Acts 5:1-5

Peace to you my brothers and sisters. 

Today’s Bible Verse: Acts 5:1-5

Verse Text: [Acts 5:1-5 KJV] But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back [part] of the price, his wife also being privy [to it], and brought a certain part, and laid [it] at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back [part] of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

So, what was happening here? Looking a few chapters back (Acts 3) we see Peter and John going to the temple to preach. They healed a man and preached that it was through Jesus that the man was healed. They then preached repentance and conversion so that their sins may be forgiven.

[Acts 3:22-23 KJV] For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, [that] every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

They preached that Jesus is this prophet that Moses spoke of and all of the prophets have foretold of Jesus and of the days of His coming.

This preaching got the attention of the temple leadership and John and Peter were arrested and put under guard till the next day. Regardless, 5,000 were so converted that day.

The next day they were brought before the temple leadership.

[Acts 4:8-12 KJV] Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, [even] by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

The leadership admonished them that they were not to preach Jesus anymore but Peter and John indicated that this was their duty and would continue.

[Acts 4:34-37 KJV] Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid [them] down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, [and] of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold [it], and brought the money, and laid [it] at the apostles' feet.

They were recognizing that the persecution was beginning and now it was time to take care of their own. They knew that the Jews would excommunicate Christians from the synagogues and shun them in the marketplace. They knew the only place for them to buy or sell would be to the gentiles so they liquidated what they could for the common good.

Now we come back to the verses for today:

[Acts 5:1-5 KJV] But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back [part] of the price, his wife also being privy [to it], and brought a certain part, and laid [it] at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back [part] of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

When you really look at these verses you see that Ananias and Sapphira sold all of their land but kept part of the money. There was actually nothing wrong with them keeping part of the money; however, they told the apostles that it was all of it; they lied.

Peter confirmed that the land was theirs to do with whatever they wanted, and they did not have to sell it. He also confirmed that the money was theirs to do with whatever they wanted, and they could give none, part, or all. He also confirmed that by bringing part and saying that it was all was lying to His Holy Spirit.

My speculation here is that the revelation to Ananias that he had lied to His Holy Spirit caused such great fear in him that he had a heart attack and died on the spot. Later on, the same happened to his wife.

Their fear of God killed them on the spot. The question is, does the modern church have this kind of reverence for God?

Go forth and spread this good news.

I hope this has been a blessing to you. May the rest of your day be blessed. Walk Torah-ly. Peace.