Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. – Acts 4:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 8, 2017): Acts 4

During the old “The Lone Ranger” shows there always seemed to be that moment when the bad guys were caught and handed over to the proper authorities, and while they were locking the criminal up, The Lone Ranger and his faithful friend Tonto ride off into the sunset. It was usually at this point that someone asks the question that we had all been waiting for – “Who was that masked man?” The response to the question is usually something like, “I don’t rightly know his real name, but around these parts, he is known as The Lone Ranger.” The Lone Ranger decides to keep his identity a secret because his job has just begun and he has a lot of trails to follow. But that doesn’t change the fact that if you are looking for justice in his part of the fictional old west, that justice comes from the one called “The Lone Ranger,” whoever he might be.

As Peter speaks before the authorities, he makes a judgment that has come to characterize the belief of the Christian Church. We all need to be saved, the comment here is universal, and it includes everyone who is hearing Peter speak, as well as Peter and John themselves, and that the needed salvation can only come through the name of Jesus. Sometimes we forget both sides of the message. First, we all stand in need of being saved. The condition is universal, and it includes those inside of the faith as much as it does those outside. There is never a moment when we stand outside of that need to be saved. And, second, salvation always comes through Jesus.

However, sometimes we get hung up on the idea that a name saves us. Some mistakenly argue that there is power in the name, believing that the name is a charm which possesses magical powers. I have heard the argument that praying “in the name of Jesus” is like placing the correct signature at the bottom of a check. Somehow, in this kind of theology, the name of Jesus becomes like the word “abracadabra,” a magical incantation is spoken to make the magic real.

But what is intended by Peter’s words is not that the name of Jesus is magic, but that the person of Jesus is all important. We can call Jesus by any other name, and salvation is still only through him. Everyone who will be saved will be saved by Jesus. And if those who do not believe or do not know the name are saved, they will still be saved by the person of Jesus. Call him what you will or believe what you will, salvation only flows through him. I am convinced that Jesus reveals himself to people in times of stress and the only thing they can say is “who was that masked man?” We know who he is, and his name is Jesus.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Acts 5