God Speaks
But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. 2 He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. 4 The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”
5 As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. 6 Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?”
“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”
9 And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”
10 Instantly, 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. 11 Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.
12 The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them. 14 Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women. 15 As 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. 16 Crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and they were all healed.
17 The high priest and his officials, who were Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. 18 They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail. 19 But 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!”
21 So at daybreak the apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching.
When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council—the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the apostles to be brought from the jail for trial. 22 But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone. So they returned to the council and reported, 23 “The jail was securely locked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, no one was there!”
24 When the captain of the Temple guard and the leading priests heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end. 25 Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people!”
26 The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people would stone them. 27 Then they brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them. 28 “We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man’s name!” he said. “Instead, you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, and you want to make us responsible for his death!”
29 But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him by hanging him on a cross. 31 Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. 32 We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”
33 When they heard this, the high council was furious and decided to kill them. 34 But one member, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, who was an expert in religious law and respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent outside the council chamber for a while. 35 Then he said to his colleagues, “Men of Israel, take care what you are planning to do to these men! 36 Some time ago there was that fellow Theudas, who pretended to be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but he was killed, and all his followers went their various ways. The whole movement came to nothing. 37 After him, at the time of the census, there was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but he was killed, too, and all his followers were scattered.
38 “So my advice is, leave these men alone. Let them go. If they are planning and doing these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You may even find yourselves fighting against God!”
40 The others 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.
41 The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. 42 And every day, in the Temple and from house to house, they continued to teach and preach this message: “Jesus is the Messiah.”
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Ananias’ and Sapphira’s hypocrisy was a deliberate deception. They wanted to appear as generous and “godly” as Barnabas (4:37) without having to sacrifice as much money, but the Holy Spirit knew and revealed the truth to Peter. Some people may question why God was so harsh in His judgment if He is a God of mercy. Such people are only looking at the surface. God knows our hearts and motives: He knows if a person is or will be repentant. God is also often harsher at the beginning of a new phase of His dealings with humankind. This way, as a good parent, He can warn against misbehavior while being free to show mercy later. In this case, God was dealing with lying, overweening pride, dishonoring God (especially the Holy Spirit), and polluting the purity of His church. Besides, God is always just. After developing a healthy fear and awe-filled respect for God, the church (especially the apostles) went on to witness many signs and wonders being performed in cooperation with the Holy Spirit. The rest of the people in Jerusalem held them in high esteem. The apostles were arrested for preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus despite being instructed not to do so. They were miraculously freed but had to appear before the Council. They remained faithful to Christ even when interrogated and flogged, and they even rejoiced that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus. They kept on proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah.
Prayer: Dear true and loving God, thank You for being the source of all that is good and truthful. Please keep me (and all Your people) from deceiving or being deceived like Ananias and Sapphira were. May the fear of the Lord come upon me and other people so that we will not have to face Your severe judgment. May we again see many sick people healed and those oppressed by demons set free by Your Holy Spirit working mightily through Your people. May more and more souls be added to the Kingdom. Lord God, please protect us from jealousy either among ourselves or from opponents of the gospel. Please comfort and strengthen those who are being persecuted for their faith in You. Release them by natural or supernatural means when appropriate. May we stand firm and proclaim the full message of who Jesus is and what He has done for us. May those in authority (like Gamaliel) take a level-headed approach by closely examining issues and making wise recommendations. Don’t let us, as individuals or as a nation, find ourselves opposing You, Lord God. Most of all, may we never stop teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask the Holy Spirit to show me where I might be trying to appear more holy than I am. Then I will ask for His forgiveness and help to change.
- I will look for ways to help myself and others develop a healthy fear and awe-filled respect for God.
- I will cooperate with the Holy Spirit and other believers so that we might see many miracles, signs, and wonders that point people to Jesus and build up His kingdom.
- I will stand up for (and obey) Jesus and all He has said and done regardless of the consequences–rejection, arrest, jail, court appearance, or torture. I want to consider it an honor to suffer for Christ and His church as the apostles did. (Acts 5:40-42)
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.