Thursday
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
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? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men, but to God.”
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. . . .
About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
At that moment she fell down at his feet and died.
(Acts 5:1-5a, 7-10a, NIV)
The early chapters of Acts record the exciting testimony of the growth of the early church. Following the Pentecost experience described in Acts 2, Luke joyfully reports that “the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved” (2:47b). Empowered by the Holy Spirit, the disciples fearlessly preach the gospel of the resurrected Jesus Christ and heal the sick in his name. The dynamic character of the early church is clearly evident in the unity of these believers who “were one in heart and mind. No one claimed any of his possessions were his own, but they shared everything they had” (4:32). We are told that there “were no needy persons among them” (4:34), and periodically various members of their fellowship who owned land and houses would sell them and give all the profit to the Apostles for distribution to the needy.
The stark realism of the Scriptures quickly breaks through the idyllic picture of the first century church. Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, combines this picture of the benevolent spirit of some early believers with the devious nature of others in their midst. Ananias and Sapphira, on their own initiative, sell some property and then offer a part of the profit to the Apostles under the deceitful guise of giving it all. Not only is the act of selling the land a voluntary option, so is the decision to give away the profits. Their sin is that of hoarding a part of the profits and then acting like their “love gift” is a total transfer. For this sin they are struck dead.
The pervasive character of sin knows no limits. Satan especially targets Christians because their failings undermine everyone’s image of the church. Even God’s people have sinful hearts and the shalom of his own church, the body for which his Son’s blood was shed, is often painfully broken.
Prayer
Lord God, spare your church from the pain and brokenness caused by sin. And when sin fractures the church, heal the wounds quickly so that others will know that your people are believers because they love each other and can forgive each other’s mistakes. Amen.