“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”

In his most celebrated play, Romeo and Juliet, famous playwright William Shakespeare uses this line to convey that the naming of things is irrelevant. Juliet is prohibited from associating with Romeo because he is a Montague – any other name would have been fine but not a Montague. In her view, he would still be the same beautiful young man even if he had a different name.

I beg to differ.

The book of Acts follows the story of Jesus’ followers (known as His apostles) in the immediate aftermath of His ascension into heaven. They had been commissioned by Jesus to continue the work of God’s kingdom and immediately after being baptised and empowered by the promised Holy Spirit they set about sharing the good news of the kingdom of God.

In the third chapter of this book a spectacular and miraculous healing takes place of a man who was lame from birth and who begged for alms at the temple gates where people attended prayers. It was a command issued to him in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth to stand up and walk by two of Jesus’s apostles, Peter and John, that  brought about this miracle.

Acts 3:6
But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”

He rises up indeed not only to walk – which he’d never done before in his life – but to leap and dance and praise God for the miracle. The healing of such a well-known person (albeit from a lifetime of begging at the gate of the iconic Jerusalem temple) and his subsequent – understandable – euphoria, naturally attract huge attention and Peter and John find themselves having to explain what just happened. As they do, they unwittingly draw the temple authority’s attention who are annoyed at their promotion of resurrection in Jesus – Acts 4:1-2
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.

It was not so much the miracle but the content of the teaching – resurrection – and the name it was delivered in – Jesus – that ruffled their feathers.

This led to their arrest and presentation before the Jewish rulers and authorities who question them, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” (Acts 4:7). The power and the name behind this very public healing of a very well-known lame man from birth caused them concern as it potentially threatened their authority. They were shook by the power and authority demonstrated in the name that was used to heal a lifelong paralytic and proclaim resurrection.

For Peter and John there was no hiding or disguising the fact that it was by the name of Jesus that the man was 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.” (Acts 4:10). Peter then continues, boldly expanding on this name, to identify Jesus as the stone whom the rulers and authorities rejected but turned out to be the chief cornerstone of the building (metaphorically speaking) and the only name “given among men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12
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.”

The miraculous healing only served to draw attention to the name of Jesus by which it was performed leading to His exultation and the preaching of salvation and resurrection exclusively in His name.

The significance of Jesus’ name was not restricted to but went beyond the physical healing of one man all the way to the eternal salvation of the entire human race. All in the name of Jesus – the only name given under heaven by which we must be saved.

“What’s in a name?” I hear you ask.

There is salvation in the name of Jesus and in His name alone.

To be continued…