“They commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus.” Acts 5:40
Jesus Christ forms the centripetal point of the law—everything converges upon Him, and the centrifugal point of grace—everything emerges from Him. He is the theme of both testaments, the raison d’être to every dispensation of time, the reflection of every great personage and the substance of every great type. He is the arch-superlative. Jesus is the best, highest, greatest, biggest, farthest, widest, richest and finest.
Peter, James, John and the rest kept speaking Jesus when they were forbidden. They knew something the Jewish leaders refused to know. Jesus healed the sick, made the blind to see, unstopped deaf ears, cleansed the lepers—and they exalted his name! The name must not be hidden, silenced, muted, ignored, changed or compromised. It must be spoken, pronounced, invoked and expressed. God has a bias in favor of speaking. In the beginning, He spoke everything into existence. There is power in speaking something that has God’s attention. Jesus said, “Whoever shall say unto this mountain, be removed.” Mark 11:23. Some stare at their mountain but don’t say a word. Don’t stare and keep your mouth shut. Speak to your mountain! There is a name that explodes into the realm of men, angels and demons. Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” It is the name of Jesus! This name must be spoken. It is not enough to think the name. It is not enough to envision the name. God wants it spoken. If you need an anatomical explanation, read this:
“Words are produced when air expelled from the lungs passes through a series of structures within the chest and throat and passes out through the mouth. Air leaves the lungs and travels up the trachea into the larynx and reach the vocal cords. When a person speaks, the vocal cords tighten up. Air that passes through them begins to vibrate, producing sounds. The nature of that sound depends on factors such as volume and tightness. The moving air passes upward and out of the larynx. The epiglottis at the top of the larynx opens and closes for air to enter and leave the larynx. The tongue and lips then form the words. (Encyclopedia.com). In case you were wondering, that’s how you speak the name!
The Bible teaches us to speak the name, not just think or understand the name. We don’t just mean the name. We speak the name. We speak the name when we baptize, when we pray, and when we preach and teach. The name of Jesus contains the power and the authority, might and dominion. The name of Jesus that commands the attention of Satan. It means “Jehovah has become our Salvation!” Some say this is too simple. They want long, complicated explanations and treatises on various aspects of spiritual metamorphoses. They want answers in education, politics, activism, mind power, and high finance. They want us to analyze, scrutinize, categorize, pasteurize, downsize, revise, stylize, theorize—anything but baptize—the message of the name of Jesus. Let’s not fall prey to their desire to find something deeper, or more enlightening, or more palatable for the twenty-first century mind. No. Come back to the name. In trouble? Speak the name. Sick? Speak the name. Tempted? Speak the name. Discouraged? Speak the name. It is our covenant relationship, our family identification, our sin-remitter, heaven’s attention getter, the devil’s worst nightmare. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! There is just something about that name!