Peter and John continued to preach about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and five thousand people believed in the Lord Jesus Christ through their message. When the religious leaders who rejected and crucified Jesus heard their message, they were greatly disturbed. They arrested Peter and John and put them in jail. The next day, the religious leaders interrogated them and asked, "By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?" Peter, filled or empowered by the Holy Spirit, told them it was in the name of Jesus, whom they rejected and crucified, that the crippled man was healed. Then Peter continued, saying, "There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under Heaven by which we must be saved."
The religious leaders who crucified Jesus thought that they had stopped the teaching of Jesus, but they were surprised that Jesus' disciples were continuing His teaching. They could not stop Jesus' teaching from spreading because there was only one name under Heaven by which anyone could be saved. Throughout history, many empires and nations tried to stop the gospel from spreading. Even to this day, there are nations where the Bible is illegal. However, they cannot stop Jesus' teaching from spreading because He is the God who is all-powerful. Jesus is the only Savior in this world, and it is only through faith in Him that a person can be saved. Despite the millions of religions and self-professing gods, Jesus is the only Savior, and there is no one else.
Let us be thankful today that we have Jesus in our lives. We are saved through our faith in Him. Millions of people are still spiritually lost because they do not know or reject Jesus as their Lord and Savior. As the Lord used Peter and John to spread the teaching of our Lord Jesus, God wants to use our lives also to tell others about Jesus so that those who will believe in the message of the gospel will be saved.
Ask yourself these questions for application: (Think through these questions carefully and meditate on them while answering them, and let the Spirit of God speaks to you). Is there any name other than Jesus that I can be saved? Why the religious leaders couldn't stop the teaching of Jesus from spreading? Am I willing to be used by God to tell others about my faith in Jesus?
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, thank you for opening my spiritual eyes to see that Jesus is the only Savior in the world. Please help me to be willing and courageous to tell others about my faith in Jesus. Lord Jesus, you are the only Savior that can save the world from sin and spiritual death, so please help me not to be intimidated about my faith but give me the boldness to share my faith. In your name Jesus, I pray. Amen.