But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him. About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.” And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.” Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
Acts 5:1-10
Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened. The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade. But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them. Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women.
Acts 5:1-14
One of the questions asked which you shared with me was very interesting.
Namely, how was it that Sapphira didn’t know what had happened to her husband?
It is entirely possible that Sapphira was separated from Ananias for a period of three hours. It’s not that a husband and wife “live in each other pockets”. I would take the story at face value in terms of the factual elements of it. It happened as Luke told it. But what is interesting is the way Luke told it. I have told you before about the repetition found in the Bible. Repeating things of importance is a universal way of adding emphasis. That is clear. Yet repetition can occur in subtle ways too. Luke didn’t have to extend the repetition and retell the story as he did. He could have simply said, “and the same thing happened to Sapphira when she came back.” But he stretches out the story for emphasis. Its like a children’s story which keeps retelling and retelling the essential thread of the story over and over. First with the rabbit and then with the guinea pig and then with the cat and the dog and finally the fox. A number of the speeches in the book of Acts are retold for emphasis.
Having said that, pay attention to the elements of the story which are repeated or emphasized in order to understand why this technique is used.
Another question Gems readers asked is why this punishment seems so severe? How much they gave was up to them. So why did this error in judgment result in their deaths? Is it a capital offence to keep some money back? No, that is not the issue. They could do what they liked with the money, it was up to them to decide, it was theirs. If you look at the details of the events carefully, you will see what is at issue here. I have told you before: pay attention to the details of the story and the big picture. I even highlighted for you some of the key parts.
- Luke tells us, “He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.”
- “You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.
- The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!”
- Peter asked her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”
- And Peter said, “How could the two of you even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.”
Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened.
- The apostles were performing many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers were meeting regularly at the Temple in the area known as Solomon’s Colonnade.
- But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people had high regard for them.
- Yet more and more people believed and were brought to the Lord—crowds of both men and women.
Another interesting question one person raised was the incongruity between everyone being terrified on hearing this story and therefore no one daring to join them, yet more and more people were brought to the Lord. We will address each of these issues in the next Gem. I am merely giving you one last opportunity to ponder on these matters before I comment on these elements and more.
I will add another couple of questions to the mix at this point:
- How did Luke know the details of this story when he wasn’t with the disciples during these events?
- Where did he get the details of the dialogue that went on at this time? It is not like the events were recorded on his smartphone and later played back.
- How is it that Luke tells us the events of the story in such detail?
I will leave you to ponder that too. I am merely highlighting important features with my leading questions – like a lawyer asking leading questions. Leading questions lead – that’s their purpose.
You have to put in many, many tiny efforts that nobody sees or appreciates before you achieve anything worthwhile.
Brian Tracy
May your life preach more loudly than your lips.
Anon
Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself from the unacceptable.
Denis Waitley
A man flattened by an opponent can get up again; a man flattened by conformity stays down for good!
Rick Godwin