By what power, or in what name, have you done this? (Acts 4:7 NAS95)

By what power, or in what name, have you done this? (Acts 4:7 NAS95)

The critical question in the title of this piece refers back to a fascinating story told in Acts 3. The apostles have received power after the Holy Spirit descended upon them. They are preaching in the Temple; many people are believing in Jesus, and then Peter and John come face-to-face with a lame beggar in the Temple. Peter says, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene — walk!” (3:6), and the crowd reaction is one of joy and amazement.

It is not that the apostles are seeking attention for themselves. They are promoting and preaching Christ. Peter later says, “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this, or why do you gaze at us, as if by our own power or piety we had made him walk?” (3:12); and, “on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know” (3:16). 

This, of course, is just too much for the religious leaders of the Temple and the temple industry. They are losing their constituency to this group of ragamuffin, uncredentialed apostles, and they are determined to put a stop to it. The temple guard puts Peter and John in jail, and the next day they are brought before the “rulers and elders and scribes,” along with the father-son high priests, Annas and Caiaphas. If you are familiar with Jesus’ story, these are the very same guys who conspired to put Jesus to death: hiring Judas, taking Jesus before Pilate; and demanding crucifixion. They and the devil had seemingly won, only to find that Jesus’ influence is now seemingly compounded. And so they ask the question above: “By what power, or in what name have you done this?”

Well, it wasn’t in their own name. They were not seeking to make a name for themselves, as do many of our present-day religious titans. Nor were they acting in the name of a church, marketing the latest-best-place to go to get inspired and thrilled. They were filled with the Spirit, but they didn’t talk about the Spirit. They only wanted to talk about Jesus. Because it was (and is) Jesus’ power, and Jesus’ name, that changes lives, both of the beggar, and the lives of thousands of repentant sinners who are introduced to Jesus, and find that they have no other place to turn.

We need a return to the promotion of Jesus, not preachers and leaders and organizations or high-profile churches. Preachers and leaders do not save. A college or a camp does not save. Churches do not save. It is Jesus, and Jesus alone, who saves.