Peter and John were preaching to the people about Jesus. Many in the crowd heard the word and believed. More than five thousand men trusted the gospel message that Jesus was the Messiah and that he had risen from the dead.

But the same preaching that blessed some, annoyed others. The religious leaders arrested Peter and John and put them in jail for speaking about Jesus.

The next day, the rulers and elders and scribes and priests gathered together in Jerusalem. They did not want anyone hearing about this Jesus of Nazareth. They didn’t believe he was the Snake Crusher (which he was), so they tried to crush those who spoke about him (which was not going to work). The high priest and all the leaders summoned Peter and John to stand before them.

“By what power,” they asked, “or by what name did you heal that beggar?” This was not an honest question. It was an attacking question. They wanted to put a stop to all this talk about Jesus.

But Peter and John were filled with the Spirit and would not be bullied. “Rulers of the people,” Peter began, “we are here because of a good deed done to a crippled man. You want to know how this man was healed. Well, we’ll tell you, and we’ll tell all the people of Israel.”

Peter was already giving a good speech, but he was just warming up.

“It was by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth that the man who could not walk is now standing before you. That’s right, the Jesus you killed on the cross. The Jesus God raised from the dead. The Jesus that the prophets said would be like a rejected stone. The Jesus who is the cornerstone of true faith. This is the name by which the beggar was healed.”

Peter still had one more thing to say, just to make his point crystal clear.

“And there is salvation in no one else. There is no other name anywhere spoken by anyone by which we can be saved.”

Peter and John lived in a day where people believed in lots of different things. Some people worshiped one God. Most people worshiped many gods. A few people believed Jesus was the Son of God. A lot of people thought that was a terrible thing to believe. And most people on the planet had never heard of Jesus. But Peter was sure of what he believed, and what he believed was right. Jesus is the long-awaited Prophet. He is the true Priest. He is the real King.

And he is the only way to be saved from our sins.