Acts: An Important Point, Pt. 1: The Name
In Exodus 23:21 we have a foreshadowing of Christ Jesus bringing us to His Father—He, His presence with us, is the Promised Land:
Behold, I am sending an angel before you to protect you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to his voice; do not defy him, for he will not forgive rebellion, since My Name is in him.
But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes. For My angel will go before you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I will annihilate them.
You must not bow down to their gods or serve them or follow their practices. Instead, you are to demolish them and smash their sacred stones to pieces.
So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take away sickness from among you. No woman in your land will miscarry or be barren; I will fulfill the number of your days.
If we stand back and enjoy the panoramic view of time and place, we can hear these words build over the generations to Jesus.
David sang: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” Psalm 23:1-3
And then Isaiah prophesied: “Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” See, Isaiah 40:11
“I am the way,” Jesus said, and in another place he said, “Follow me,” and in yet another he said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
God affirmed Jesus not only through the mouth of His servant David: “I will proclaim the LORD's decree: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father.”’ Psalm 2:7. But God Himself spoke: And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17.
And also this direct reference to Exodus 23, with God weaving all together: A voice from the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!":
We have a connection between Exodus 23 and the Gospel record; but what about the name in the Book of Acts? Let’s look:
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:21
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38
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!” Acts 3:6
And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. Acts 3:16
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
The religious leaders understood the significance, and potential impact, and to them the threat, of the name:
And when [the religious leaders] had set [Peter and John] in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Acts 4:7
And the religious leaders counsel together, “But in order that [the Name of Jesus] may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” See Acts 4:17
So they called Peter and John and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Acts 4:18
But, in God’s settled plans and purposes, there is no other name we can call upon
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. Acts 4:12
So we can see how the disciples understood Jesus to be the Son and a Servant (“Here is My servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.”) (Matthew 12:18 quoting Isaiah 42:1). How else did they know him? And who did they understand Jesus to be?
1. the Lord (1:6, 21): See, Psalm 110:1 (“The LORD says to my lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.")
2. the Christ/Messiah/Annointed One (2:31, 36): See, Isaiah 61:1 (”The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners . . . .”)
3. the Holy and Righteous One (3:14): See, Isaiah 24:15-16 (“Therefore glorify the LORD in the east. Extol the name of the LORD, the God of Israel in the islands of the sea. From the ends of the earth we hear singing , “Glory to the Righteous One.”)
4. the Author of life (3:15): See, Proverbs 8 (“The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; before the mountains were settled in place, before the hills, I was given birth, before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth. I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountains of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.”)
5. the cornerstone (4:11): See, Isaiah 28:16 (“So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.”)
6. the holy servant (4:20): See, Isaiah 42:1 (“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.”)
7. the Prince and Savior (5:31): See, Isaiah 9:6 (“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”) and Isaiah 43:11 (“I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior.”).
8. the Righteous One (7:52): See, Proverbs 21:12 (“The Righteous One takes note of the house of the wicked and brings the wicked to ruin.”)
9. the Son of Man (7:56): See, Daniel 7:13-14 (““In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. he was given authority,glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”)
And so, what do we say about all this? The writer of Hebrews offers us an excellent summary to consider:
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Hebrews 1:1:1-4.
How do we relate to him and his name? Certainly, we must call upon his name to be saved; anything else? We must endure patiently and bear up for his name’s sake, and not grow weary(Revelation 2:3). We must hold fast his name, and not deny his faith, (Revelation 2:13) or deny his name (Revelation 3:8). And at the end of that patient endurance we have this blessed promise:
The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. Revelation 3:12.
And until that promise is complete, let us praise the name of the Lord: Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forevermore. From the rising to the setting of the sun, the name of the LORD is praised. Psalm 113:1-3.
