baptist

who

was

the

last

prophet

before

Jesus

and

John

the

Baptist

said

this

concerning

Jesus

I

am

not

the

Christ

I

baptized

with

water

but

among

you

stands

one

you

do

not

know

even

he

who

comes

after

me

the

strap

of

whose

sandal

I

am

not

worthy

to

untie

who

is

this

great

prophet

that

even

the

greatest

prophet

up to

that

point

John

the

Baptist

says

he's

not

worthy

to

untie

his

shoes

who

is

this

great

prophet

that

every

other

prophet

proclaimed

Peter

says

his

name

is

Jesus

Christ

the

christened

one

the

anointed

one

the

Lord

this

is

a

thrust

and

trajectory

of

redemptive

history

human

history

is

not

controlled

by

natural

selection

entropy

or

by

ineluctable

human

progress

rather

it

is

sovereignly

guided

by

God

and

God

has

directed

human

history

to

culminate

in

the

person

and

work

of

Jesus

Christ

every

age

before

Christ

prepared

a

way

for

him

and

every

age

after

Christ

must

hark

back

to

him

Jesus

stands

at the

very

center

the

pivot

point

of

human

history

and

since

the

prophesied

prophet

like

Moses

has

come

we

must

repent

and

turn

to

him

and

that's

what

Peter

implores

his

Jewish

brethren

to do

in

verses

25

to

26

in

you

you

are

the

recipients

of

these

promises

you

are

the

children

of

the

covenant

that

God

made

with

your

forefathers

so you should repent of your sins

and turn to Christ for salvation.

And recall what God said to Abraham,

and in your offspring

shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

That's a quotation from Genesis 22, verse 18,

Genesis 22:18

where God says to Abraham,

and in your offspring

shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

From the very beginning of his covenant,

God envisioned the day

when all the nations of the earth,

and not just the descendants of Abraham,

shall be blessed.

And that blessing entails salvation

because it's a bestowal of divine favor.

And that salvation would come about

through Abraham's offspring or seed,

which is singular,

referring to a specific descendant.

And this seed is Jesus,

the servant of the Lord,

that God sent to bless them

by turning them from their wickedness.

This is why Jesus says in John 4, 22,

that salvation is from the Jews.

Because Jesus, the Savior, was a Jew,

descendant of Abraham,

heir of David.

Salvation comes first to the Jews,

and then through Jesus to all the nations.

What's startling about this

is that Peter is exhorting fellow Jews.

These very Jews,

who are descended from Abraham,

from which the Messiah came,

and yet he exhorts them

that they need a change of direction,

that they need to repent and turn to Jesus.

That's the same with us.

You may have come from a distinguished lineage

or generations of faithful Christians.

You may have come from a Christian,

but you may have come from a Christian,

but you may have come from a Christian,

you could have many accoutrements of piety,

outward appearances,

but if you have not personally turned to Jesus,

there is no salvation for you.

And so he tells the Jews

to turn, repent of their wickedness,

and turn to Jesus

so that their sins may be blotted out.

That's the case even for Jews.

It's even more the case for us,

most of whom are Gentiles.

It's not the trappings of religion,

institutional membership,

or personal piety,

or the observance of the law

that ultimately saves us.

It's only Jesus who saves us.

Those things that I mentioned

may be implications or evidence

of our salvation,

but they are not the basis

for our salvation.

We must turn to the greatest prophet.

And as Peter is preaching the gospel,

he is interrupted by the Jewish authorities

in chapter 4.

We're going to see how Jesus

prayed in all other priests here.

It says in chapter 4, verses 1 to 3,

And as they were speaking to the people,

the priests and the captain of the temple,

and the Sadducees came upon them,

greatly annoyed because they were teaching

the people and proclaiming in Jesus

the resurrection from the dead.

And they arrested them

and put them in custody until the next day,

for it was already evening.

Three groups of Jewish authorities

arrive on the scene.

First, the priests.

They are those who are responsible

for the temple,

the ones who are in charge

of the rituals and the sacrifices.

Second, the captain of the temple.

This is an administrative official,

second in authority after the high priest.

And the captain,

he was the captain of the temple police.

He was responsible for maintaining order

in the premise.

And then third,

the Sadducees were a Jewish sect,

much like the Pharisees.

They were members of the priestly ruling class.

Many of them belonged to the Sanhedrin,

which was the highest Jewish

religious, political, and legal council.

And one of their distinctive beliefs

of the Sadducees,

which we see throughout the Gospels,

is that they denied the resurrection of the dead.

And these three groups of Jewish authorities

gang up on Peter and John.

Notice it says in verse 1,

As they were speaking to the people,

the priests and the captain of the temple

and the Sadducees came upon them.

They're not waiting politely

until Peter and John finish speaking.

They are interrupting them

as they are speaking.

And not only that,

the verb came upon them

has a threatening overtone.

The word is often used

to describe the coming

of a sudden misfortune.

And in Acts chapter 17, verse 5,

Acts 17:5

the same word is translated as attack.

So these Jewish authorities

descend upon Peter and John

as the crowd is listening to them

and as they're speaking to them.

And it says that these Jewish leaders