Peter’s Faith vs. Jesus’s Name
In Acts 3, Peter and John were going to the temple when they happened upon a man who had been unable to walk from birth. People would place him near the temple so he could ask for alms when worshippers came to pray. As Peter and John came by, he asked them for money, but Peter offered him something far greater. “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.” With these words, the man was immediately healed. For the first time in his life, he could walk. The text doesn’t specify how long people had been bringing him to the Beautiful Gate, but presumably long enough for people to recognize him. Obviously, his sudden healing would demand an explanation, and Peter gives it to the curious crowd. He proclaims the story of Jesus, insisting that it was the power of Jesus that healed this man. Most of his sermon in Solomon’s Portico dwells not on the actual healing but on Jesus, how the prophets pointed to him, how he was betrayed and killed by the people, and how they must now repent and believe in him. But there is still enough talk of the miraculous healing itself to leave us wondering how exactly it worked.
In verse 16, Peter says, “by faith in his name, his name itself has made this man strong… and the faith that is through Jesus has given him this perfect health…” This all seems pretty standard, language we are already familiar with. However, if we look closely we see a mysterious ambiguity. Consider this question, what was actually efficacious for the healing: faith in his name or his name itself?
There are a few ways to answer this question, but I want to get an obvious non-answer out of the way first. One could respond that it simply doesn’t matter. Who cares whether faith or the name or faith in the name actually healed the guy? He was healed. That is all that really matters. The problem with this response is that it completely dismisses the very practice of doing theology. There are important questions to ask Scripture that are actually meaningful to our lives. Some questions are bad and ultimately don’t result in anything fruitful. However, to dismiss them before giving them any thought is a bad habit to get into. Sometimes we can be pleasantly surprised with how important the little details of Scripture can be.
If we say that faith in the name of Jesus healed the man, then Peter must have been an active participant in the healing process, unless there is something else happening here that we will consider later. Peter is able to heal this person in Jesus’s name because Peter firmly believes in the power of the name. Peter trusts that what he says will come true. From this theological viewpoint, not everyone could have done this. Faith healing, even coming from God, must work through a vessel that believes strongly enough for it to work. One might imagine that if Peter were feeling less confident in his faith that day, this might not have worked. This could be a good view to take when considering our particular vocations. Sure, all Christians have faith and all Christians have a call from God, but I have the particular faith for the particular path God has set me upon. No one else could be me or do the particular work that God has called me to do. Therefore, I must do it.
However, we may also place special emphasis on Peter’s words, “his name itself.” The healing may have operated through faith, but the strength of Peter’s faith didn’t actually matter. All that mattered was the power of the name he called upon. In this case, Peter didn’t do the healing. Jesus did. And anyone who knew to call upon the name of Jesus could have performed that healing, it was just a coincidence that Peter happened to be the person. If it is the name of Christ that accomplished the healing, then we can have confidence that even when we doubt, even when we struggle with our faith, the power of Jesus’s name is not lessened. We may be imperfect vessels, but that doesn’t detract from the perfection of the one we call upon for help. This is an important view to emphasize equality in the Church and also to manage expectations. Pastors and bishops aren’t perfect. They don’t have faith that can perform miracles. Miracles come through God’s grace alone. Those of us with doubts don’t have to look at others as heroes we could never hope to be equal with. Rather, we are all workers for God’s glory together, and God’s glory isn’t determined according to which mortals can believe the best, but through God’s works of Creation, Redemption, and everything else.
Finally, we might look at the last part about faith coming through Jesus and wonder what that means. Is this faith through Jesus the same as saying “faith in Jesus?” Or does Jesus somehow make faith happen in us? Lutherans believe that we couldn’t come to faith in Jesus by our own power or decision making, but the Holy Spirit must call and enlighten us. If this is the case, then the gift of the Holy Spirit, given to the church by Jesus, is what allows us to have faith in the first place. It wasn’t so much Peter’s faith that healed the man as it was the Holy Spirit’s work on Peter’s heart. Peter could not take any credit for the power he presented in the healing. With faith from the Holy Spirit, speaking boldly in Christ’s name, and glorifying God the Father, the Holy Trinity was entirely at work to bring about this healing. Peter had the good fortune of being a vessel for God’s work. This view perhaps gives the most glory to God. And though it may feel like we don’t really have a place to participate in this, the truth is that the action of the Holy Spirit becomes participation in us. Sometimes, we fail to recognize the work of the Holy Spirit because it feels hidden within what we say and do, but we believe the Spirit is active in the church throughout history and today. Our participation often overlaps with the work of the Spirit, all for God’s glory.
Maybe all of these views are right. Maybe they are perfectly compatible and the differences between them are more a matter of which point is emphasized rather than one contradicting the other. Whatever the case may be, it is an important reminder that the finer details of Scripture continue to speak to the church, and even annoyingly specific inquiries should not be ignored. If all this and more could be pondered from one verse, just imagine what we might find in the fullness of Scripture.
