A Sobering Moment
TRANSLATION
(1) Now a man named Ananias, along with his wife, Sapphira, sold a piece of property as well. (2) With his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds and brought the rest, laying it at the apostles’ feet. (3) Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself some of the money you received for the land? (4) While it remained unsold, did it not belong to you, and after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have lied not just to us, but to God.” (5) When he heard these words, Ananias fell down and died. Great fear seized all who heard what had happened. (6) Then some young men arose, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.
(7) About three hours later, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. (8) And Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias received for the land?” And she responded, “Yes, that was the price.” (9) Peter said to her, “How could you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” (10) And immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband. (11) And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these things.
OBSERVATIONS
Believers through the centuries have been shocked by the events described in Acts 5. Several repetitions in this sobering account help us distill its message. The names, “Ananias” (vss. 1, 3, & 5) and “Peter” (vss. 3, 8, & 9), were both repeated three times. “Wife” is also found three times (vss. 1, 2, & 7) while “husband” was used twice (vss. 9 & 10). “Sold/unsold” occurred four times (vss. 1, 4, & 8), “proceeds” (vss. 2 & 3), “lie/lied” twice (vss. 3 & 4), and “young men” twice (vss. 6 & 10). Three phrases were repeated in both paragraphs: “fell down and died” (vss. 5 & 10), “great fear seized all who heard” (vss. 6 & 11), and “carried him/her out and buried him/her” (vss. 6 & 10).
OUTLINE
I. Ananias fell down and died as the result of lying to the Holy Spirit about the sale of land. (1-6)
II. Sapphira also died because she had conspired with her husband to lie to the Holy Spirit. (7-11)
IDEA STATEMENT
Because they had both conspired to lie to the Holy Spirit and the church about the sale of their property, Ananias and Sapphira suffered the penalty of death for their sin.
APPLICATION
The sudden deaths of both Ananias and Sapphira, a couple that had conspired together to deceive the church about the amount they had received for the sale of a piece of their property, have caused many to wonder why their misrepresentation required such a severe penalty? Several factors made their sin particularly grievous and dangerous for the fledgling church. Not only was their action lying to the Holy Spirit, it also constituted a premeditated, deliberate attempt to sabotage the newly-birthed church and represented a direct Satanic attack designed to undermine the church’s unity and effectiveness. Such sin at this early point in the history of the church had to be dealt with harshly and decisively lest others in the fellowship be tempted to do the same thing.
The “great fear” that “seized the whole church and all who heard” served to purify the believers and strongly affirm that what had been happening in Jerusalem was a movement that had God’s approval and protection. At this point, no pretense would be tolerated and no deviance from God’s will would go unpunished. The Apostle Peter would later write, perhaps thinking about this very moment in the life of the early church, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God)?” (1 Pet. 4:17)