Acts 5:1-42
1 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.
3 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?
4 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.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
12 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.
13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them.
14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)
15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick intoa the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
16 There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one.
17 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,b
18 And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
19 But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said,
20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.
21 And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. 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.
22 But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told,
23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within.
24 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.
25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people.
26 Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.
27 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? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
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 obeyedc 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 obeyedd 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.
Where God is working, however, the opposition of Satan soon becomes apparent. The evil begins (as evil always does) in an underhand manner, but is quickly exposed by God. Ananias and Sapphira certainly did not expect to have their sin discerned as it was. Evidently because others were doing it, they sold land, bringing part of the price to the apostles on the understanding that it was the full price. The power of the Spirit of God present at the time did not allow the falsehood to pass. God revealed the matter to Peter, who speaks most solemnly to Ananias of the wickedness of his lying to the Holy Spirit. He makes it very clear that Ananias had perfect right to keep all the land it he chose to, and when it was sold had a right to keep all or part of the proceeds. But to falsely claim to be giving all was wickedness in the eyes of God. He had lied, not merely to men, but to God.
The immediate result was fearsome. Ananias fell down dead. God is jealous of His own glory in the church. When it was established in power, such was His immediate judgment of falsehood. One wonders, if the same were done today, how many professing Christians would suffer such a fate! Because of great departure today God does not deal so summarily with evil, but the assembly is still responsible to maintain proper godly discipline whenever evil has become known.
The fear of God struck deeply into many hearts on this occasion. The man was immediately carried out and buried. Evidently government did not require the many preliminaries it does today. Sapphira, ignorant of what had transpired, came in about three hours later. In answer to Peter's question, she affirmed that the land was sold for the price Ananias had reported. Peter solemnly reproved her agreeing together with her husband to tempt the Spirit of the Lord, and told her she was to be buried just as her husband was. How little they were profited by the money they withheld! Great fear gripped all the church as well as others who heard of the matter. Dishonest people would no doubt think twice before linking themselves with the disciples. The church itself too was to be impressed with the truth and holiness of the God with whom they had to do.
This manifestation of God's holiness issued in further manifestations of His power in many signs and wonders by the hands of the apostles. Their unity ("with one accord") is again noted. Those unsaved did not dare to join themselves to them, though recognizing God's presence with them. On the other hand, great numbers of believers were added to the Lord, men and women.
The many miracles accomplished through the apostles led people to bring their sick in beds into the streets with the hope of their having Peter's shadow fall on them as he passed. Crowds also came from cities in the area of Jerusalem, bringing those sick and those afflicted by unclean spirits. As when the Lord Jesus was on earth, the result was healing for every one. Notice that no such thing as a healing meeting was held, but great numbers were healed apart from meetings at all. Nor were some selected to be put into a healing line and others ignored. All were healed, none going away disappointed.
The high priests and others with him (Sadducees) could not but be bitterly antagonistic to this evident perpetuation of the work of the Lord Jesus whom they had crucified, and whose resurrection was a terrible affront to their false doctrine. They imprison the apostles (how many of them we are not told: perhaps all of them).
The intervention of God on this occasion is amazing. The angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and told them to return to the temple and speak "to the people all the words of this life." With what calm fortitude and power they would do this! Early in the morning they are teaching there.
Ignorant of this, the high priest and his friends called the council together, and the senate, an August, imposing company, only to find that they had no-one to put on trial! The officers report that the prison was locked, the guards standing before the doors, but the prisoners gone. God had evidently rendered the guards insensible to what was happening in their presence. This causes the leaders both embarrassment and worry as to what might develop from this. However, a messenger informs them that the men they put in prison were teaching in the temple. God had not allowed them to hide, for the leaders must have their unholy authority challenged. The captain and officers again go and arrest the disciples, being careful not to be violent on account of their fear of popular opinion. Of course the disciples offer no resistance. The high priest's accusation is interesting. He is angry that they have disobeyed his command not to teach in the name of Jesus (though he will not use the name "Jesus"), and that they have filled Jerusalem with their teaching. But he adds that they "intend to bring this man's blood upon us." Had he forgotten that they themselves, with all the people, had told Pilate, "His blood be on us and on our children" (Matthew 27:25)? They had admitted fully before Pilate their responsibility for His death. Now they would like to slip out of the responsibility by ignoring it, and by crushing every testimony to the facts. Peter therefore speaks more decisively to them than he had before, with the other apostles fully backing him up. He had asked them before to judge what was right (Ch.4:19): now he tells them positively, "We ought to obey God rather than men." If they refuse to judge honestly, the apostles will not accept their ultimatum to disobey God.
Verses 30 to 32 add to this another clear, concise declaration of the vital facts that were so unwelcome to the council. "The God of our fathers," the God all Israel professed to serve, had raised up Jesus, whom "ye slew and hanged on a tree." They knew this was true: they had plotted and insisted on His crucifixion.
They of course knew also that their watch had reported the stone of the grave rolled away by an angel, revealing that the Lord's body was gone. The apostles go beyond this in their witness. God had exalted Christ by His right hand, a Prince, One set in dignity above the people (not yet in kingly authority, but exalted), and a Savior, the only One in whom Israel can find salvation from their sins and from the bondage of sin. Notice too that it is He who gives repentance to Israel. Receiving Him would involve very definite repentance, which was no doubt not a popular subject for the chief priests.
The apostles declare themselves as witnesses of these things, adding that the Holy Spirit was also a witness, He having been given by God to all who obey Him. This was a matter the leaders did not have the temerity to deny, for the power the apostles had was more than natural; but they ignore it. In fact, being cut to the heart (not pricked in their hearts -- ch.2:37), they consult together with the purpose of killing the apostles. Such is the folly of unrepentant wickedness!
But on this occasion God overrules the matter in sovereign grace by having a doctor of the law there, a prominent man, who gives advice which is at least sensible and logical. He shows no inclination to believe the Gospel, but warns Israel not to make a blunder in dealing with these men. He presents two examples of men who had not so long before exalted themselves, influencing others to follow them. Notice that Theudas had boasted himself to be somebody. This was noticeably absent so far as the apostles were concerned: they only exalted Christ, not themselves nor any other individual on earth. In each case these proud leaders met an untimely end and their followers were scattered.
Gamaliel therefore gives good advice based on these facts, advising the council to leave the men alone, for if their work was merely of men it would come to nothing. On the other hand, if it were of God they could not overthrow it, and would be fighting against God. Did Gamaliel perhaps entertain some thought that it could be God's work? At least he was telling them to consider the possibility of this.
They agree to his wisdom, yet cannot refrain from venting their bitter feelings by beating the apostles before letting them go. If they were God's servants (the possibility of which had been admitted) then how culpable was their guilt in treating them in this way Again also they issue the ultimatum to the apostles not to speak in the name of Jesus. The apostles had already answered this most decisively (v.29).
Allowed to leave, they do so rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Jesus. How good to see them taking to heart His own words spoken to them before, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad" (Matthew 5:11). What a complete contrast to men's natural reactions Daily in the temple and in homes they continued to disobey the religious authorities by teaching and preaching Jesus Christ. By the power of the Spirit of God they are not in the least intimidated by persecution.