Acts 5:1-2 "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, 2 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.

A. "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession”

1. So far there is nothing out of the ordinary in the story.

2. A husband and wife had a piece of certain possession (probably land) and sold it, just like Barnabas and all the other Christians.

B. “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.”

1. The sin was not in the keeping back part of the price, as Peter will say, but it was in the keeping back part of the price and pretending to give the whole amount.

2. This came for a desire to have prestige and and the praise of men.

3. They, no doubt, had seen the encouragement that Barnabas and other like him had received by other brethren for their generosity.

4. Their sin was equally shared. No one knows who hatched the scheme first, but it really doesn’t matter. Both were active participants in the matter.

A. “But Peter said....”

1. The apostles were led directly by the Holy Spirit, therefore they were given the truth concerning this offerring.

2. Coffman said that this was a grave challenge to the apostles and Christianity in general. He contends that this sale would soon be a matter of public record and it would become public knowledge of what they had received and also of the hypicrisy that had been exercised. It would place the apostles in a bad light to have accepted this gift blindly without knowing the true nature of it. It would seem that the apostles were simply out for money too.

B. “why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost”

1. All sin, in the final analysis is from Satan, because he is the beginning, source and force behind all sin.

2. This was a violation against the Holy Spirit himself, for it presumed to be able to fool the Holy Spirit, in the person of the apostles.

3. An implied denial of the power of the Holy Spirit, and the authority of the Apostles.

A. “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?”

1. This shows the sin involved.

2. The sin was NOT the selling of the land and the giving of a part of it.

3. Peter is saying that Ananias and Sapphira had the right to do with the land and make whatever disposition of the property that desired.

4. This sin showed the motivation for the action. It was not, as was the case with Barnabas, to help the needy, but to receive the praise of men. Jesus condemned such actions.

a. See Matthew 6:5; 23:5

B. “why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?”

1. This is where all sin begins, with it’s conception in the heart (mind). Sin is usually contemplated in the mind before it is acted upon.

A. “And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost”

1 Peter did not do the striking down of Ananias, but it was the Holy Ghost himself.

2. “Giving up the ghost” simply mean to die. Same thing that Jesus did. See John 19:30.

B. “and great fear came on all them that heard these things.”

1. The result of the action showed the purpose behind the action.

2. It was to show that God’s authority through the work of the Holy Spirit by the Apostles would not be challenged.

3. Impressed upon any others being tempted to commit a similar sin the awfulness of such an action.

4. This is one of the reasons for corrective discipline. It is intended to prevent others who might be tempted to sin from thinking that there is no penalty for such action.

a. See 1 Timothy 5:20

C. “And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.”

1. The younger, stronger men of the congregation prepared Ananias for burial and took his body out.

A. “And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.”

1. For some reason Sapphira had not be with her husband when he tried to give the money to the treasury. It is clear from the passage that she had no knowledge of what had happened to here husband.

B. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.”

1. It is obvious, knowing the power of the Holy Spirit at work with Peter, that he knew that she was privy to the attempt. He was asking so that all would know.

2. Sapphira fell right in, attempting to pass the same lie as her dead husband.

A. “Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?”

1. Sapphira’s answer proved that the the sinful deed was a cooperative effort between both of them. She knew the price of the land, what Annanias said to claim the land was worth, and was willing to lie to the apostles about it.

2. As stated earlier, a challenge to the apostles knowledge of such matter was an effort to fool the Holy Spirit.

3. The NASV give the accurate translation of this passage that is easily understandible.

a. "Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test?”

B. “behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out....”

1. Since she shared in her husband’s deceit and wickedness, it was obvious that she would share in his punishement.

2. From the text, we can see that the young men who had buried Ananias earlier were just returning from their grim task of burial when they found Sapphira’s lifeless body and took her out and buried her with her husband.

A. "And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.”

1. By both of these death, it was obvious to all that the Lord’s had was in the action. It was not an act of vengence but an act of divine justice.

2. Notice that the word of this action was spread to more than just the church, but to many others.

B. “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.”

1. The miraculous played a prominent role in the work of the apostles in the early church. Their words needed to be confirmed by divine power.

2. The Holy Spirit was fulfilling the promise that Jesus gave to the apostles in Mark 16:18-20.

3. They were all in one accord in Solomon’s porch in that they were united together without division and they met regularily in the temple area known as Solomon’s porch. One of the few places whre the church would have room enough to meet.

C. “And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.”

1. A contrast in the reaction of the people toward the gospel message, and that of the leaders.

2. “The rest” must surely refer to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were enemies of the apostles.

a. They would not become part of the body because of the desire to have the praise of men, even though they likely convinced in the rightness of the message.

b. See John 12:42-43

3. The reaction of the people to the preaching of the gospel and the healing done by the apostles was just exactly opposite.

a. The masses of the ordinary people rejoiced in the message and miracles.

b. Luke does not specify the number of new converts, but he uses the term “multitudes.”

D. “Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.”

1. This healing was done freely, without any consideration of the difficulty of the healing.

2. It drew sick from near and far, some going so far as hoping that Peter’s shadow would fall on them. We are not told that this effected healing but it is quite possible that it did.

3. And notice that there was no such a thing as someone being turned away because they did not have faith. The apostles healed all of them.

A. "Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation”

1. With the growth of the church came opposition. The religious hierarchy of the Jewish nation had already threatened the apostles. Now they were fill with anger at the apostles and their message.

2. It is to be assumed that the Sanhedrin, having not stopped the preaching of the resurrection by threats, was not prepared to take stronger action.

B. “And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.”

1. They were thrown into the regular prison, as opposed to a holding area in the temple.

2. The apostles were now in mortal danger.

C. “But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”

1. This would not be the last time when the Lord would actively intervene to preserve the lives of the apostles. It was necessary because their work had not been finished, and that they almost assuredly would have been executed.

2. See Acts 12:3-9; 16:23-27

3. The purpose of the intervention was not to rescue the apostles from danger, which there were still in, but to facilatate the preaching of the word of God.

A. “And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught.”

1. The apostles, heeding the words of the angel of God, went forth into the early morning crowd at the temple and starting preaching.

B. “But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.”

1. The High Priest and the Sanhedrin, unaware of the release of the apostles, gathered to pass sentence on their prisoners.

2. They were completely unaware of their escape.

C. “But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told...”

1. The officers went to escort the apostles from the prison. The doors were all shut and the guards were all on duty as if nothing had happened, but the apostles were nowhere to be found.

A. “Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.”

1. The word doubt here is better translated perplexed.

2. The High Priest and the leadership didn’t know what to think concerning what would happen next.

3. The probably hoped that the apostles would have taken the opportunity to flee.

B. “Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.”

1. The apostles had not run, they had done exactly what the angel of the Lord had told them to do. They were showing that they had received what they had asked God for in chapter four, boldness to preach and teach.

2. See Acts 4:29

C. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.”

1. The officers went to get the apostles, but were forced to request the apostles accompany them to the Sanhedrin. The dared not use any force or coercion, lest they be killed by the masses of the people with whom the apostles were popular.

2. This likely would have included non-Christians who were favorable impressed by the apostles teaching concerning the resurrection and the work of Christ and by the miracles of the apostles and some new Christian whom had not been taught the principle of non-violence.

A. “And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, 28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?”

1. This is true, the Sanhedrin had commanded the apostles not to preach about Christ and the resurrection.

2. See Acts 4:18

B. “behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.”

1. Notice that the apostles had make an impact on Jerusalem. People know that they were there, preaching the gospel of Christ.

a. See Acts 17:6

2. The apostles were doing just what the Sanhedrin declared in that they were placing responsibility upon them for the death of Jesus. They before had confidently declared that they wished it so. (See Matthew 27:25) But the Sanhedrin didn’t choose to believe that the apostles were not doing this to stir up hatred against the leaders, but to bring the leaders to obedience to the Christ whom they crucified.

Hanged on a tree- See 1 Peter 2:24

32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. 33 When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. 

34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; 35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. 36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. 37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. 38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: 39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God. 40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. 42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ." 
 
 
 

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