Acts 4:7
Jesus had promised power for witnessing by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had come at Pentecost in power and many were saved. Now, that power by the Holy Spirit--through faith in the name of Jesus--had healed a man, and many more believed. This caused problems for the religious leaders, and they arrested Peter and John.
There was something about Peter and John. The common folk looked to them as somehow powerful in their own right (3:12). But these high-brow elitists knew that such lower class, uneducated lay-folk as Peter and John could not have such ability. You can sense their tone in our passage...By what power or by what name did YOU do this?
They had to admit that something mighty had happened. Verse 16 says they could not dispute the fact that a notable sign had taken place. Sign in this sense meant some visibly awesome display that points to something else...evidence that something big was going on. There was no way that these lowly Galileans could conjur up anything of spiritual significance (vs. 13). By what name did YOU do this?
Of course, Peter and John would never have taken credit for what had happened. They knew they had nothing of worth. They were quick to stand in front of the same folks that had crucified Jesus and simply say 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.
In our attempt to act like we've got it all together, let us remember that we are nothing more than servants of the King. Our role is not to play the spiritual authority, but merely to proclaim the Spirit's presence through Jesus! Oh for the day when we each might stand before the critical how in the world can YOU do such and such? By what power and name do YOU live by, because we know YOU could never accomplish such heavenly things, and in such a moment, whether at work or school or play, proclaim that "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
