Who?

• Ananias & Sapphira? Only mentioned here as members of the early church.

• Apostles? Early leaders/founders of the church. Taught and commissioned directly by Jesus Christ.

• Peter? Early spokesman for the apostles.

• Satan? The Adversary. Leader of fallen angels, to oppose God and His people, to deceive, tempt and accuse, to control. Here he either takes control or is given control (as in believers).

• Holy Spirit? Third person of the Trinity. Fills believers = to empower and control. (Ac 4:8, Eph 5:18)

• God? One essence in three persons. God is truth, all-knowing, all-powerful. Sovereign over universe and church.

• Church? Used here for the first time in Acts (omitting 2:47), and may be to distinguish a new entity, not Israel. All those who placed faith in Jesus as the Redeemer and Messiah. Here a sect of Jews in Jerusalem.

What?

• What came before? Similar story about Barnabas. His intro as an encourager and church leader. He sold property and brought the money to the apostles.

• What did they do? Sold property and brought some of the money to the apostles.

• What is the problem? They conspired to give the impression (or outright lie) that they were giving all the money from the sale (a reputation like Barnabas but w/o his character), that they were sacrificing for the work. They lied to gain greater standing and esteem from people. Also, they might have pledged the entire sale price to the church, in which case they also took (embezzled) what was dedicated to God.

• What is Peter's point? They intentionally gave control of their lives to Satan, tested the HS, and lied to the HS/God. Lying to the apostles/church is lying to God. (Ac 4:8, Eph 5:18)

• What is Ananias' response? Sapphira's? They immediately died without giving a word.

• What is "great fear"? V 5, 11 = only 2 times in Acts. Profound respect for God as working through the apostles, that they are God's messengers.

Where?

• Setting is Jerusalem. Church met at the temple and from house to house.

When?

• When is this happening, compared to what comes before and after? AD 33-34, perhaps in the first year of the early church. Before the gospel spread beyond Jerusalem.

Why?

• Why did A & S do this? Doesn't say. Perhaps: They lied to gain greater standing and esteem from people.

• Why did Peter do this? Doesn't say. Perhaps: This is part of Peter's role in Acts, to take lead in speaking for apostles, in speaking truth, in calling for action, in performing signs and wonders--all in the name of Jesus Christ.

• Why is this story here? Twice it says that great fear came upon (spread to) all those who heard these things. This is as opposed to the danger of spreading dishonesty, hypocrisy and disrespect for God's church. Perhaps: This reinforces how seriously God takes the apostolic ministry, the integrity of the church, and how people conduct themselves in it. Use of the word "church" suggests the corporate, not individual, danger presented and the corporate protection from it.

Other Points of Interest:

• The references to the Holy Spirit and Satan. HS (spirit of truth) is supposed to fill believers. In this case it was Satan (father of lies). Satan filling results in lies to the HS. Neither, in this sense of control, is overwhelming the will of the believer but is cooperating with it.

• There is no consideration here of repentance. But the offer of repentance and forgiveness is a reliable theme in Scripture. Perhaps, they were too closed off from it to see it. Perhaps, just maybe, their deaths have more to do with God's dissatisfaction with their response to confrontation than with the original sin. That may be a stretch in the passage BUT it is more likely the application today.

• This early church incident involving embezzlement, deceit and death may be linked to an early promised land Israel incident involving embezzlement, deceit and death of Achan (Josh 7). (or also to to Nadab and Abihu for presenting false fire at the early tabernacle in Lev 10)

Sequential:

1. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira (Ac 5:1-2)

   1. Their pledge to give the full proceeds

   2. Their action to take some for themselves

2. Peter's confrontation of Ananias (Ac 5:3-6)

   1. Peter spoke truth - Satan filling, lied to HS=lied to God

   2. Ananias died

   3. People feared

3. Peter's confrontation of Sapphira (Ac 5:7-11)

   1. Peter spoke truth - Testing God

   2. Sapphira died

   3. People feared

Thematic:

1. The Testimony of the Church (Ac 4:32-5:1)

   1. Some believers were needy, in part because of their faithfulness to Christ.

   2. Some believers pledged to sell property and give the entire proceeds to the apostles for distribution.

2. The Test of the Church (Ac 5:2-4, 7, 9)

   1. The givers gained a reputation (Barnabas as encourager)

   2. The givers acted from different character (different filling)

3. The Triumph of the Church (Ac 5:3-6, 8-11)

   1. Peter spoke the truth and God performed the discipline

   2. The church was protected and its testimony was preserved

1. Sin of Believers

   1. Their good pledge

   2. Their bad fulfillment

2. Confrontation of Sin

   1. The truth spoken

   2. The sinner's response

   3. The effect on the hearers

3. Confrontation of Sin

   1. The truth spoken

   2. The sinner's response

   3. The effect on the hearers