Who is your faith in?
Acts 3:11-16
11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John.
12 Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14 You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact!
16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.
In this passage, people saw a lame man healed and immediately rushed to Peter and John. The implication is that the crowd were going to worship the apostles. We can also be tempted to have faith in a person who has a particular ministry, or in an object such as oil or water. Peter and John rightly redirected the people’s attention to Jesus.
Peter seized the opportunity to tell the crowd about Jesus and challenge them. He calls Jesus the righteous one, the holy one, the author of life and the one glorified by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Peter is clearly showing the crowd Jesus’ pre-eminence, holiness and power before stating their role in his death. I don’t know about you, but I think I would feel convicted!
They also emphasise faith in Jesus’ name. I don’t think Peter is talking about a magical formula, where saying “in Jesus’ name” guarantees the outcome we desire. Rather, I think praying in Jesus’ name is about relationship with him, acknowledging his sovereignty and power, and his identity as the Son of God.
For me, knowing that Jesus is the one who brought me life, Jesus is the one who brought me salvation, Jesus is all-powerful, and he is interceding for me -that is what stirs me to faith.
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you that you – the author of life who has power over all things – are interceding for me. Thank you that I can trust you. Help me to pray with faith in you always. Amen
Written by Megan Cornell