Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 4:12

"And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved." — Acts 4:12 (ASV)

The double use of the verb “to be saved” (GK 5392) to mean “restoration to health” physically and “preservation from eternal death” spiritually allows Peter to move easily from the healing of the cripple to the salvation of humankind and, therefore, from a defensive to an aggressive witness. And in his proclamation he uses two early Christological motifs.

The first is that of “the rejected stone,” which has become “the capstone” of the building. In Judaism there was a frequent wordplay between the words for “stone” (Heb. ’eben; GK 74) and “son” (Heb. berr, GK 1201)—rooted generally in the OT (cf. Exodus 28:9; Joshua 4:6–8, 20–21; Isaiah 54:11–13; et al.)—which attained messianic expression in the combination of the stone and the Son of Man imagery in Da 2:34–35 and 7:13–14. It was for this reason, evidently, that Jesus concluded his parable of the vineyard and the rejected son (Mark 12:1–12) with the quotation of Ps 118:22–23: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” Peter picks up this motif here in his quotation of Ps 118:22, also building on the associations of “stone” and “son.” While elsewhere in the NT (cf. Lk 20:18; Romans 9:33; 1 Corinthians 3:11; 1 Peter 2:4–8) the ideas of a “foundation stone” and a “stumbling stone” were based respectively on Isa 28:16 and 8:14, here the thought is of Jesus as the rejected stone that becomes the capstone and completes the edifice.

The second early Christological motif in Peter’s proclamation is “salvation” (GK 5401). In some Jewish documents of the first century, “God’s Salvation” and “Salvation” appear as designations of the expected Davidic Messiah. Luke has already stressed this motif in Zechariah’s hymn of praise (Lk 1:69, “a horn of salvation”), in Simeon’s prayer (2:30, “your salvation”), and in his comments on the ministry of John the Baptist (3:6, “God’s salvation”). Now in addressing the Sanhedrin, to whom such a messianic designation was doubtless well known, Peter proclaims, “Salvation is found in no one else [than in ‘Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead,’ (v.10)], for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (v.12). There is nothing of compromise or accommodation in Peter’s preaching. As this magnificent declaration shows, he was wholly committed to the uniqueness of Jesus as the only Savior. Peter and the other apostles never watered down the fact that apart from Jesus there is no salvation for anyone.