Acts 5

Ananias and Sapphira

1There was also a man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. 2He brought part of the money to the apostles, but he claimed it was the full amount. His wife had agreed to this deception.

The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was, that they were ambitious of being thought eminent disciples, when they were not true disciples. Hypocrites may deny themselves, may forego their worldly advantage in one instance, with a prospect of finding their account in something else. They were covetous of the wealth of the world, and distrustful of God and his providence. They thought they might serve both God and mammon. – Matthew Henry

3Then Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. 4The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren't lying to us but to God."

5As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. 6Then some young men wrapped him in a sheet and took him out and buried him.

7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter asked her, "Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?"

"Yes," she replied, "that was the price."

9And Peter said, "How could the two of you even think of doing a thing like this--conspiring together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Just outside that door are the young men who buried your husband, and they will carry you out, too."

10Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11Great fear gripped the entire church and all others who heard what had happened.

The crime of Ananias was not his retaining part of the price of the land; he might have kept it all, had he pleased; but his endeavouring to impose upon the apostles with an awful lie, from a desire to make a vain show, joined with covetousness. – Matthew Henry

The issue here is not that of voluntary poverty, as so often happened in church history, but it is an issue of spiritual integrity: Ananias and Sapphira try to make themselves look far more spiritual than they were. It still occurs in the church today, sometimes in nearly the exact same form. Why doesn’t God punish this sin the same way he did with Ananias and Sapphira?

Why is integrity in the church so important to God?

The Apostles Heal Many

12Meanwhile, the apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon's Colonnade. 13No one else dared to join them, though everyone had high regard for them. 14And more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord--crowds of both men and women. 15As a result of the apostles' work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter's shadow might fall across some of them as he went by. 16Crowds came in from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.

Regarding verse 13, there a couple of interpretations hace been thrown out there: 1) this refers to the other believers in regards to the apostles; meaning that other believers did not try to share aposolic authority, or 2) it refers to the Jewish unbelievers who now understood that to be counted among the believers required a level of integrity that only came from being a real deal believer (the infilling of the Holy Spirit). I believe the text favours the latter interpretation.

Again, we harken back to Acts 2-3, where the same theme of radial power through radical faith rears it’s head again.

The Apostles Meet Opposition

17The high priest and his friends, who were Sadducees, reacted with violent jealousy. 18They arrested the apostles and put them in the jail. 19But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought them out. Then he told them, 20"Go to the Temple and give the people this message of life!" 21So the apostles entered the Temple about daybreak and immediately began teaching.

When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council,[a] along with all the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought for trial. 22But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported, 23"The jail was locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!"

24When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end. 25Then someone arrived with the news that the men they had jailed were out in the Temple, teaching the people.

26The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested them, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would kill them if they treated the apostles roughly. 27Then they brought the apostles in before the council. 28"Didn't we tell you never again to teach in this man's name?" the high priest demanded. "Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about Jesus, and you intend to blame us for his death!"

29But Peter and the apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than human authority. 30The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by crucifying him. 31Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this to give the people of Israel an opportunity to turn from their sins and turn to God so their sins would be forgiven. 32We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him."

33At this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them. 34But one member had a different perspective. He was a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert on religious law and was very popular with the people. He stood up and ordered that the apostles be sent outside the council chamber for a while. 35Then he addressed his colleagues as follows: "Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men! 36Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About four hundred others joined him, but he was killed, and his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing. 37After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got some people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered.

38"So my advice is, leave these men alone. If they are teaching and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. 39But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God."

40The council accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and had them flogged. Then they ordered them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and they let them go. 41The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of Jesus. 42And every day, in the Temple and in their homes,[b] they continued to teach and preach this message: "The Messiah you are looking for is Jesus."

We see Acts 4 played out again, with the persecution a little more intense than before. The advice Gamaliel gives has been called a fence sitting solution. I completely disagree. The truth is that if something is of the Lord, it is impossible to stop. If it is of human design, it cannot succeed.

Have you seen either situation played out before, and how did it affect you and the others around you?