"Let it be known to all of you," he thundered, "and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead."The power is in the name. Resuscitation, restoration, renewal and rebirth all come from nothing other than a surge of power from the risen Jesus. "There is salvation in no one else," Peter boldly concluded, "for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved."
Peter makes clear in this passage, Jesus is the jolt that is needed to revive us spiritually and to get the Church moving again. The heart of his emphasis is the "name" of Jesus, the moniker that contains Christ's very selfhood, identity and power. Names have always been important in the Judeo-Christian tradition, going back to the link that God made between his name and his actions at the burning bush, where he revealed his holy name to be: "I AM WHO I AM."
