Scripture: But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Acts 5:1-11 ESV [Click here to read the entire chapter.]
Observation: Recapping Yesterday’s Daily Focus, we learn that this tight-knit community was of one mind and purpose and thus shared everything in common, including proceeds from selling land and houses. In particular, Barnabas (whose name means “encourager”) sold his field and laid the money at the apostles’ feet. As a result of the communities loving charity toward one another, no one suffered for want. Moreover, the Holy Spirit poured out an abundance of God’s grace on all, empowering the apostles to preach the resurrection of Christ boldly.
Today’s reading is the cautionary side-story of Ananias and Sapphira’s foolish deceit. Ananias, the husband, scheming with his wife, pretentiously followed Barnabas’ example of supposedly bringing all the proceeds of a property they sold and laying them before the Apostle’s feet. But Peter supernaturally discerned otherwise and confronted Ananias for succumbing to Satan’s temptation to retain a portion of the proceeds while lying to the Holy Spirit. Admonishing Ananias that he was under no compulsion to sell the property or present all the money to the apostles, Peter clarifies that Ananias lied not to man but to God. Mortified, Ananias, likely suffering cardiac arrest, collapses and dies. Those witnessing are terrified by the severity of the consequences. Meanwhile, some young men take the corpse and bury it.
About three hours later, Sapphira joins the gathering, unaware of her husband’s fate. Peter questions her regarding the sales price of their land, and she, too, lies. So Peter calls her out for conspiring with her husband to test the Spirit of the Lord and informs her that they will carry her body away in the same manner they took her husband. And, like Ananias, she falls headlong dead. So they bury her with her husband—provoking even greater fear throughout the church.
Of note: In verse 11, Luke introduces his readers to the name for the fellowship of Christ-followers as the “church” (Greek ekklēsia). The epistle writers use the word “church” to refer to local congregations (as in our text) and the church universal.
Takeaway: Ironically, Ananias’ name in Hebrew means “God is gracious,” and Sappharia’s name means “beautiful.” Yet, their sinful hearts reveal a more profound spiritual void that belies their names, for they willfully sought to compromise their integrity to gain favor with the church leaders while demonstrating a lack of trust in God to provide for their needs. Moreover, they aligned with Satan, proving that they had not genuinely yoked with this vulnerable young church’s fellowship and presented a threat to its unified health and growth.
As for Peter’s stern response, it echoed a similar stance to the Qumran covenantors regarding addressing deceit: “If there be found in the community a man who consciously lies in the matter of his wealth, he is to be regarded as outside the state of purity entailed by membership, and he is to be penalized one fourth of his food ration” (1QS 6.24–25). Thankfully, this is the only documented instance in the life of this burgeoning church where someone faced death at the hand of God directly related to their sin. However, Luke does later record that an angel of the Lord struck down Herod with flesh-eating worms (likely intestinal roundworms) when he welcomed the ingratiating praises from the people of Tyre and Sidon, who, dependent on Herod for food, likened him to a god (Acts 12:20-23).
Our takeaway? Jesus teaches that no sin is unforgivable except blaspheming the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:29), which implies the sin of unbelief. As for Ananias and Sapphira, theirs are cautionary tales that illustrate some sins lead to death (1 John 5:16). That may sound harsh, but consider when we sin against our bodies through reckless behavior or careless stewardship of our health, God will not necessarily rescue us from our folly. Still, that does not mean that our death caused by sin will automatically separate us from God for eternity. That said, if we lack faith in Christ, our death sentence is without hope.
Still, we might ask, What was so extraordinary about Ananias and Sapphira’s sin that they did not deserve a second chance? First, we must accept that God sees the heart and knows us from inception to death without time constraints. He knows whether Ananias and Sapphira would truly turn to his Son and live by faith or continue to mascarade as believers. And because much is at stake for this vulnerable young church, Peter must send a strong message to ensure that such duplicity does not compromise the church’s integrity and the spread of the Gospel.
So how does this story speak to us? While fear gripped the church in this instance, as the apostles led the way and risked their lives for the spread of the Gospel, many followed their lead and passed on the Good News with passion and courage so that we might inherit the faith. And our Good News is, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 3:8-9 ESV). Undoubtedly, those of us regenerated in Christ by the Holy Spirit will make many sinful decisions that bear painful consequences and sometimes prove life-threatening. But nothing can separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). So while Ananias and Sapphira’s folly presents us with a cautionary tale, our Gospel provides us with the final word.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son who, in him, there is no deceit (1 Peter 2:22). And we thank you that through your Son’s life, death, and resurrection, he has saved us by his grace through our gift of faith. Still, we struggle with persistent sins that get the best of us. So would you please help us to cooperate with your Holy Spirit and repent when he exposes our sinful behavior so that we might avoid colossal consequences that otherwise would limit or shorten our lives and the opportunities before us to speak the final word that grows your kingdom and glorifies your name? Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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