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Acts chapter 4. Last week we saw the 
arrest of Peter and John, and this morning we'll notice the 
apostolic address to the council. Peter speaks to the Sanhedrin 
in verses 5 to 12 and testifies concerning the source of power, 
the authority behind the healing of the lame man in chapter 3. 
But I do want to begin reading in Acts 4 at verse 1. Now, as 
they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, 
and the Sadducees came upon them, being greatly disturbed that 
they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from 
the dead. And they laid hands on them and 
put them in custody until the next day, for it was already 
evening. However, many of those who heard 
the word believed, and the number of the men came to be about 5,000. 
And it came to pass on the next day that their rulers, elders, 
and scribes, as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, 
and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high 
priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had 
set them in the midst, they asked, by what power or by what name 
have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy 
Spirit, said to them, rulers of the people and elders of Israel, 
if we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless 
man by what means he has been made well, let it be known to 
you all. 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 stands here before 
you whole. This is the stone which was rejected 
by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Nor is 
there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under 
heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Now when they 
saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they 
were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they 
realized that they had been with Jesus. And seeing the man who 
had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing 
against it. But when they had commanded them 
to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 
saying, what shall we do to these men? For indeed, that a notable 
miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell 
in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. But so that it spreads no 
further among the people, let us severely threaten them that 
from now on they speak to no man in this name. So they called 
them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the 
name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and 
said to them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen 
to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak 
the things which we have seen and heard. So when they had further 
threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing 
them because of the people, since they all glorified God for what 
had been done. For the man was over 40 years 
old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. Amen. Well, 
let us pray. Thank you, Father, for your Word. 
Thank you for this written record of the early church and its triumphs 
and its difficulties, and ultimately for Christ, the power that is 
giving them the ability to go forward. We pray that you would 
help us now as we approach the Scriptures to find our hearts 
encouraged with the truth, We pray for the ministry of the 
Spirit to be at work in our minds and in our hearts. And again, 
we pray, forgive us for our sins and anything that would darken 
our understanding. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our 
Lord. Amen. Well, to appreciate what's happening 
here in chapter 4, just a bit of review from chapter 3. Remember 
that Peter and John went to the temple. They meet this lame man 
on the way. He asks for alms. He holds out 
his palm, and Peter says, I don't have silver or gold, but what 
I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of 
Nazareth, be healed. And this man was healed. And 
everybody in town knew this man because it was his custom to 
sit by the gate called Beautiful and to beg. So on the heels of 
that, Peter takes the opportunity in Solomon's porch to preach 
the gospel, to testify concerning the power of God Most High, specifically 
with reference to the person and the work of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Well, having spoken in Solomon's 
porch, having seen the power of God displayed further in that 
preaching, the religious leaders, the religious authority, they 
become concerned. As the early disciples multiply, 
as they start to grow, as the gospel starts to permeate Jerusalem, 
they fall under religious scrutiny, and that's precisely what happens. 
In chapter 4, verses 1 to 4, we saw the arrest of Peter and 
John. They put them in jail for a night, 
until the Sanhedrin could be convened, so that they could 
indeed hear what they had been doing. And as we read there, 
it's an intriguing way that they deal with this. We know that 
what they did was right, but we don't want them to go out 
and speak anymore, so let's just threaten that. It's a pretty 
sad state of affairs when the religious and political authority 
in your own country do that kind of stuff to you because you're 
a threat or a perceived threat for preaching the name of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. But I want us to remember what 
Luke says in Acts 4. Notice, in verses 1 to 3, he 
highlights the persecution affecting the church. He highlights the 
trials affecting Peter and John. And then in verse 4, he says, And the number of the men came 
to be about 5,000. John Gill says, for though they 
kept their persons in hold, they could not stop the free course 
of the word, which ran and was glorified. That, however, is 
very encouraging. While they lay hold on Peter 
and John, while they put them in prison, they cannot constrain 
or rather restrain the word of the living God. Matthew Henry 
said, though the preachers were persecuted, the Word prevailed. 
For sometimes the church's suffering days have been her growing days, 
the days of her infancy were so. We saw that not only confined 
to Acts chapter 4, but we'll see it also throughout the book 
of Acts, because this is the outbreak of persecution that's 
going to be duplicated and replicated many times after Acts 4. But 
in Philippians chapter 1, remember that Paul is in prison. and he 
wants to encourage the Philippians. And he says, the things that 
have happened to me have actually turned out for the progress of 
the gospel. In other words, they thought 
by seizing Paul and throwing him into jail, they would silence 
the gospel. And he says, no, it's actually 
turned out the other way. And then in 2 Timothy 2, Paul 
says, for which my gospel, I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even 
to the point of chains, but the word of God is not changed. I 
made the observation last week that very often the church grows 
best during times of persecution, just like in your own private 
Christian walk. You typically tend to grow more, 
and I say typically because I don't doubt God can sanctify you while 
you're sitting on the beach and sipping your favorite beverage. 
God has the power by His Spirit to sanctify you. But it's typically 
not there. It's in the midst of trial, in 
the midst of affliction, in the midst of suffering. One famous 
book title says, Grace Grows Best in Winter. And if that's 
the individual experience, at times it is the corporate experience. A whiff of persecution from time 
to time emboldens the Church of Jesus Christ to do what she 
has been called to do. And that's what we see in this 
passage. Now, notice the address before 
the council in verses 5 to 12. Note first the question of the 
council in verses 5 to 7. Now, as I said, this is the Sanhedrin. 
It's the largest or rather the most powerful religious and political 
body within Israel at this particular time. It's made up of 71 members, 
most likely based on numbers 11. When God tells Moses to select 
70 elders from Israel to help him to adjudicate the various 
affairs going on within Israel's polity, that's the model. Now it's made up of these various 
groups. It was Sadducee heavy. And we noticed last time that 
the Sadducees got particularly upset about Peter's preaching 
because he preached the resurrection and its association with Jesus. 
Sadducees denied the resurrection. So they wanted to silence the 
apostles as they wanted to silence our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, 
we're not talking about a span of a hundred years between the 
ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the apostles. It's not a very 
long time at all, just a couple of months, and we see the same 
sort of things inflicted upon the Savior are the same sort 
of things inflicted upon the apostles in this particular instance. It was, as I said, made up of 
these 70 plus one members, and then notice the text in verse 
5. It says, as well as Annas the high priest, Now, some non-believers 
say, well, Luke was ignorant. Luke put an error in the pages 
of Holy Scripture, because Annas wasn't the high priest at that 
particular time. How do we account for that? Annas 
was high priest from AD 6 to 14, and Caiaphas, his son-in-law, 
was high priest from AD 18 to 36. So technically Caiaphas was 
the high priest at this particular time. But remember that Annas 
was the patriarch of this high priestly family. So Luke names 
him as high priest, as he does in Luke 3, where both Annas and 
Caiaphas are referred to as high priest. It's not that Luke is 
ignorant. It's that Luke is sympathetic to the prevailing cultural norms 
at the time. You name the patriarch as the 
high priest. But these men are gathered together, 
the same Caiaphas that was instrumental in the trial, the mock trial 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was that Caiaphas, according 
to John 10, that prophesied, or John 11, that prophesied by 
the Spirit that it was advantageous for one man to die rather than 
the whole nation. It's that Caiaphas that fares 
later in John's Gospel that leads the Sanhedrin, as Jesus is called, 
to testify. So that Caiaphas, as opposed 
to Christ as he was, is now presently opposed to Peter and John. Because 
you see, the master was right. If they hate the master, they 
will hate the disciple. If they persecute the master, 
they will persecute the disciple. Now, I'm not suggesting we're 
going to be persecuted the way, say, Leah in Nigeria is presently 
persecuted. But brethren, all those who desire 
to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. If nobody's 
ever made fun of you, if nobody's ever antagonized you, if nobody's 
ever persecuted to any sense or any degree whatsoever concerning 
your profession and your commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, you 
might want to take a look at yourself. In other words, if 
you're living faithfully in a godless, wretched, crooked, and perverse 
generation, at some point along the way... Now, I'm not saying 
you're going to be tarred and feathered at a Tim Hortons. I 
am not suggesting you're going to be in prison by the RCMP. I'm not suggesting that. But 
if every step of your way you are only ever received by a godless 
world, then one wonders what kind of testimony one is bearing. Does that make sense? Again, 
I'm not saying go get a bullhorn today and stand out at Wellington 
and say, you wretched, terrible people. You're all going to reap 
the consequences of the judgment of God. I mean, if you so decide 
to, go ahead. But I'm not suggesting that's 
what you have to do. But be faithful in your workplace. 
Don't steal from your employer. Show up on time. Don't whine 
and grumble and complain. When they're all talking bad 
about the boss, don't engage in that. You're a woman in your 
neighborhood, and I'm picking on you women specifically because 
Paul does, relative to the sin of gossip. Don't give your ears 
to it. Don't give your tongue to it 
by any means. Don't be an active participant 
in gossip, but don't give your ears to it. Don't listen to it. Don't receive it. That's going 
to offend people if you don't play the reindeer games with 
them. abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul, Peter 
tells us. Don't just run and riot and excess like the rest 
of the world around you. If you're a kid or a young person, 
a teenager, boy, there's a great opportunity for you to manifest 
your Christian faith by not being a knucklehead like the rest of 
the teenagers and kids that we see populating this earth. You 
see, these men followed the master, and as a result, they were persecuted. You see, when we read these prayer 
letters, as we did last hour, from Voice of the Martyrs concerning 
the sorts of persecution that is going on all over the world, 
on the one hand, it's very grievous and very discouraging. But on 
the other hand, it's very encouraging. Why in the world does the Nigerian 
government have this axe to grind against this Leah? Because she's 
faithful and won't renounce her faith in Christ. I'm encouraged 
by that. Yes, I don't want her to be in 
prison. Yes, I want her to go back home. Yes, I want her to 
know the joys of family life. But that there's a 15-year-old 
girl somewhere on the face of this earth that is not willing 
to renounce Jesus and convert to Islam and thus continues to 
be detained by Boko Haram, I say praise God Almighty from whom 
all blessings flow. that He grants the grace to this 
young woman not to capitulate to Islam, but rather to stand 
fast to her Savior. Yeah, it's sad. I wish she wasn't 
in prison. But man, I hope that if ever 
called upon in a similar situation, God will sustain me with his 
grace the way that he does with Leah. See, everybody has celebrity 
preachers today. You know who impresses me in 
the church? Leah. You know who else impresses me 
in the church? People that have difficult situations in their 
home lives that we don't know a whole lot about. You know who 
really impresses me? The guy, the girl, the young 
guy, the young girl that drags themselves out of bed every single 
day and does or seeks to do what's right. I don't care how good 
these guys preach and I don't care how much they move a crowd. 
My heroes are in this room. Brethren, Peter and John, followed 
Jesus. Therefore, Peter and John were 
persecuted. Again, the persecution is always 
going to look a bit differently. I don't suspect that today, now 
it may be in the future, that the RCMP will knock on your door 
and ask to see your Bible, ask to know your religious affiliation, 
ask to know where you stand with reference to the Messiah. That 
day may come. Brethren, we need to be faithful 
today. Now notice the question posed 
by the Sanhedrin. Verse seven, and when they had 
set them in the midst, they asked, by what power or by what name 
have you done this? Again, reminiscent of Luke's 
gospel. Luke 20, beginning in verse two, 
they say to Jesus, tell us by what authority are you doing 
these things? Or who is he who gave you this authority? See, 
the Sanhedrin is in a bit of a predicament. See, it's easy 
to deny a religion that gets everything wrong. Isn't it? If a guy says, I'm here and I'm 
in the name of, you know, the whatever God, and he tries to 
heal somebody and he doesn't heal them, nobody feels threatened 
by that, do they? He's just, you know, a nut. That's 
what we would be tempted to say. But see, when Jesus walked the 
earth, he actually did heal people. When the disciples went to the 
temple to pray, they did heal that lame man. There's no denying 
that. In fact, when we next time get 
to the deliberation of the council, they can't deny that. I mean, 
the guy was standing there according to verses 10 and 14. The man 
formerly lame that begged at the gate called beautiful that 
everybody knew is standing there as exhibit A of the power of 
God demonstrated. So it puts the Sanhedrin in this 
very awkward position. I mean, they've got to condemn 
the disciples for healing a lame man. That's a thankless position 
to be in, isn't it? That's how they had to operate 
with Jesus. Tell us, by what authority do 
you do this? We can't deny that you've healed. 
We can't deny that you have power. We can't deny that you're doing 
these great and glorious things, but we have to go after the power 
behind it. We have to show that what you're 
doing is contrary to Torah. It's contrary to the Old Testament. 
It's contrary to the written word. So Peter speaks like Jesus 
did. Notice the response of Peter, 
verses 8 to 12. And I want to look at three things 
here. That wasn't a long introduction, but this is the bulk, the three 
things with reference to verses 8 to 12. We have first, the declaration 
of the name in verses 8 to 10. Second, the prophetic witness 
to the name in verse 11. And then thirdly, the exclusivity 
of the name in verse 12. But notice the declaration of 
the name. So the Sanhedrin asks the question, 
by what power or by what name have you done this? Remember 
back in chapter 3, at verse 16, Peter knew this, Peter understood 
this, and Peter addressed it very clearly in the porch at 
Solomon's Porch. Verse 16, his name, through faith 
in his name, has made this man strong whom you see and know. 
In fact, go back to Acts chapter 2, verse 21. You see the conspicuousness 
of the name. Name fairs several times in chapters 
3 and 4, but it's already introduced in 221. Notice in 221, it shall 
come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall 
be saved. And essentially what Peter does 
from then on in chapter 2 is define the Lord, define the name, 
tells us that it's Jesus, such that when we get to verse 37, 
he says, be baptized in the name of verse 38. Let every one of 
you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission 
of sins. Name isn't hocus-pocus. Name isn't a magic word. Name 
is rather the authority or the power behind the particular activity. So Peter understands that. They've 
asked him, in chapter 4, by what power or by what name have you 
done this? Now note, with reference to the 
Declaration, the presence of the Spirit. This is beautiful, 
isn't it? In verse 8, then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit. 
Now, I think at times we universalize these sorts of passages, and 
we say, this is always going to happen every time that anybody 
ever asks me. No, I don't think it's always 
every time, but in those key times, in those crunch times, 
in those times of specific need, we can trust the Lord will supply 
the Spirit. Sure, you've all known something 
of that before. You've testified to grandma, you've testified 
to an uncle, you've testified to a kid. God owned it. You don't 
know how you ever came up with the things that you were saying, 
or somebody challenged you, an atheist, or a Muslim, or a Mormon, 
and God just gave you wisdom and the ability to draw from 
Scripture and declare the truth. That's a blessed realization 
of what the Spirit's activity in the life of the believer does, 
but this is a direct fulfillment of Jesus' promise to his disciples 
in terms of the increasing persecution that we just read of in Luke 
21. Before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, there's 
going to be persecution. They're going to drag you off 
to the synagogues. They're going to haul you before 
the civil government. They're going to haul you before 
their religious councils. And don't worry about those times, 
because the Spirit will aid you in what you're supposed to say. 
Now, that idea as well certainly doesn't allow for lazy preachers, 
well, I'm not going to study, I'm going to sit all week, and 
then when I'm walking to that pulpit, the Spirit will give 
me what I'm supposed to speak. That is utter nonsense. Paul tells Timothy, study to 
show yourself approved. A workman who need not be ashamed, 
one who rightly divides the word of truth. But in these times 
of persecution, spoken of by Jesus, prophesied by our Lord, 
he promises protection to his disciples as they get hauled 
before the religious council. This is a fulfillment of Luke 
12, 11 and 12, Luke 21, 14 and 15. Don't worry about it. The 
Spirit will give you utterance. The Spirit will give you the 
ability. Now, when we look at this, then Peter, verse 8, filled 
with the Holy Spirit, said to them, The them is the Sanhedrin. The them is the highest religious 
slash political council serving or governing in Israel. The them 
isn't a servant girl. See, we students of the Gospels 
have gone through them and have seen that Peter in crunch time 
denied his master to a servant girl. And yet here, Peter's not 
denying anything. Here, Peter, by the power and 
the presence of the Holy Spirit, not only doesn't deny, but testifies 
concerning the very name of Christ, which is the power behind the 
healing of this lame man, which is the very sum and substance 
of the apostolic ministry, which is why Peter and John actually 
exist at this particular time. John Gill says the case was much 
altered with Peter He who but a little while ago was frightened 
by a servant made now stands before the Jewish Sanhedrin with 
undaunted courage and resolution the notice goes on verse 8 Filled 
with the Holy Spirit He said to them rulers of the people 
and elders of Israel if we this day are judged for a good deed 
done to a helpless man I wonder It's hard to exegete tone. That's 
why internet debates are so difficult. We say something and everybody 
flips out because we can't exegete tone. Try with emojis and all 
that. You just don't get what's behind 
a statement on a blog post. And people just get upset. I 
kind of look at the internet and debates on the internet as 
if one party on the other side of Wellington and one party on 
this side of Wellington running in the opposite directions shouting 
at each other. Well, a lot of it is because 
of this lack of tone. We just don't know what tone 
Peter assumed at this particular time. But imagine this. We brought healing to a man. We saw a man, by the name of 
Jesus Christ, get up from his malady. We saw this man, his 
ankle bones strengthen. We saw this man not only get 
up, but remember what the man did? He walked, and he leapt, 
and he praised God. Remember, somebody at the time 
would have said, oh, it's undignified to leap in the temple precincts. 
The man would have rightly said, it's undignified not to. I've 
never walked. Not only am I going to walk, 
I'm going to leap. And all the while, I'm going 
to be praising God. It's like telling a man who just got his 
sight, oh, don't enjoy red. Don't enjoy blue or a man who's 
just developed taste. Don't enjoy that mango. This 
man was lame. And Peter says, we're on trial 
today. We spent a night in jail for 
a good deed done to a helpless man. Is that where we've come 
to in the nation of Israel? when two men have to stand before 
71 to account for the healing of a lame man. Well, Peter knows 
and Peter plays and Peter is going to submit because he goes 
on. Notice, he says in verse 10, let it be known to you all 
and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ 
of Nazareth. So we see that Peter highlights 
the name behind it. He highlights the fact that Jesus 
is the reason why this particular lame man is healed. And notice 
verse 10, let it be known to you all 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 
stands here before you whole. And that's a pesky sort of thing 
for the Sanhedrin. They can't deny it. We don't 
think you healed this man. They all knew the man. Remember, 
he was 40 years old, according to the end of the narrative. 
He had been for his whole adult life at the gate called Beautiful, 
begging alms from persons that were going to the temple. They 
can't deny it. And Peter says, this man. But 
I think when he declares the name of Jesus, he wants to highlight 
two aspects concerning Jesus' power. First, Jesus' power is 
seen. In other words, if you want to 
know the source of authority, you want to know the name, you 
want to know how this power issued forth, well, it's right here 
in Exhibit A. It's right here in this man. 
That's exhibit A concerning Christ's power with reference to the healing 
of this particular man. Again, you see the wisdom of 
Peter. Now, was this man arrested along 
with Peter and John or was he summoned as a witness? Probably 
wasn't summoned as a witness because he certainly wouldn't 
have been a witness favorable to the prosecution. He's the 
kind of witness you want to fall down a well prior to him showing 
up on trial. He is a witness that testifies 
that everything this Sanhedrin is alleging is false and bad. So Peter says, we're here because 
of the name of Jesus that healed this good friend of mine. But 
the second element in terms of Christ's power, the authority 
behind the healing of this man, is this Christ whom you crucified, 
God raised up. You see, Peter does that in chapter 
2 twice, and he does it in chapter 3 in terms of seeking to convict 
the sinners of their sins in his preaching at Solomon's porch. 
And the result is, is that the power of Christ, the power behind 
this name, or the name rather, behind this healing, is one whom 
you crucified, but God raised up. So there's a contrast between 
the religious opposition to our Lord and God's favor toward our 
Lord. But it does display His power, 
doesn't it? A man that is raised from the dead, a man who is in 
the bosom of the Father, a man who is what Jesus was in His 
earthly ministry and what He continues to be now in His current 
session. That's power, and Peter wants 
the Sanhedrin to know it. In fact, as one reads through 
the narrative, one might, I think, judiciously wonder, who's really 
on trial here? Is it Peter and John, or is it 
the Sanhedrin? It's like later on in Acts chapter 
7, when they haul Stephen before the religious leaders, and they 
want to know why he did what he did, and they want to know 
everything, and he testifies to them, and he speaks to them, 
and he preaches to them, and he then says that you are stiff-necked 
and uncircumcised in heart, you always resist the Holy Spirit. Again, one wonders, it's not 
Stephen that's on trial. It's his persecutors. So I think 
that's a good thing for us to remember. And I know this is 
gonna sound proud, and if you're an atheist this morning and you've 
stumbled in here, I'm not sorry, but we're actually right. Years and years ago, we had a 
young fellow in our church, and he went to Simon Fraser University. 
On clubs day, we would go there, and we'd pass out literature, 
and we'd seek to challenge the prevailing thoughts and sort 
of ideas that were going on in that university setting. And 
one time, we had a sign, and it said, this is a marketplace 
of worldviews, and we have the truth. Oh, that's arrogant. That's proud. That's what the other Christian 
groups told us. But it's right. Now looking back, 
it was arrogant and proud. I'm not gonna say that's necessarily 
the always way to do things, but there's a blessed bit later 
on in the book of Acts. Paul is standing before Festus, 
Felix. And one of them says, much learning 
is driving you mad. In other words, Paul, you've 
lost it. You're off the reservation. What once was true of you, you're 
gone. Remember, Paul was trained under 
Gamaliel. Paul was a Pharisee. Paul was a man who had a religious 
pedigree that was second to none, according to Philippians 3. But 
in this instance, Paul, you're done. It's gone. What's Paul 
saying? Well, I know that may appear 
to you He says, I'm not mad, most noble Festus, but I speak 
the words of truth and reason. You see, brethren, when all is 
said and done, we are right. I know we feel apologetic. Now, 
apologetics is a good thing. We want to defend the faith. 
But somehow apologetics has gone through the washing machine, 
and today it means a feeble and weak, I'm sorry. That's not what 
apologia in the New Testament means. It's not a weak and feeble, 
I'm sorry that I'm a Christian. It is a defense of the faith. 
It is a testimony concerning the power of Jesus Christ. And 
Peter uses the opportunity to highlight God's power with reference 
to Christ, the one they crucified, God raised him up. It's that 
one God raised up that is responsible for this man standing here before 
you today. So that power is seen in the 
healing of the man, but the power is seen in the very fact of Christ. The very fact that the one that 
you crucified is now sitting in throne at the right hand of 
the Father on high. It's a beautiful and a blessed 
and a wonderful thing that he does here. And then notice, we 
see the prophetic witness to the name. And here again, he 
follows his master. Last week, we should have looked 
at this material. It would have gone a lot better with our reading 
in Luke chapter 20, but it wasn't so long ago that I can't refresh 
your mind. Jesus uses this particular text in the same way in his own 
ministry. Notice what Peter does in verse 
11. He says, this is the stone which was rejected by you builders, 
which has become the chief cornerstone. We just read this at the outset 
of worship. It's a messianic song. In other 
words, it testifies concerning Jesus. Christ understands it 
that way. Christ invokes it in the end 
of the parable of the vineyard. So Jesus tells the parable of 
the vineyard, which is a history of Israel, how it culminates 
in their rejection of the Messiah, the son sent by the owner of 
the vineyard, how they mock him, they crucify him, they scourge 
him, they throw him off. And Jesus then summarizes by 
citing Psalm 118.22. And it's what Peter does here 
as well. This is the stone which was rejected 
by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone. Now, the 
original context of the psalm is unique. Because while Jesus 
is the subject matter and Jesus is the anti type there is a type 
and it's King David And most likely, the David who penned 
Psalm 118 was the rejected king that would be the chief cornerstone 
that would bring devastation upon the enemies of God. Now, 
in the original Psalm, the opponents of King David of Israel were 
probably the nations surrounding Israel. So you have to appreciate 
now, David is the type, has this experience in terms of being 
the rejected king of Israel by the nations around them. Now, 
Jesus is the anti-type. He is the fulfillment. He is 
the subject matter of David's psalm. Christ is the rejected 
king, not by the heathens around, but by those in his own nation. In a terrible twist that is very 
ironic, it is the Jewish leadership that has assumed the posture 
of the enemy of God. See, never forget that's going 
on in the book of Acts. I've said it probably five times 
now. By the end of our study in the 
book of Acts, I'll probably have said it a lot more than that. 
One of the other designs or themes or things we ought to appreciate 
when we finish Acts is this. The apostles got the Old Testament 
right. The Jews did not. Again, that's 
probably very offensive. If somebody is here and they're 
committed to Judaism, they'll say, wait a minute, you're wrong. 
If you do not yield an interpretation wherein Jesus Christ of Nazareth 
is the yea and amen of all the promises of God, then you have 
failed in your understanding of the Old Testament. That sounds 
like a bold and brash statement, but that's exactly what Jesus 
says. You search the scriptures for in them, you think that you 
have eternal life, but these are they which testify of me. Not some undefined nebulous possible 
Messiah to come. What does Jesus say to the Jewish 
opposition in John chapter eight? Abraham rejoiced to see what? 
My day. Not just, and this is a rebuke 
to us. We have this idea of some nebulous, 
undefined, fuzzy concept of Messiah. Abraham rejoiced to see my day. How much did Abraham know? I 
don't know. But when he tells Isaac, the 
Lord will provide. He understands something of substitutionary 
atonement, probably better than a lot of the church does today. 
When he sees that ram caught in the thicket, he knows that 
God has provided. You see, the Old Testament saints 
weren't looking forward to a nebulous, undefined, sort of realizable 
Messiah. They were looking forward to 
Jesus of Nazareth. That's what the scriptures testify. So the 
Jewish interpretation, now notice I'm not an anti-Semite saying 
that the Jewish people, they're wrong. Pretty common today, as 
long as somebody's a monotheist, then everything's okay. No, it's 
not. Muslims are wrong and Jews are 
wrong, even though they're monotheists. Christians are right. Not everyone, 
and not to the same degree to be sure, but the point is the 
apostles got the scripture right. And here specifically, Peter 
invokes Psalm 118.22 to highlight that what is occurring right 
before their eyes is according to the Word of God. He does this 
similarly back in chapter 3. Notice in verse 17. Yet now, 
brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also 
your rulers, but those things which God foretold by the mouth 
of all his prophets that the Christ would suffer, he has thus 
fulfilled. What does Peter do there? You 
in your ignorance rejected Jesus. You in your ignorance rejecting 
Jesus is actually the means by which God fulfills the plan. 
And Peter says essentially the same thing right here. He says, 
your opposition to me and your opposition to my master is something 
that King David penned about in Psalm 118, 22. But again, 
it's very intriguing that Jesus uses the same Psalm in the same 
way. Now, if we look at the particular 
text, the stone which was rejected by you builders, the religious 
leadership in Israel was with the builders. They were tasked 
with building the temple, not through architecture and carpentry. There were certainly people that 
did that. But in terms of temple building, it was the religious 
leadership of Israel that would be the builders. They would be 
the ones contributing to the maturation, to the growth, to 
the peopling of the temple of God. That is their charge. And 
then Peter says, as Jesus had said before them, the very stone 
which was rejected by you builders, that's become the chief cornerstone. 
In other words, you builders walked by the most beautiful 
stone that was ever crafted or ever was made by God. Imagine 
that. You're at a job site, and you're 
in charge. And you walk by the best thing that could ever be 
had with reference to that building. And you just neglect it. And 
somebody on the side's going, why don't we use that one? It 
seems perfect. Well, no, no, no. Why don't we 
fit that in as the chief cornerstone? Because it'll butt up both ends 
just right. It'll provide the stability. It'll provide the 
very structural support of everything we need. And the builders say, 
no. No, we're going to find the worst, and we're going to throw 
it together. That's the essence of the psalm. You builders, you 
had opportunity. You builders should have interpreted 
the scripture properly. You builders shouldn't have walked 
by that cornerstone. You builders shouldn't have rejected 
him. Doesn't John announce his gospel this way, that Jesus came 
to his own in his own what? They received him not. He was 
a man of sorrows. He was acquainted with grief. 
He was despised. He was forsaken. Instead of being 
praised by Jerusalem's leadership, they led the charge in his crucifixion. You see, he's the chief cornerstone. 
You guys missed it. But then notice what Peter goes 
on to say. You've seen the declaration of 
the name. We see the prophetic witness to the name, but notice 
the exclusivity of the name in verse 12. Now, Peter is certainly 
indicting and upbraiding, excuse me, these religious leaders for 
their culpability with reference to the rejection of Messiah. 
But we see in verse 12, that Peter's holding out hope to these 
guys. You see, Peter does that with Jerusalem's sinners. Sometimes 
people get this idea of Christianity. They say, well, you know, it's 
for people that dress up on Sunday. It's for, you know, people that 
live relatively, you know, nice lives. It's kind of a middle 
class thing. Some people think it's a white 
thing. You know, Christianity is for a certain type of demographic. 
It's all about demographics. I don't fit that demographic, 
you see, so I can't become a Christian. See, I don't know where all that 
came, but the Bible certainly doesn't tell us that. And then 
there's that whack of people that say, well, you know, you've 
got to clean yourself up before you can become a Christian. You've 
got to go buy a suit. You've got to drive a minivan. 
You have to wash it on Saturday before you come. You have to 
clean up. But even more than that, you 
gotta get better at your life. You can't do this, or you can't 
do that, or you can't go here, or you can't watch that. You 
gotta get rid of all that before you can come to this Jesus. Again, 
where that came from, I'll never know. See, Peter is standing 
before Jerusalem sinners. Jerusalem sinners were they that 
were specifically responsible for the murder of Jesus Christ. 
Now, there is a sense where our sins sent Jesus to the cross. There is a sense, to be sure, 
where what you've done in your life, if you're a believer in 
Jesus Christ, contributed to that act of murder and aggression. 
But there's also a sense wherein this generation of unbelievers 
that would ultimately reap the destruction of their fair city 
and temple did exceed, to some degree, the wickedness of others. Again, that can be taken, oh, 
he's an anti-Semite. I'm not an anti-Semite. But I 
am telling you that it was them that said, away with him, away 
with him, crucify him. See, anti-Semitism would be to 
say, based on that, no gospel for you. That'd be anti-Semitism. It'd be anti-Semitism as well 
for us to hold the death, the crucifixion of Jesus against 
a modern Jew. We certainly don't like that 
when people do that about us, do we? You're guilty for the 
sins of your grandfather's grandfather. What do you mean? That just doesn't 
seem to be kind. Well, we can't do that to the 
modern Jew. I would suggest that to properly 
understand the Olivet Discourse really does free one from that, 
but that's a whole another thing. So if we said, this is a particularly 
guilty generation, so we're not going to preach the gospel to 
them, that would seem to indicate that we're targeting them. You 
see, Peter doesn't do that. Peter preaches the gospel to 
them. You Jerusalem sinners, repent and let every one of you 
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. 
Acts chapter 2. Where's Peter in Acts 3 when 
he testifies after the healing of the lame man? He's in Solomon's 
porch. That's the Jewish temple. And 
what does he tell them? To you first, God sent his son, 
to turn every one of you away from your iniquities. You see, 
antisemitism is no gospel. Peter is preaching the gospel, 
and I suggest he is doing that in verse 12. The religious leaders 
put him in jail over the night. The religious leaders are certainly 
opposed to him and his master, and yet Peter says this in verse 
12. He says, nor is there salvation 
in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given 
among men by which we must be saved. So we see here that the 
whole scope, the whole direction, the whole thrust of this healing 
of the lame man has as its focus the salvation of man from sin. 
It's not just the physicality of this man coming to be able 
to walk and leap and praise, but rather, as Alexander says, 
he gives them solemnly to understand that the mistake which they, 
as builders of the temple, had committed was not merely theoretical 
or exegetical, but practical, and if persevered in, fatal to 
themselves and others. See, Peter does not make the 
point in verse 12 that I have made on several occasions. My 
point has been the apostles get the Old Testament right, the 
Jewish leaders got the Old Testament wrong. Peter doesn't spike the 
ball in verse 12 and say, I'm right and you're wrong. He says 
it in verse 11 when he pulls Psalm 118.22 as the theological 
interpretation of what's happening right there in the Sanhedrin. 
But instead of that, he doesn't say, your problem is theoretical, 
your problem is exegetical, your problem is you didn't comport 
with who Jesus is. That's not what he's saying. 
He's saying to them, you got big problems, bigger problems 
than exegetical, bigger problems than theoretical, bigger problems 
than covenantal. Your biggest problem is that 
you're unsaved and there is no salvation apart from Christ. So in essence, what Peter is 
saying to these men at this time forsake your wickedness and come. Notice the way he couches or 
the way that he frames this. He says, nor is there salvation 
in any other. For there is no other name under 
heaven given among men by which we must be saved. As I said, 
the name referred to in 221, 238, 316, 410 is the only name under heaven 
given among men by which we must be saved. Now this highlights 
Something that Christians are accused of as well. You're, you 
know, you're just not sympathetic to other sort of religions. No, 
we're not. God wasn't to Baalism. Why are 
we to any competitors to Christianity? I'm not saying we do harmful 
things or we bond their houses. But brethren, in a realm that 
is pluralistic to the core, may we be found like they'll later 
be found in Acts 17, when they're persecuted in Thessalonica. Why? Because they preached another 
king, Jesus. See, pluralism was the order 
of the day in the Roman Empire. You could have a whole pantheon 
of gods. In fact, that's what pantheon 
means. It means a whole bunch of gods. All the gods that you 
could want, you could have, except the one who forbid the others. See, God's that way. You'll have 
no other gods before me. The God of the Bible isn't a 
competitor. He brooks no rivals. He doesn't 
say, you can have a little bit of me and a little bit of Baal. 
No, he says, I am the Lord your God. I'm the one who brought 
you out of the house of bondage. Therefore, you shall have no 
other gods before me. So it's very intriguing. In the 
empire, you could have a whole degree of gods, except if you 
had the God that actually condemned the other gods. Do you know that 
Christians were the atheists in the Roman Empire? Christians 
were the atheists in the Roman Empire, because they denied the 
Pantheon, but they subscribed to the one true and living God, 
who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You see, brethren, that 
is the kind of way that the Christian church responds to religious 
pluralism. Again, please don't go home and 
say, Butler's advocating violence on other types of religion. No! 
Live and let live in that regard. But don't say they're all right. Don't say, well, that's just 
another way. Don't say that, oh, yeah, there's 
truth in all the religions. There's truth in atheism. That 
doesn't mean it's valid for salvation. And by that, I mean atheists 
typically get 2 plus 2 equals 4, right? See, there's truth 
in atheism, which they, by the way, strip from and rip from 
God's world. They're living, as Bonson said, 
with borrowed capital. They're denying the very source 
of truth, all the while they're balancing their checkbook. How 
do you account for that? How in the world can you legitimately 
do that? But all that to say, brethren, 
Peter doesn't shrink back from declaring the truth of Christ. 
And notice the particulars involved, the fact that salvation is in 
Christ alone. This is everywhere emphasized 
in the New Testament. Jesus said, I am the way, the 
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through 
me. That's pretty difficult to mess up in terms of interpretation, 
isn't it? You can't kind of imagine a group 
of people. I mean, I guess a government committee could mess it up, but 
for most people, they can't mess up John 14, 6. It's so offensive 
because it's so clear. I am the way, the truth, and 
the life. No man comes to the Father except through me. Isn't 
that as clear as anything could possibly be? You've ever met 
those people? Oh, the Bible is just so hard to understand. What 
about John 14, 6? Oh, I understand that, and I 
hate it. It's really intriguing the way 
that goes. But also, various other texts, Romans 1, 16 and 
17, I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it, and in the context, or 
in the sort of grammatical syntax, for it alone is the power of 
God unto salvation. For everyone who believes, to 
the Jew first, also to the Greek, for in it alone, the gospel, 
the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. That as 
it is written, the just shall live by faith. We see this emphasis 
in 1 Corinthians 1, the message of the cross that's true. It's 
the message of the cross, which the world considers foolishness, 
which is the wisdom of God most high. Galatians 1, 6-10, what 
did the apostle Paul say? If I, or if we rather, or an 
angel out of heaven preaches to you another gospel, which 
we did not preach before, let him be damned to hell. Strange 
language if there's a few approaches to get to Jesus. Strange language 
if all roads lead to heaven. All roads do not lead to heaven. 
There is one road, and it's Jesus. The way, the truth, and the life. 
No one comes to the Father except through Him. And that's what 
Peter emphasizes. Nor is there salvation in any 
other, for there is no other name under heaven. Now, I think 
that means he's no localized deity. He's no ghetto deity. He's no mascot of a particular 
tribe. Wherever under heaven is, there's 
no other name than Jesus. See, that's why I say this idea 
that Christianity is for middle-class white people or Christianity 
is for this ethnic group or that demographic. It has no truth 
in scripture. If we are giving the lie or giving 
validation to that lie, then we need to stop. Because wherever 
under heaven is, which is the entirety of the globe, there's 
no other name. So men from every tribe, tongue, 
people, and nation, the way to God Almighty is through Jesus 
Christ. And then one other observation 
before we conclude, notice what Peter says, nor is there salvation 
in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given 
among men by which we must be saved. I don't think that given 
is accidental. Remember, we're not dealing with 
just recite a name, Hocus Pocus, Apple, Jesus. No, no, it's not 
the name. It's the power. It's the authority. 
It's the person. It's the work. And that power, 
that authority, that person, that work has been given by God. You see, Isaiah the prophet recognized 
this. In Isaiah chapter nine, a son 
is what? He's given to us. We see this 
in John 3, 16. God so loved the world that he 
what? That he gave his only begotten son. Brethren, that's not just 
describing trajectory that the father gave the son, so he comes 
from heaven to earth, but it underscores grace. Man couldn't 
achieve, man couldn't arrive, man couldn't ascend to heaven. 
If heaven is to reclaim guilty sinners, heaven must seek them 
out. Heaven must initiate. And that 
reflects God's pattern ever since the very beginning. Adam and 
Eve sin, what do they do? Do they run to God for salvation 
and for forgiveness? No, they run and they hide. Who 
comes to who in the garden? God. After the Tower of Babel, 
what do they do? They build this great tower. 
Why? So that they can make a name for themselves. God comes to 
Abram in chapter 12, Genesis. Get out of Ur, the Chaldeans. 
I'm going to make a great name from you. Now, that's ultimately 
realized in Jesus Christ. But you see, God comes. Heaven 
comes down, that beautiful old hymn. Heaven came down and glory 
filled my soul, filled my soul. If you've never sang that, find 
it and sing it. It's beautiful. Instead of saying 
it at the Bible tabernacle, it was almost as if heaven had come 
down and glory had filled our souls. It was great and glorious. You see, God comes. His name 
is given. I want to end here because I 
think there are those in this place that are not believers 
in Jesus Christ. And you need to understand that 
everything in the Bible argues for you to come. I know that 
there's some sort of emphases out there that say, no, don't 
come. God's great, God's glorious, 
but don't come. But everything in the Bible says 
God's great and God's glorious. You must come. Why do we do that? Oh yeah, he's great and he's 
glorious and he saves to the uttermost, but he doesn't want 
you to come to him. What do you mean he doesn't want you to come 
to him? Isn't that the purpose from Genesis to Revelation? Aren't 
you supposed to glean that when God comes to Adam and Eve? Aren't 
you supposed to surmise that when you come to see Genesis 
12 and God initiates with Abram this massive programmatic plan 
to save a great multitude that no man can number? Aren't you 
supposed to glean that when you watch the life and ministry of 
our Lord Jesus in his earthly sojourn, when he actually says 
over and over, not just once, but he says it over and over 
and over and over again. The Son of Man did not come to 
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. When he says that 
I didn't come, I came to seek and to save that which was lost. So why in the world we've got 
gospel, not really gospel, preaching out there that says God's gracious, 
God's glorious, God's wonderful, God can save, but don't come 
to Him. It's pathetic. Oh, everyone who 
thirsts, the prophet Isaiah says, let him come. You who have no 
money, buy. Buy water that refreshes and 
exhilarates. Buy milk that sustains and puts 
meat on your bones. And buy wine that exhilarates. And again, this is without money. 
This is without price. The prophet even speaks to the 
people at that time and says, why do you spend your money on 
that which does not satisfy? Come to me, the Father says. Come to me through the covenant 
mercies of David, which is the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to me 
and your soul will find abundance. And then lo and behold, we get 
to the life and the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus. And he uses 
that very language. He says, I came that they might 
have life and that they might have it. What? They might have 
it abundantly. If you are operating under the 
false idea that God is great, God is gracious, God is good, 
but you can't come to him, may I just encourage you to go to 
scripture? Because that word says, he's 
great, he's good, he's gracious, and he everywhere tells you to 
come. Why would you sit? Why would 
you resist? Why would you reject? You say, 
well, Butler, what does it mean to come? Verse four tells us, 
everyone who heard the word did what? Believed. That's it? That's all? That's a bit offensive too, isn't 
it? You're gonna go to heaven because you believed on Jesus? 
Amen, brother. That's why I'm going to heaven. 
It ain't no virtue in me. There's no goodness in me. You 
follow me around in the day and you're gonna go, that guy's gonna 
go to heaven? You ever thought that's gonna be the first initial 
phase in heaven? We're all gonna be going, you're 
here? You're here? Wow, you're here? I didn't think you'd be 
here. How many people are going to 
say that to you? You say, well, thanks. You won't say, well, 
thanks. You'll say, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ. You see, that's the emphasis 
of scripture. That's the reason you have scripture, 
is so that you'll hear it and that you'll believe it. And notice, 
they heard, they believed, and that day about 5,000 were added. The number of the men came to 
be 5,000. You mean there's not works plus? There's not a whole sort of class? 
There's not a whole sort of rigmarole? I can just look to Christ and 
live? Yes. Remember when Moses lifted 
up that serpent in the wilderness and all those persons had been 
bitten by those fiery serpents and they were dying? They never 
said to Moses, do we have to go to class first? Do we have 
to go do works first? Do we have to go run around first 
to show up? Just look and live. And yet today 
we tell sinners to look and live. Well, do I have to go do works 
first? Do I have to pay money first? Do I have to join a church 
first? Do I have to buy a Bible? You have to look and live. Everything 
the Bible says is true. Saving faith principally looks 
to what Christ has done. Peter outlines that several times 
in Acts 2, 3, and 4. He lived a perfect life of obedience 
to his Father. He died as a sacrifice on the 
cross. He was raised by the Father on 
the third day. He is now seated at the right 
hand of the Father where he says, come. And all those who by grace 
come will be saved. Isn't that beautiful? Next time 
somebody says, oh, you Christian, you're going to heaven because 
of what Jesus did. Yes. That's the very reason. Brethren, are we silent about 
this? Are we saying to people, at least in our outward way, 
oh, I'm going to heaven because I know how to be holy, or I'm 
going to heaven because I go to the right church, or I go 
to heaven because I read the right confession, or I read the... 
We're going to heaven because of grace. Isn't grace amazing? We sing it more often than not. Amazing grace, how sweet the 
sound. But sometimes it doesn't always seem like it's that amazing. 
Because if it was that amazing, we'd probably be a lot happier 
lot most of our lives as we pondered that reality, that God is in 
Christ reconciling this world to himself. Well, let us close 
in a word of prayer. Father, thank you for the scriptures. 
Thank you for the consistent testimony concerning Jesus Christ. 
Thank you for the boldness and the courage we see manifested 
here by the apostles, empowered by the Spirit. May you give us 
grace to be encouraged by these things. May you give grace to 
sinners to believe these things. And may it be the case that all 
over the world today, the church would be added to. not because 
of every head bowed or eye closed, but because of a sovereign God 
blessing the preaching of the gospel and sinners believing. 
We ask that you would go with us now, and we pray this through 
Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. Well, let's conclude our 
service this morning by standing and singing together