Lesson 5: In The Name Of Jesus Christ (Acts 3)

Before His ascension Jesus promised that apostles that they would “receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” (Acts 1.8). They received the Spirit in Acts 2.1-4 and immediately received the power to “speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Furthermore, we read in Acts 2.43 that “many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.” The apostles had received power, but they understood the power was not their own; they were just the vessels through which God was acting. As Acts 3 makes clear, their authority and power was in the name of Jesus Christ.

Notes From The Text

Vss. 1-10, a lame man walks

• Vs. 1, the Law commanded that two offerings would be made each day (see Numbers 28.1-8). According to Josephus and other sources, those offerings were accompanied by singing and prayers. The “ninth hour” was 3PM, the customary time for the evening sacrifice.
• Vs. 2, we see in Acts 4.22 that the man was over 40 years old. Regarding the Beautiful Gate, “This door or gate was sixty feet wide and seventy-five feet high, fashioned of Corinthian brass. Reputedly, it took twenty men to open it. If this entrance was located at the eastern side of the Court of Women (also called the treasury – Jn. 8:20)…then this man, a beggar, had shrewdly positioned himself so as to intercept those headed for the treasury with their gifts of money.” (Wayne Jackson)
• Vss. 3-5, these verses are significant context to the miracle which was about to occur. The lame man had no expectation of being healed, rather he was hoping to receive money. Today, those who claim to have gifts of healing blame their failures on others lacking faith. But this lame man possessed no faith that he was about to be healed.
• Vs. 6
  • Recall that the brethren had sold their possessions in order to provide for each other (Acts 2.44-45). Peter and the apostles had not turned this into a general benevolence fund.
  • “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth”, we will discuss this more at the end of the lesson. Significant that while on earth Jesus was able to heal in His own name (see Luke 5.24; Mark 5.41). The apostles could not heal in their own name or power, only in the name of Jesus.

Vss. 11-26, Peter’s second sermon

Jesus’ power healed the lame man (vss. 11-16)

• Vs. 11, “Along the whole eastern side of the temple enclosure was a porch or roof extending from the top of the wall back into the temple area. This roof was held up by two rows of columns, 37 feet high. The whole porch was 60 feet wide.” (Garreth Reese)
• Vss. 13-15
  • “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” see Exodus 3.6; Matthew 22.32.
  • “glorified his servant Jesus” identifies Jesus with the “servant” of Isaiah 52.13-53.12.
  • Whose power healed the man? The One they had rejected! Notice the contrasts Peter makes in these verses:
    • Vs. 13: Jesus was glorified by God, the very one they had delivered up and denied before Pilate.
    • Vs. 14: Jesus is the Holy One and just, but through injustice they had denied Him and asked for a murderer instead!
    • Vs. 15: Jesus is the Author of Life, raised from the dead by God as witnessed by the apostles, yet they had killed him.
• Vs. 16, as we noted in vss. 3-5, it does not seem that this man possessed any faith that he was about to be healed. So, why does Peter make such a big point about “faith” in this passage. Consider Matthew 17.19-21 where we see a time when the apostles failed to heal a man. Why did they fail? They lacked faith! Returning to Acts 3, the point is that the lame man was healed because Peter and his fellow apostles now had faith in Jesus. And as we move forward in the sermon, Peter’s point is that if the apostles’ faith in Jesus resulted in the lame man being healed, their faith in Jesus would result in their salvation!

They needed to respond (vss. 17-26)

• Vs. 17, Peter states that both the people and their rulers crucified the Lord in ignorance. One might find this hard to believe, but we need to understand that they were not ignorant because they could not know, but because they chose not to know. The people were blinded by their reliance on their teachers, the rulers were blinded by their traditions. Scripture confirms that the people did this in ignorance, Luke 23:34; I Cor. 2:8.
• Vs. 18, note that “mouth” is singular while “prophets” is plural. These multiple prophets spoke with one mouth.
• Vs. 19, a likely parallel to Acts 2.38. Repentance demands a positive response, not simply ceasing from sin. Here the response is termed as the need to “turn back” (“be converted” in some translations. Baptism fits as the means of turning back.
• Vss. 20-21, it is possible that the “times of refreshing” is analogous to the gift of the Spirit in Acts 2.38. However, it seems that Peter has a future event in view. The apostles knew that Jesus would return again (Acts 1.9-11). In my opinion, Peter is pointing to two blessings found only in Christ: “times of refreshing” now as they are in right relationship with God, the final “restoring” of all things at the return of Jesus.
• Vss. 22-23, Peter quotes from Dt. 18:15-19, a prophecy the Jews recognized as being Messianic, cf. John 1:21ff. Jesus is the One that all must now hear, John 12:48.
• Vss. 24-26, the people were faced with a choice. Moses and the prophets bore witness that Jesus is God’s chosen servant and prophet. The apostles bore witness to the resurrection of Jesus (vss. 14-15). The Father sent Jesus to bless all families, beginning with the Jews. Would they turn to Him or not?

“In the name of Jesus Christ”

When the Scriptures speak of God’s name, they speak of His power and authority. Thus the Psalmist says we are to “ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name” (Psalm 29.2) and that we should “sing the glory of His name” (Psalm 66.2). The various names of God in the Old Testament emphasize His power and authority. So, He is “God Almighty” (Genesis 17.1) and “Lord of hosts” (Psalm 24.10). Returning to Acts, Peter’s sermon on Pentecost began with quoting from Joel 2.28-32 where it was prophesied that “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2.17). Furthermore, responding to the gospel required being “baptized…in the name of Jesus Christ”. Salvation would not be obtained by man’s power, but by God’s power!

In Acts 3 we saw that a lame man was healed through faith in Jesus’ name (vss. 6,16). He was not healed by any power inherent in Peter or the other apostles, but by the power of Jesus as bestowed through the Holy Spirit. The man was healed because the apostles had faith that Jesus, the King, had the power to heal the man!

The name of Jesus Christ should be important to each of us for a couple of reasons. First, as we read in Colossians 3.17, all we do should be done in His name. Our lives should be lived in recognition of the power and authority of our King. But that’s not the only reason the name of Jesus is important to Christians. Jesus’ power and authority is why we can be saved, not just the initial forgiveness of our sins, but security from the evil one (John 10.27-28; Romans 8.31ff). Jesus is now our exalted King. Our lives should be lived in His name; our new life is possibly because of His name!