“Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, ‘Look at us.’ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 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 3:1-6 ESV)
If there ever has been a time in the history of mankind that Christians need to know the power of Jesus’ Name, it's now. Never before has the forces of darkness been unleashed in such fury as now. We, as children of the King, as fellow warriors of the cross, need to know that we can use the Name of Jesus as a weapon against all enemy forces.
That is exactly what Simon Peter learned. Here was a man that had made repeated great promises to the Lord, but failed time and time again. On the night of Jesus' betrayal, Jesus told His disciples that there would be some of them that would forsake Him. Peter boldly stated. “Though all others leave you, I will never leave you.” You know the story, Jesus replied back to Peter and said, “Peter before the cock crows three times, you will deny Me three times.”
As Jesus was in Gethsemane praying that night, soldiers came and arrested Him. As they took Jesus away, the disciples were scattered and Peter followed far off. As Peter stopped to warm by the fire, suddenly a young girl confronted him. “You were with Jesus of Nazareth.” Peter denied it. Then another saw him and said, “This man was with Jesus. Again, Peter denied it. Then a soldier said, “Didn't I see you in the garden with Him?” This time, Peter cursed and swore his denial. Just then the cock crowed, and Peter went away and wept bitterly.
With that view of Peter in mind, it is very difficult to understand, in the natural, how 52 days later, on the day of Pentecost, that same man stood up and preached a sermon and 3000 souls were saved. Or how, 53 days later, he walked into the temple with John at his side and raised a man that had been lame since birth. It is amazing. What changed in Peter? What made the difference? He had seen Jesus crucified and saw Him after the resurrection. I am sure that this had a part in changing Peter's life. It is also true that he had waited in the upper room receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Each of these experiences, I am sure, played a major part in changing Peter. But with the healing of the lame man in Acts 3, Peter began to reveal to us what had made the difference in his life and understanding.
Peter and John went up to the temple, when they saw the lame man lying there at the temple gate. As they came walking up to him, he begged for money from them. Peter looked at the lame man and said to him, “Look on us.” He looked at them, expecting to receive some money. Then Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee, in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Peter gave the man what he had, and what he had was the Name of Jesus. As soon as Peter spoke, he took the man by the right hand and lifted him up and his legs were healed. Peter got a revelation of the mighty weapon of the Name of Jesus, and how when it is used as a weapon, it will bring victory.
When the lame man started leaping and walking and praising God, people started gathering around. So Peter stood up and started preaching. As he moved through his sermon, he revealed the key to the healing of the lame man. He said in Acts 3:16, “And His name through faith in His Name hath made this man strong, whom you see and know.” Peter makes it very clear how the lame man was healed; he was healed with the weapon of the Name of Jesus. Peter used the weapon of Jesus' Name when he looked at that man bound with a stronghold of lameness. He told the crowd in no uncertain terms that it was the Name of Jesus and faith in that Name that made the man well.
In another incident in Acts 4, Peter and John were called in by the high priest and asked by what power or by what name have you done this? Somehow, they knew that a name had brought healing to the lame man, and they wanted to know more about how and why. Peter and John were using that Name. Peter said the same thing to the high priest that he had told the crowd the day before. He said, “Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole.” Again, Peter says straight forth that it was the Name that brought healing to the man. He goes on and ends up preaching them a sermon, and in Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is their salvation in any other, for there is none other Name under heaven given among men, whereby you must be saved.”
When you see the awe and respect Peter had for the Name, you begin to realize that the Name of Jesus meant something very special to the early Church. They did everything for God through the Name. The Name had been delegated to them. They had received the power of eternity to use that Name, and so they went about healing the sick. They went about casting out demons. They went about raising the dead by the power of the Name.
John 14:12-13, Jesus says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
Oh, if only we of the modern Church could understand the power of that holy Name. If we could only understand that it is being given to us as a mighty weapon to fight with, then maybe we too could see the same things today. When Peter and John left the high priest, they went back to the other disciples and began to praise God for the mighty miracle that God had done. While there, they made a request of the Lord. They prayed, “Lord, grant unto Thy servants that with all boldness they may speak Your Word by stretching forth Thy hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done by the Name of Thy holy child Jesus.
What were they asking for? That signs and wonders be done in the Name of Jesus. Is that biblical? Yes! In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus told His disciples, “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My Name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” That was Jesus giving His power of attorney to His disciples to do these things in His Name. The Name of Jesus is the weapon that God has given to the Church, and the Church must use that Name with its authority and power if we are going to be victorious.
In Acts 5, it is recorded how revival spread throughout Jerusalem. It so concerned the religious leaders that they brought Peter and John back in for further questioning. Because they were still preaching in the Name of Jesus, they said to them, “Did we not straightway command you that you should not teach in this Name?” Because there was such authority and power in the Name, the religious leaders were severely disturbed. We have lost that kind of concept of the Name of Jesus in modern Christianity. I am afraid we do not realize that there is that kind of authority and power in the Name. It has become merely a signature to our prayers rather than something that excites us and empowers us.
We must once again learn how to use the Name of Jesus as a weapon against the forces of darkness. We must, lest we fall powerless into the clutches of the enemy, we must recognize the power in that Name. There is no question as to the main theme of Peter's sermons and countless other New Testament writers. They all were wrapped around the power of the Name of Jesus. It is impossible to get away from the conclusion after a close examination of the Book of Acts, that the early church was consumed with the power of the Name of Jesus. They took it everywhere they went, and they used it with signs and wonders following. The Name of Jesus is a mighty weapon. It is time we learn how to use it.