Acts 4:36-37; 5:1-11 - A CONTRAST IN BELIEVER'S HEARTS
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in Acts 4:1-13, we covered the official backlash against Peter and John after the miraculous healing of the man crippled since birth. They were arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin to answer for their preaching of the resurrection of the dead. When the Jewish rulers warned them to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, both Peter and John refused. However, because they had committed no crime, they released them. This marked the beginning of official persecution against the early church. From Peter and John's example, we leaned four important principles about being a confident witness for Jesus Christ: (1) Confident witnesses for Jesus are filled with the Holy Spirit and act on the promise that Jesus will give them the words to speak and protect them from opposition; (2) Confident witnesses have spent much time with Jesus and learned from Him; (3) Confident witnesses testify of what they know for certain; and (4) Confident witnesses insist Jesus is the only way of salvation.
This week, in Acts 4:36-37 and 5:1-11, we'll study a contrast in the honestly and lack of it in the hearts of certain believers in their financial giving to the early church. This brief perspective illustrates what Luke wrote earlier in Acts 2:44-46 about the early Christians in the Jerusalem church who, in addition to their verbal witness for Christ, shared and even sold their possessions to provide for the needy in the church, "laying them at the apostles' feet" (Acts 4:35). In the first section of the lesson we will see an example of this as we are introduced to Barnabas, a Levite Jew from Cyprus who became an important figure in the early church. It was Barnabas who took the converted, former persecutor of the church, Saul of Tarsus (Paul the apostle), to Jerusalem to be introduced to the apostles (Acts 9:27) and it was Barnabas who, through the Holy Spirit's leading, conceived the First Missionary Journey and recruited Paul as his partner. In the second section, we'll be introduced to Ananias and his wife Sapphira, who, in a gesture of supposed generosity, acted with hypocrisy and lied to the Holy Spirit. Luke used these two stories to show us examples of both good and evil behavior in the early church, and more importantly, how God dealt with it.
Read Acts 4:36-37 - SON OF ENCOURAGEMENT
36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), 37 and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.
v. 36: "Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement)," - While his given Jewish name was "Joseph," people normally called him by his Jewish nickname, "Barnabas," which means "Son of Encouragement." It was common for Jews to call a person "son (or daughter) of whatever" to describe his or her personal characteristics. In Barnabas' case, it was because he was characteristically a very positive influence on those around him, as further references in Acts will show. Luke's mention of Him as a "Levite" was simply further identification his Jewish origins. Barnabas had been born in the Island Cyprus and lived there, although he had close relatives in Jerusalem, such as John Mark, Mark's mother, and possibly others (Acts 12:12). He most likely became a Christian when he heard the gospel for the first time while visiting Jerusalem at the Pentecost.
v. 37: "and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet." - Barnabas evidently sold some land he owned-we don't know its location-to provide cash for the needs of the Jerusalem church. That he humbly "laid it at the apostles' feet" tells us that he gave them all of the sale proceeds to do with as they saw best, an example of unconditional giving from the heart.
Read Act 5:1-2 - ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA SOLD A PIECE OF PROPERTY
But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet.
v. 1: "But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property," - The conjunction "But" as the first word gives a clue that what follows will be a complete contrast to the story of Barnabas' gift to the church in the previous section. In Hebrew, the name "Ananias" translates to "Yahweh is gracious" and "Sapphira" means "beautiful," an irony, whether intended or coincidental. To all appearances, Ananias is performing an act of generosity like that of Barnabas. Whether the property was jointly held or simply sold with his wife's concurrence isn't clear.
v. 2: "and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge," - This phrase tells us that Ananias and Sapphira had represented their gift to be exactly like that of Barnabas-100% of the sale proceeds of the property, with no strings attached. In fact, he had secretly "kept back" part of the sales price for himself. Though not specified, I imagine he probably kept half of it.
v. 2b: and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet." - Ananias wanted to obtain the same measure of gratitude from the apostles that Barnabas had with his gift, but without making the same sacrifice. He wasn't pressured to sell this property. He could have forthrightly told them in advance that he intended to keep back a portion of the sale for himself.
Note: Scholars see an OT parallel because the words "kept back," are the same words in the Hebrew as used in Joshua 7 to describe the forbidden property that Achan kept back after the conquest of Jericho. Because of Achan's sin, God caused the Israelite army to lose the Battle at Ai. When he was found out, Achan confessed and was immediately stoned to death. The point of the parallel is that Achan wrongly thought that he could hide something from God. (Joshua 7:1-26).
Read Luke 5:3-4 - YOU HAVE LIED TO GOD
3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God."
v. 3a: "But Peter said," - Peter wasn't a mind reader; the Holy Spirit had informed him that Ananias was acting in bad faith, that his underlying motivation was sinful.
v. 3b: "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?" - Instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to fill him, Ananias had allowed Satan to control his heart. Ananias' sin was lying. He fully intended to deceive the Christians in the Jerusalem Church out of an effort to gain a reputation for greater generosity than he deserved. And by deceiving the church, he was at the same time trying the deceive the Holy Spirit, which indwelt the church. In short, His attempt to deceive the Holy Spirit was the same as trying to deceive God.
v. 4: "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control?" - Here, Peter affirms that Ananias had not been pressured to sell anything. His sin was misrepresenting that he was giving all when he was actually only giving part. Like Achan, he was covetousness and allowed love of money to control him. So, Ananias love of his wealth was at the very base of his sin. Paul would later say, "For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith..." (1 Tim. 6:10).
Read Acts 5:5-6 - ANANIAS BREATHED HIS LAST
5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard of it. 6 The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
v. 5a: "And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last;" - It's important to note that while Peter identified Ananias' sin, it was God (not Peter) who judged him. Ananias' premature death was what theologians term as a sin unto death. (1 John 5:16; 1 Cor. 11:30).
v. 5b: "and great fear came over all who heard of it." - God intended the early Jerusalem church to be the pattern for the spread of Christianity to the entire world, so God acted in ways designed to maintain the spiritual integrity of the church. He did it as a sign for all the believers who would follow in the path of the Jerusalem church in illustrate how important it is for God's people to be holy. We should never interpret the fact that God rarely deals with sinners this way today as evidence that He cannot or should not, for He can. When He does not act, it's only out of mercy for us.
v. 6: "The young men got up and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him." - Due to the rapid decomposition of dead bodies in Palestine's hot climate, it was very common to bury the dead almost immediately after their death.
Read Act 5:7-11 - WHY HAVE YOU AGREED TO PUT THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD TO THE TEST?
7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter responded to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?" And she said, "Yes, that was the price." 9 Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well." 10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.
v. 7: "Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened." - Sapphira probably knew that her husband was going to the apostles to tender the money to the church, but she's not aware of what transpired afterward. Whether anyone tried to seek her out and tell her is evidently not within the scope of Luke's writing.
v. 8a: "And Peter responded to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?" - Notice that Peter graciously and gratuitously gave Sapphira the opportunity to tell the truth. He did not warn her of her husband's death because he wanted to hear the truth from her.
v. 8b: "And she said, "Yes, that was the price." - The "price" was the false figure that Ananias had represented to the apostles, not the true selling price. So, her answer duplicates Ananias' hypocrisy.
v. 9a: "Then Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test?" - Peter basically asks Sapphira the very same "Why" question that he had asked Ananias in v. 3. Putting "the Spirit of the Lord to the test" means how far a person can go in disobedience before God says, in effect, "that's it!" and judges them-a very risky business, yes? Peter would later warn that God's Judgment begins with us, the body of Christ (1 Peter 4:17).
v. 9b: "Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well." - In previous chapters of Acts, Peter has been God's agent of blessing in providing healing (both physical and spiritual) to people, but he is also God's instrument to bring judgment when called for, as we see here.
v. 10: "And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband." - This is a virtual duplicate of what befell Ananias in vv. 5 and 6. Some readers have criticized Peter for dealing with Ananias and Sapphira so harshly; yet, it's evident from the text that in this matter, Peter was clearly under the Holy Spirit's control, while in contrast, Ananias and Sapphira were under Satan's control (Acts 4:31). Since they had sinned not only against God but also against the integrity of the church, it called for drastic measures. A very hard lesson for you and me, yes?
v. 11: "And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things." - Here, Luke places great emphasis on the sobering (and fearful) impact this news must have had on all of the new believers in Jerusalem. We can imagine that some of them probably thought to themselves, "There but for the grace of God go I!"
Note: Some interpreters have wondered whether Ananias and Sapphira were genuine believers. Well, Luke certainly implies that they were, and that they were as much a part of the church as Barnabas (e.g., Peter's question "why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit" [v.3]). This asks the question: Are true Christians capable of deliberate deceit? The answer: Certainly they are.
APPLICATION-A Warning on the Nature and the Power of Sin
1. We are all prone to the deadly sin of hypocrisy. We need to be clear on the exact nature of the sin of Ananias and Sapphira. Their sin was not that they had sold their property and had given only a part to the church. In fact, Peter makes plain (v. 4) that it would not have been a sin for them to have sold their property and not given anything to the church. Their sin was that they conspired together to deceive the apostles and the church into thinking that they were giving the entire amount, when in fact they kept back a portion for themselves. In other words, they were trying to impress everyone with a higher level of spirituality and commitment than they really had.
2. For believing Christians, lying to Holy Spirit can be deadly serious. This lesson teaches us that lying to the Holy Spirit is the same as lying to God's face. Though He surely can, God might not strike you dead like Ananias and Sapphira, but short of fatality, He can certainly cause you to suffer myriad of other undesirable consequences in your life, such as broken relationships, health problems, financial crises, plus a host of other serious troubles. In today's text, through Peter, God gave Sapphira the opportunity to repent, but she refused it and paid the price-death, in her case.
3. The opposite of lying to the Holy Spirit is striving to act with godly character. By way of contrast, Peter says that Satan had filled Ananias' heart (v. 3), and as we've seen, to be filled means to be controlled. Peter and Barnabas were under the control of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, whereas, Ananias and Sapphira were controlled by Satan in their act of deception because they had yielded to his temptation. Being full of the Holy Spirit and of faith does not mean that a believer will be perfectly sinless. As we have seen, both Peter and Barnabas later fell into hypocrisy themselves over the issue of taking Barnabas' nephew, John Mark, on the Second Missionary Journey (Act 15:36-41). But it does mean walking daily in dependence upon the Spirit, yielding to Him so that the fruit of the Spirit grows in our lives.
