A person who was afraid, scared of the serious threats made by others, yet now has the boldness to confront those enemies. What has happened to change that person? Courage isn’t something that one can just drink a bottle of and then, voila!, you have it, especially when the threats are real and serious. As we look at our Scripture passage from the Book of Acts today, we see exactly that in the life of the Apostle Peter. Let’s see what brought about such a turnaround.
As our passage opens, Peter and John had been brought before the high priests, members of the Sanhedrin (a Jewish council or tribunal), and other religious leaders. The charges were that a crippled man, one who was well known and familiar to many in Jerusalem, had been healed by Peter and John through the Name of Jesus, and the two had preached another public sermon about Jesus to the crowds who witnessed the healing (Acts 3). These religious leaders did not want any public mention of the Name of Jesus, particularly about His resurrection, and certainly no healings done in His Name, so they brought the pair in for questioning, and to put an end to such activity.
It was only a few short weeks before, when Peter had been so afraid of these leaders. On the night that Jesus was arrested, Peter fled in fear, along with the others. He did not want to be arrested with Jesus. Later that night, when questioned, Peter denied three times that he even knew Jesus. Though the Apostle John ventured to the foot of the cross with some of the women disciples, Peter was in hiding for fear of these Jewish leaders.
What changed a man from being so afraid to now boldly preaching in the Name of Jesus? It was the power of the Holy Spirit, who only days before our passage had come upon all of the believers. Peter had seen the resurrected Jesus, had spoken with Him, received the Great Commission to preach the Gospel to the world, and now had the power of the Holy Spirit in his life. Now both Peter and John were standing before the High Priests Annas and Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, and other religious leaders, the same group who had condemned Jesus the Messiah to death, and they were giving them the Gospel message! Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter was able to face persecution and preach the Gospel with power.
These religious elders and leaders, the powerful Sanhedrin, were not happy or pleased that Jesus’ disciples were saying that He rose from the dead. They did not like it that they said He was the Messiah, and that they were making many converts. They had rejected Jesus, but now He has become the cornerstone of the Church (vs. 11). Without Him, all would fall apart.
Peter concludes his brief testimony and Gospel witness to the High Priests and Sanhedrin with a very important statement, one that is just as important today as it was back then, and that is “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (vs. 12). Those leaders did not want to hear that, and many today do not want to hear it either, believing that there are many roads to heaven, and that the teachings of many so-called “religious teachers” are just as valid in leading someone to God.
All paths do not lead to heaven! This truth offends many people. Jesus said that preaching the truth about Him would cause many to hate us (John 15:18). “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (I John 5:12). No other religious leader will get one to heaven by following them or their teachings. They could not die for our sins. They are not the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity. No other religious leader ever rose from the dead. There is no other Name or Way than Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 7:13-14 we read that there are only two religious paths - the broad way of salvation through one’s works, which leads to eternal death, and the narrow way of faith in Jesus Christ only, which leads to eternal life. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). There is no other way, no other Name, for salvation except the Lord Jesus Christ.
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