His Name Is Jesus

There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
–Acts 4:12

I

In Acts 4, Peter and John spent a night in jail. Why were they arrested? They had healed a man in the name of Jesus and were preaching the gospel in the temple area. Verse 5 says the next day, there was a gathering of religious leaders, including Caiaphas, who was the current high priest, and his father-in-law Annas. Caiaphas and Annas had also presided over Jesus’ first trial two months earlier. Caiaphas probably thought the crucifixion had taken care of the matter. But the grave could not hold Jesus Christ. He rose again, and Christianity started spreading like wildfire.

When Peter and John were brought before Caiaphas, he probably thought, I’m going to stamp out the name of Jesus once and for all. He and the other religious leaders asked the apostles, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this?” (v. 7).

Peter answered, “By the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead–by this name this man stands here before you in good health. . . . And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (vv. 10, 12).

Notice Peter’s emphasis on the word name. The Son of God is a real person, and He has a name. He was born in a feeding trough in Bethlehem. He grew up in Nazareth. He ministered all over Judea and Samaria. He was tried before Pontius Pilate. He was crucified and raised again on the third day. His name is Jesus, and there is no salvation for anybody except in His name.

There is no salvation for Muslims in the name of Allah. There is no salvation for Buddhists in the name of Buddha. There is no salvation for Jews in the name of Yahweh apart from His Son, Jesus Christ. If you think this sounds antisemitic, remember who was speaking. Was Peter a Southern Baptist? No, he was a Jew. And Peter’s teaching came from a Jewish rabbi named Jesus the Nazarene, who said, “No one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). Salvation is through Jesus and Jesus alone. This truth is foundational to the Christian faith.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “No Other Name,” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2021.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.