I hope you don’t mind, I have a question about Acts chapter 5, where Ananias and Sapphira are cast down for lying. Well I realize that Sapphira lied about the amount. But why did Ananias die for bringing money, it doesn’t say that he lied. Was it not his decision to bring however much he wanted to? I mean the man sold his land without obligation. Why did he have to bring the whole amount? I’m confused, what do you say about that?
Good questions. This passage is a controversial one because it involves a couple of characters who are killed for doing something that doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to the average person today. We don’t know too much about who Ananias and Sapphira were. We know that they were a married couple (Acts 5:1), who were part of the early Christian Church that operated out of Jerusalem.
The book of Acts tells us quite a bit about the dynamics of the early church (Aprox 70 AD) in that region. At the end of Chapter 4 it says “32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” Acts 4:32-35.
What we see here is a group of people who willfully sold off all of their possessions, and contributed the proceeds of those assets into the general fund for the use of the Christian community as a whole. The few possessions that each individual kept were graciously offered to other people in the community who needed them. While this wasn’t a requirement, many believers participated It seems clear that the early church was highly evangelistic in style as well. The willingness of each Christian to obey the Apostles, and the Word of God, had a significant influence towards the validity of the Gospel message being spread (in a region with a very dense Jewish population.) Just like today, if Christians put on a show and get caught being dishonest, the testimony of Christians as a whole is damaged significantly.
That was the case with Ananias and Sapphira. They put on a good show for everyone to see outwardly (pretending to donate ALL of their profits so they would look super spiritual), but on the inside, they were corrupt at the core. In Chapter 5 of Acts it talks about the man (Ananias) conducting a real estate transaction (that his wife knew about) and in secret pocketed part of the profits. This is where things get really intense in this particular story. Peter Calls Ananias out in Verse 4. I’m not exactly sure how Peter knew that Ananias pocketed part of the profits (the text doesn’t tell us) but I suspect that was something that God the Holy Spirit revealed to Peter.
Nevertheless, since the community of believers were in mutual agreement that none of their individual possessions would remain their own, and that the assets would be distributed to those in need in the community (kinda sounds like communism huh?) Ananias sinned against both the community and God by providing a “half-offering” disguised as a whole-offering ( similar to the priests sacrificing a cancerous 3-legged animal to God in Malachi and God despising them for it).
This was a willful act of deception and dishonesty on behalf of both Ananias (for executing the scheme) and his wife Sapphira (for supporting her husband in his sin and lying on his behalf).
Another element to the slaying of these two is evident in Verse 3: “3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?” and later in Verse 9 it says: “9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.” It becomes apparent that the two were also guilty of sinning against the Holy Spirit specifically. Some scholars make arguments that these two likely committed the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Since a Christian cannot blaspheme the Holy Spirit, I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say Ananias and Sapphira were not actually genuine believers. The fact that Ananias thought he could pull a fast one on Peter and the apostles goes to show he wasn’t aware of the power of God the Holy Spirit in the first place!
Between their plotting and scheming to keep profits in their pockets while simultaneously trying to appear super spiritual in the community, and their lying to God the Holy Spirit, the two were instantly killed.
I don’t pretend to know exactly why God chose to kill them in this particular instance, but I think there is some practical application all Christians can pull out of the story.
1) We are to live in genuine community with our fellow believers, being willing to give them the shirt off of our backs if they need it.
2) We are to be honest with God and our neighbors.
3) Husbands and wives must hold each other accountable in case one of the two comes up with a “clever” idea (that is sinful). The Christian spouse should rebuke her husband for his sin, and vice versa.
4) God is very serious about dealing with sin. He could strike anyone dead at any moment if He chose to do so. Some think that is an Old Testament characteristic of God, however, God’s holiness transcends time. Sin must be dealt with. For the Christian, sin is dealt with by the life, death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
5) Put your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord, Savior,Treasure, and King!
Thanks again for the question and may God bless you in your studies.
The Religious Nerd 