And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 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. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:5-12)
In this passage of scripture, the apostle Peter is being confronted concerning a miracle which took place the day before. [Acts 3] A man who was lame since his birth, was healed in dramatic fashion and the religious leaders wanted to know by what power, or what name this miracle was done. This was such a beautiful “Holy Ghost setup” if I may use those words, because of this great opportunity to glorify Jesus Christ. The very same Peter who denied Jesus Christ three times was now “filled with the Holy Ghost” and he held nothing back. Peter let it be known that the man was made whole [healed] by the name of Jesus Christ “whom ye crucified.” and whom “God raised from the dead. “
That was some bold preaching folks because Peter was speaking to the “elite” religious establishment here. Peter went on to say that Jesus Christ was the “stone set at nought of you builders” and he was obviously referring to the scriptures, which these rulers would have known:
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. (Psalms 118:22)
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. (Isaiah 28:16)
Peter then made it clear to all of them present, that salvation could not be found in any other name except the name of Jesus Christ. Please keep in mind that Peter was speaking to the highest Jewish religious leaders and rulers here, which included Caiaphas., the one who condemned Jesus Christ to death.
The one thing that we need to get out of this passage of scripture is that true salvation is found only in the person of Jesus Christ. This is as true today as it was back then. There is no plan “B” for anybody Jew or Gentile. That is the whole point of the scriptures that we have here. Peter was confronted by the Jewish religious rulers of his day, and he gave them the unadulterated truth straight out, without compromise. If Peter had said anything else, then he would have been distorting the truth of the gospel of Christ. Peter would have made a liar out of Jesus Christ who plainly declared the following words:
“… I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)
If a person is truly a born-again believer in Jesus Christ, then there can be no messing around with this scripture here. It is very plain, and it is very clear, and that is exactly how Jesus Christ wanted it to be. Before I came to know Jesus Christ, it did not make any sense to me that there could be only ONE way of salvation, but then the Spirit of God opened my eyes and there is no question at all now. After I was born again, I awoke to the truth that I had been living on the brink of hell without even realizing it. There is no other way of salvation for either Jewish or Gentile, according to Jesus and His disciples, and according to the word of God.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)