Jesus, Savior of Both Jews and Gentiles

Paul was not alone in emphasizing Christ’s sole saving significance. Although Luke, to whom the books of Luke and Acts are both attributed, probably wrote slightly later than Paul, he anchors belief in Jesus as savior to the dawn of the apostolic era. The most notable example is the clarion affirmation of Peter and John that “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). The importance of this declaration cannot be appreciated without considering the context in which it was delivered. The setting is the apostles’ defense before the Jewish Sanhedrin of their preaching in the name of Jesus. The Sanhedrin was the influential council of the Jews, dedicated to preserving the power and name of the Jewish faith in the face of Roman political, cultural, and military dominance in Palestine. Sensitive to issues of power and authority, the Sanhedrin was the zealous guardian of both the Jewish priesthood and temple. The Sanhedrin was an intimidating venue in which to argue that an upstart Galilean prophet, who had been executed by Rome at the instigation of the Sanhedrin itself, was the savior of the world. Before this powerful council Peter and John neither muzzled nor qualified their proclamation, however. They declared unambiguously (“Let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel,” 4:10) that although the Sanhedrin crucified Jesus, God raised him from the dead and established him, the one rejected by the authorities, as the capstone (4:10–11). The Greek words kephalē gōnia can mean either “cornerstone” or “capstone” (or perhaps “keystone”). It is a term of determinative connotation, meaning “first,” “uppermost,” or “end.” The image comes from Psalm 118:22, and occurs in the New Testament only with reference to Jesus (Mark 12:10; Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7). It includes the senses of both creation and consummation, singularity and indispensability. The assertion that the power and authority of salvation was located neither in Judaism nor Rome, but unequivocally in Jesus, was a matter of the utmost conviction on the part of the apostles.

The importance of Acts 4:12 is further signified by the meaning of “no other name.” In the ancient world, a name was not merely what someone was called, but rather the identification of the being or essence of its bearer. To the Jewish people, an idol could not properly have a “name,” because it has no being to be represented by the name (Isaiah 44:9–21). The “name” to which the apostles refer does not signify an event, but a person, in whom the authority and power of God was active for salvation. The saving activity of God was and is expressed in the name of Jesus Christ. The name of Jesus is thereby linked in the closest possible way to the name of God. “No other name” does not refer to a second name besides the name of God, but to the unity of God with Jesus Christ, signifying one name, one nature, one saving activity. The shared nature of God and Jesus is signaled in the most striking way by the custom of the early church to pray to God in the name of Jesus. When the apostles, as recorded by Luke, declared that “there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved,” they meant that the name of Jesus Christ was the means through whom God’s salvation is effected, and that apart from the name of Jesus Christ there is no salvation.

Edwards, J. R. (2005). Is Jesus the only Savior? (pp. 105–106). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.