Online Bible Verses - Acts 4:10-12 Planting a tree
“then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:10-12
Christ had risen from the dead, and the fledgling church was being established. What church? Not a building, nor a specific organization, but a body of believers who would come into being. Kind of like a tree that had just been planted, growth would come a fast rate. At the same time, a little tree is very vulnerable in its infancy. As a result, God took measures to ensure its survival. Lots of amazing stuff recorded in the Book of Acts.
Peter is the orator here. A lame man had just been healed. Here in addition to numerous other places in scripture, Christ is called out as the Savior of the World, salvation for mankind coming via He.
According to what we read in the Bible, God took on flesh and came to earth. As per His timeline and purpose, He came via and into the nation of Israel. Could have come from somewhere else, which would have changed history. But the reason and end result and would have been the same. From the Gospels we are told Jesus was sent to the cross by his own people along with ruling powers in Rome. He knew from eternity past what His first visit to earth would entail, it was going to happen. In the physical sense, He was crucified by those who were alive at the time.
In actuality however, I am, in a way, equally culpable for Jesus being placed on the cross. He went there, in part, for me. I suppose if I had been the only sinner, He still would have. As a believer in Christ, I find myself in a peculiar state of hypocrisy. For the non-believer, the whole discussion is irrelevant. What may be wrong with him/her is not accepted as such, and thus becomes an apparent non-issue. Yet as a believer, I must grapple with the fact that I, at times, still act in opposition to a God I claim to worship. A preacher who is chronically unable to practice what he preaches.
Today’s lesson for me then, is a humbling one. Which is ok. I need to be humbled on a regular basis.
