Day 19 ~ Acts 5 - 9 ~ Part 1

This passage of the New Testament has always intrigued me as well as made my heart sad when I read the account in Acts 5 concerning Ananias and Sapphira. Instead of elaborating on it myself, I wanted to share the view of two different commentaries with you. The first comes from the NIV Commentary, and the second from the Life Application Study Bible. I think both of these texts help elaborate and explain this event that took place in the New Testament.

“The case of Ananias and Sapphira is opposite that of Barnabas, though it was meant to look the same. No doubt the story circulated within the church as a warning of the awfulness of deceit, for at times of great enthusiasm such a warning is especially necessary. And though Luke has taken evident pleasure in reporting the progress of the Gospel and the vitality of faith during these early days of the church in Jerusalem, he does not omit this most distressing event. This situation must have lain heavily on the hearts of the early Christians, and it is a message that needs to be constantly kept in mind by Christians today.
1-2 The details of the conspiracy are concisely stated. A certain Christian man named Ananias (meaning “God is gracious” in Hebrew) and his wife, Sapphira (meaning “beautiful” in Aramaic), wanted to enjoy the acclaim of the church as Barnabas had, but without making a genuine sacrifice. So they too sold a piece of real estate and pretended to give the full price to the apostles for distribution to the needy, though they conspired to keep back part of the money for themselves. Luke’s language here seems to draw a parallel between the sin of Achan just as the Israelites began their conquest of Canaan (see Jos 7) and the sin of Ananias and Sapphira as the church began its mission; both incidents come under the immediate and drastic judgment of God and teach the people a sobering lesson. This is very likely how the early church saw the incident as well.
3-4 Probably no account in Acts has provoked more wrath from critics than this one has. Commentators have complained about the difficulty of accepting the death of both husband and wife under such circumstances and have questioned Peter’s ethics in not giving them an opportunity for repentance and in not telling Sapphira of her husband’s death. Even more difficult for many is the way the story portrays Peter, who appears to be without the compassion or restraint of his Lord. Jesus’ relations even with Judas, whose sin was a thousand times more odious, certainly were not on this level. But note that Peter did not view the action of Ananias and Sapphira as merely incidental. He spoke of it as inspired by Satan and as a lie to both the Holy Spirit and God. It was a case of deceit and was an affront, not just on the community level, but primarily before God. Deceit is spiritually disastrous—a sin, whatever its supposed justification, that sours every personal relationship. Where there is even the suspicion of conscious misrepresentation and deception, trust is completely violated.
Ananias and Sapphira were severely dealt with because their act of pretended piety (cf. v. 4) was done voluntarily and because the greater freedom permitted in the church at Jerusalem made the individual Christian more responsible to be honest and more culpable when dishonest. In addition, the way Ananias and Sapphira attempted to reach their goals was so diametrically opposed to the whole thrust of the Gospel that to allow it to go unchallenged would have set the entire mission of the church off course. Like the act of Achan, this episode was pivotal in the life and mission of God’s people, for the whole enterprise was threatened at its start. And while we may be thankful that judgment on deceit in the church is not now so swift and drastic, this incident stands as an indelible warning regarding the heinousness in God’s sight of deception in spiritual and personal matters.
5 The psychological explanations of Ananias’s sudden death attribute his fatal collapse to the shock and shame of being found out. The verb Luke uses for his death, however, appears in the NT only in contexts where someone is struck down by divine judgment (5:5, 10; 12:23). Whatever were the psychological and physical factors involved, Luke’s emphasis is on God as the ultimate cause of Ananias’s death. This is the light in which he means his readers to understand his further comment: “And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.”
6 The expression “the young men” (cf. v. 10) refers to certain younger men in the Christian community. Whether they covered Ananias with a shroud and carried him away or wrapped him up in some manner and then carried him away or simply picked him up from the floor and took him off for burial is impossible to say. It is understandable that burial in hot climates takes place soon after death. We have no explanation why Ananias was buried so quickly and his wife was not told about it.
7-11 “About three hours later” the tragic episode was repeated with Sapphira. Just as Ananias and his wife were united in their conspiracy, so they were united in the judgment that came upon them. It may seem redundant that Luke closes his account of Ananias and Sapphira’s deception with the statement “Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.” However, this is a vignette of warning; and in concluding it Luke wants to stress this note of reverent fear—as he expressly did in v. 5 and implicitly does throughout his account.
This is the first time in Acts that the word “church” (GK G1711) appears, though it is the regular word for both the church universal and local congregations elsewhere in the book (cf. 7:38; 8:1; 9:31; 11:22; 13:1; 14:23; 15:22, 41; 16:5; 19:32, 40; 20:28) and throughout the NT letters (cf. also Mt 16:18; 18:17).”
The Life Application Commentary
“The sin Ananias and Sapphira committed was not stinginess or holding back part of the money—it was their choice whether or not to sell the land and how much to give. Their sin was lying to God and God’s people, saying they gave the whole amount but holding back some for themselves and trying to make themselves appear more generous than they really were. This act was judged harshly because dishonesty, greed, and covetousness are destructive in a church, preventing the Holy Spirit from working effectively. All lying is bad, but when we lie to try to deceive God and his people about our relationship with him, we destroy our testimony for Christ.
5:11 Some read the account of Ananias and Sapphira being struck down and accuse God of being harsh. “I thought God was supposed to be loving and forgiving. I thought all that wrath stuff was for Old Testament times.” With an emphasis on grace and mercy, it’s easy to overlook the equally important truth of God’s holiness. We must remember that God has not changed (Malachi 3:6). He still hates sin as much as he ever did. God’s judgment of Ananias and Sapphira produced shock and fear among the believers, making them realize how seriously God regards sin in the church.”
I hope this has helped explain this passage of scripture better. I have another verse I want to elaborate on and plan to post later today.

1. Kenneth L. Barker and John R. Kohlenberger, Zondervan NIV Bible commentary (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Pub. House, 1994), 408-409.

2. Live Application Study Bible quoted from Accordance Bible Software.

Pastor Pete