Ananias and Sapphira Promise, Lie and Fall Deadby sanjalberts
5:7Acts 5:7
And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
About three hours after her husband fell dead and had been carried out and buried, his wife came in not knowing what had been done and still thinking the withholding would never be known. Her entrance gave her an opportunity to tell the truth when asked about the sale price before she shared his judgment. She was not an unknowing wife but fully complicit, having deliberately agreed with him to keep back part while pretending to give the whole price as a full surrender. Cherished covetousness and desire for esteem as generous and devoted while unwilling to give all led them to grudge what had been pledged to God and to lie not to men but to God. When convicted of falsehood she fell dead as her husband had done, a swift manifestation that a holy God hates hypocrisy and falsehood, which checked dissembling and spread reverential fear to guard the young church. The whole case is recorded as a perpetual warning to Christians of all ages against selfishness, deception and breaking a vow made to God, which remains just as heinous when no visible punishment follows and will surely be visited in judgment.
Timing and Unawareness
About three hours passed after Ananias fell dead before his wife Sapphira came in, and by that time he had already been carried out and buried. Her arrival is placed about three hours after his death, marking a distinct interval between the two judgments.
She entered not knowing what had been done to her husband. She still supposed the withholding would never be known by the brethren. Her lack of knowledge did not lessen her share in the deception.
Her ignorant entrance set the scene for Peter to test her by asking about the sale price. That questioning gave her an opportunity to tell the truth before sharing the judgment. When tested she repeated the lie instead, confirming agreement in the false account.
The deaths connected with her coming were afterward used by the priests and rulers in council with the senate to accuse the apostles of murder. They framed the charge as insurrection and as conspiracy to deprive the priests of authority and put them to death. They hoped to excite the mob to deal with the apostles as it had dealt with Jesus. They did so because they feared that if the people, weary of arbitrary rule, accepted the apostles' belief in Jesus as Messiah, the anger of the entire people would turn on the priests for the murder of Christ.
Nature of the Deception
Sapphira was not an unknowing wife drawn in by her husband but fully complicit with him, for the two talked the matter over together and deliberately agreed to withhold part while pretending to give the whole. They had shared in pledging the proceeds under the Spirit's influence, then regretted it and agreed together not to fulfill it, intending to keep a large share for themselves while securing a living from the common stock. Her entrance still ignorant of his death did not lessen that agreement, and when questioned about the price she confirmed the false account and repeated the lie.
They sold their possession and laid part at the apostles' feet while claiming it was the whole price. They gave the impression they had sold for a certain lower sum and had made full surrender, when they had received more and kept back a large share. They voluntarily pledged part of their property and then withheld some of it while trying to make others think they had given everything, presenting a dishonest gift as a free-will offering.
They were under no compulsion to sacrifice, for while unsold the property was their own and after sale was in their own power. They were free to give only part rather than claim to give everything, and no demand from the apostles forced the false claim. Their seeking a reputation for generosity and devotion while withholding money made the pretense wholly their own choice.
Her false affirmation was agreement with her husband in tempting the Spirit of the Lord. It was lying not to men but to God, for lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God and to the Holy Ghost. The falsehood was carried from human dealings into God's presence, where the exact truth is known and hidden sin of the heart is detected. Her ignorance of what had been done to Ananias did not keep her from joining in that deception.
Their act was the first departure from truthful dealing and the first case of deception and falsehood in the newly formed church. In it they appropriated money belonging to the Lord to supply a fancied deficiency in pay for their work, taking pay according to their own ideas of sufficient wages. That self-justifying principle perverted conscience and brought untold evil, the same as stealing from the Lord's treasury while carrying the bag.
Motives Behind the Lie
Cherished covetousness and selfishness led them to regret and grudge what had been solemnly pledged to God under the direct influence of the Spirit after hearing the gospel preached, and to withhold a portion for themselves. When the heavenly influence passed they talked the matter over together and agreed not to fulfill the promise to give the proceeds from the sale of certain lands, but to sell the property and pretend to give all into the general fund while really keeping a large share for themselves. They pretended to make an entire sacrifice while covetously keeping part back, giving the impression of full surrender when they had received more.
They intended to draw a living from the common stock, to secure high esteem as persons wrought upon by the Holy Ghost, and to be thought liberal, self-denying, generous and devoted while unwilling to give all. They desired commendation for good deeds and sought reputation and favor, wanting to gain high esteem for liberality while grudging what they had dedicated to God. They were unwilling to give all yet wanted to be thought liberal and self-denying, sacrificing truth to gain favor.
Shame over that selfishness led to practiced deception to hide it from the brethren, opening the door for Satan to control the mind. Those not wholly devoted to God were thus led by Satan to lie to the Holy Spirit while believing they served Christ. They professed godliness and devotion while secretly cherishing iniquity and worshiping mammon, pretending to serve God while loving money. They had joined themselves to the disciples as unworthy members and false brethren, showing that true and false believers were mingled in the church from the beginning.
Their sin is the same as that of Judas, whose covetousness led him to steal from the Lord's treasury while carrying the bag of gifts for sustaining the work. Like Ananias and Sapphira in the first departure from truthful dealing, he appropriated money belonging to the Lord to supply a fancied deficiency in pay for his work. He reasoned that his labors were not sufficiently appreciated and that he had a right to pay himself according to his own ideas of sufficient wages, a self-justifying principle that perverted his conscience, brings untold evil, and can bring ruin.
Judgment and Its Purpose
When her falsehood was exposed she fell down dead at Peter's feet just as her husband had done, and she was carried out and buried beside her husband, for her punishment was not delayed. The deception cost both the life that now is and the life to come. About three hours after Ananias had been carried out and buried she had come in, and her questioning about the price and her agreement with him to tempt the Spirit of the Lord ended in the same sudden death as judgment for fraud.
The swift and terrible double death was a signal manifestation of wrath and retributive justice. It showed that a holy God hates hypocrisy and falsehood, regards lying as a sin of enormous magnitude and abhorrence, and reveals deep contempt for all deception. The Holy Spirit read the underhand dealing, and sudden stern punishment came upon them both.
That judgment checked dissembling, hypocrisy and greed in the church. The Spirit of truth exposed their real character to the apostles, and the judgments of God rid the church of this foul blot upon its purity and removed this stain. This signal evidence of the discerning Spirit of Christ in the church was a terror to hypocrites and evil-doers, and it spread great and reverential fear and awe among all.
Infinite Wisdom knew the check was needed to guard the rapidly growing and rapidly increasing young church from disgrace and demoralization when professed Christians increased. It was necessary because professed servants of God were being added who professed to serve God but worshiped mammon. It led new converts to greater caution and reverence and to thorough self-examination testing the motives of actions. In every great religious movement a class carried by feeling soon reveals selfishness and vainglory and can never be an honor to the cause they advocate.
As trials and persecution came, only those willing to forsake all for the truth's sake desired to become and remain disciples, and those unwilling to forsake all did not desire to remain. Evil-doers could not long remain in connection with those who in habit and disposition constantly represented Christ. So while persecution continued the church remained comparatively pure.
Links to Other Scriptures
About three hours after Ananias fell dead and was buried, his wife came in not knowing what had been done to her husband, and her entrance led to Peter questioning her about the price, exposing her agreement with her husband to lie and tempt the Spirit of the Lord, followed by her immediate death and burial by her husband. The whole case including her unknowing coming is recorded that the whole world may have a testimony as to how God regards dishonest practices, keeping back part of what is professed to be given, coveting, stealing, and dissembling, which is lying not to men but to God and to the Holy Ghost. The standard of judgment in the gospel shown in her coming and death is the same as in the case of Achan. God thus exposed their concealed sin and brought swift retribution upon them, warning the church in every age that sins bringing His wrath upon ancient Israel can also bring His wrath upon the church. Their fearful fate warns against covetousness, and they are presented alongside Achan and Judas as examples of the ruin that follows this sin.
She came in still thinking the withholding would never be known by the brethren, but together she and her husband were guilty of withholding a portion of what God claims in the tithing system. Their example warns that God searches the heart and that the motives and purposes of men cannot be hidden from Him. As long as truth is progressive God claims a part of what He has entrusted to men for advancing His work, moral discipline depends on everyone cooperating with Him and doing something, and everyone is to be his own assessor and is left to give as he purposes in his heart. He has left this case as a perpetual warning to Christians of all ages to beware of the sin to which human hearts are continually inclined. Her part in their fraud against God means that human beings are God's property and no one can defraud Him and prosper, calling for forsaking sin and turning to God and for cultivating the Christian graces, because the influence of one unrepentant sinner defiles and corrupts many others.
Warning and Present Application
The whole case including her coming three hours later is recorded so the whole world may have testimony of how God regards dishonest practices, keeping back part of what is professed to be given, coveting, stealing and dissembling. It stands as a perpetual warning to Christians of all ages against selfishness, deception and failing to keep a pledge, a sin to which human hearts are continually inclined. She came in still thinking the withholding would never be known by the brethren, having shared in pretending the whole amount was given.
A pledge to the cause is a vow made not to man but to God and is to be sacredly kept like a written note, with brethren only visible witnesses of a contract between giver and God. No legal bond for money is more binding, and a vow to God the giver of all favors is of still greater importance than a pledge to fellow men, from which release is not generally asked, so release should not be sought from vows to God. To appropriate to one's own use what was once pledged to advance His sacred work is sacrilege, it is robbing God, and a promise is not less binding because made to God or because it will not be tried in courts of justice. Vows and actions even of one professing to be saved by Christ's infinite sacrifice are weighed in the balance of justice in the heavenly courts.
Breaking a pledge to God is grave even when no visible sign of displeasure follows. Repeating their sin now brings no visible mark, yet it is just as heinous in His sight and will surely be visited in the day of judgment and in final reckoning, with many feeling His curse even in this life. If the same instant punishment fell now there would be many dead bodies in churches requiring burial, for many Ananiases and Sapphiras dissemble from love of money and withhold from the treasury the means entrusted for advancing His cause.
The same sin remains prevalent in withholding gifts and offerings while trying to make others think all is given. God does not accept a small offering given while the giver indulges personal wants and withholds what should be given to Him, for they purposed to rob God. People are accountable in proportion to their offenses. Their punishment shows His abhorrence of deception about gifts and offerings, though it no longer receives such visible punishment.
God searches the heart and detects hidden sin, and motives and purposes cannot be hidden from Him. He reads motives, knows the exact truth, and holds people accountable, so false witness before Him and falsehood carried from human dealings into His presence brings judgment. Withholding what is due to God cannot hide motives from Him.
The verse warns churches in every place against deceptive, unjust and oppressive dealings in the Lord's work, using lawyers to take advantage, exacting exorbitant prices, hindering the cause, conniving at fraud and diverting His means into a wrong channel. Such dealings will just as surely bring punishment, because God has a work to accomplish on earth and truth shall triumph. Those in high positions of trust must not become careless and pass by sin, for God holds them responsible with the guilty if they leave hidden sins and confirm that sin is not exceedingly offensive. Ministering angels passing through the churches note neglect as well as faithfulness, the Lord knows whether those bearing responsibility are faithful stewards maintaining strict integrity in every transaction, He desires those in trust to exemplify the mind of Christ, and it is sad when anyone handling sacred things brings in peculiar traits and selfishness, making God to serve with sins and marring the sacred cause.
Those who selfishly enter the health food work and give customers the impression profits aid benevolent enterprises while using them for personal interests commit the same deception. They are under God's displeasure and will surely meet the same fate in the day of final reckoning. Lying is not slight but a sin of enormous magnitude which God regards with abhorrence, as shown when He immediately struck dead Ananias and Sapphira his wife for prevarication and falsehood. The enormity of this sin must be impressed on children who lie, with prayer and faithful correction by a Christian father rather than excusing it or removing them from reproof.
False brethren will be found in the church till the close of time, for they joined the disciples as unworthy members and true and false believers were mingled from the beginning. The world has no right to doubt Christianity because of them and Christians should not become disheartened because of them. They must be borne with as Christ bears long with perverse human nature because He does not want to lose one soul. Human beings are God's property and no one can defraud Him and prosper, so the call is to forsake sin and turn to God and cultivate the Christian graces, because the influence of one unrepentant sinner defiles and corrupts many others.
About three hours after her husband fell dead and had been carried out and buried, his wife came in not knowing what had been done and still thinking the withholding would never be known. Her entrance gave her an opportunity to tell the truth when asked about the sale price before she shared his judgment. She was not an unknowing wife but fully complicit, having deliberately agreed with him to keep back part while pretending to give the whole price as a full surrender. Cherished covetousness and desire for esteem as generous and devoted while unwilling to give all led them to grudge what had been pledged to God and to lie not to men but to God. When convicted of falsehood she fell dead as her husband had done, a swift manifestation that a holy God hates hypocrisy and falsehood, which checked dissembling and spread reverential fear to guard the young church. The whole case is recorded as a perpetual warning to Christians of all ages against selfishness, deception and breaking a vow made to God, which remains just as heinous when no visible punishment follows and will surely be visited in judgment.
Timing and Unawareness
About three hours passed after Ananias fell dead before his wife Sapphira came in, and by that time he had already been carried out and buried. Her arrival is placed about three hours after his death, marking a distinct interval between the two judgments.
She entered not knowing what had been done to her husband. She still supposed the withholding would never be known by the brethren. Her lack of knowledge did not lessen her share in the deception.
Her ignorant entrance set the scene for Peter to test her by asking about the sale price. That questioning gave her an opportunity to tell the truth before sharing the judgment. When tested she repeated the lie instead, confirming agreement in the false account.
The deaths connected with her coming were afterward used by the priests and rulers in council with the senate to accuse the apostles of murder. They framed the charge as insurrection and as conspiracy to deprive the priests of authority and put them to death. They hoped to excite the mob to deal with the apostles as it had dealt with Jesus. They did so because they feared that if the people, weary of arbitrary rule, accepted the apostles' belief in Jesus as Messiah, the anger of the entire people would turn on the priests for the murder of Christ.
Nature of the Deception
Sapphira was not an unknowing wife drawn in by her husband but fully complicit with him, for the two talked the matter over together and deliberately agreed to withhold part while pretending to give the whole. They had shared in pledging the proceeds under the Spirit's influence, then regretted it and agreed together not to fulfill it, intending to keep a large share for themselves while securing a living from the common stock. Her entrance still ignorant of his death did not lessen that agreement, and when questioned about the price she confirmed the false account and repeated the lie.
They sold their possession and laid part at the apostles' feet while claiming it was the whole price. They gave the impression they had sold for a certain lower sum and had made full surrender, when they had received more and kept back a large share. They voluntarily pledged part of their property and then withheld some of it while trying to make others think they had given everything, presenting a dishonest gift as a free-will offering.
They were under no compulsion to sacrifice, for while unsold the property was their own and after sale was in their own power. They were free to give only part rather than claim to give everything, and no demand from the apostles forced the false claim. Their seeking a reputation for generosity and devotion while withholding money made the pretense wholly their own choice.
Her false affirmation was agreement with her husband in tempting the Spirit of the Lord. It was lying not to men but to God, for lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God and to the Holy Ghost. The falsehood was carried from human dealings into God's presence, where the exact truth is known and hidden sin of the heart is detected. Her ignorance of what had been done to Ananias did not keep her from joining in that deception.
Their act was the first departure from truthful dealing and the first case of deception and falsehood in the newly formed church. In it they appropriated money belonging to the Lord to supply a fancied deficiency in pay for their work, taking pay according to their own ideas of sufficient wages. That self-justifying principle perverted conscience and brought untold evil, the same as stealing from the Lord's treasury while carrying the bag.
Motives Behind the Lie
Cherished covetousness and selfishness led them to regret and grudge what had been solemnly pledged to God under the direct influence of the Spirit after hearing the gospel preached, and to withhold a portion for themselves. When the heavenly influence passed they talked the matter over together and agreed not to fulfill the promise to give the proceeds from the sale of certain lands, but to sell the property and pretend to give all into the general fund while really keeping a large share for themselves. They pretended to make an entire sacrifice while covetously keeping part back, giving the impression of full surrender when they had received more.
They intended to draw a living from the common stock, to secure high esteem as persons wrought upon by the Holy Ghost, and to be thought liberal, self-denying, generous and devoted while unwilling to give all. They desired commendation for good deeds and sought reputation and favor, wanting to gain high esteem for liberality while grudging what they had dedicated to God. They were unwilling to give all yet wanted to be thought liberal and self-denying, sacrificing truth to gain favor.
Shame over that selfishness led to practiced deception to hide it from the brethren, opening the door for Satan to control the mind. Those not wholly devoted to God were thus led by Satan to lie to the Holy Spirit while believing they served Christ. They professed godliness and devotion while secretly cherishing iniquity and worshiping mammon, pretending to serve God while loving money. They had joined themselves to the disciples as unworthy members and false brethren, showing that true and false believers were mingled in the church from the beginning.
Their sin is the same as that of Judas, whose covetousness led him to steal from the Lord's treasury while carrying the bag of gifts for sustaining the work. Like Ananias and Sapphira in the first departure from truthful dealing, he appropriated money belonging to the Lord to supply a fancied deficiency in pay for his work. He reasoned that his labors were not sufficiently appreciated and that he had a right to pay himself according to his own ideas of sufficient wages, a self-justifying principle that perverted his conscience, brings untold evil, and can bring ruin.
Judgment and Its Purpose
When her falsehood was exposed she fell down dead at Peter's feet just as her husband had done, and she was carried out and buried beside her husband, for her punishment was not delayed. The deception cost both the life that now is and the life to come. About three hours after Ananias had been carried out and buried she had come in, and her questioning about the price and her agreement with him to tempt the Spirit of the Lord ended in the same sudden death as judgment for fraud.
The swift and terrible double death was a signal manifestation of wrath and retributive justice. It showed that a holy God hates hypocrisy and falsehood, regards lying as a sin of enormous magnitude and abhorrence, and reveals deep contempt for all deception. The Holy Spirit read the underhand dealing, and sudden stern punishment came upon them both.
That judgment checked dissembling, hypocrisy and greed in the church. The Spirit of truth exposed their real character to the apostles, and the judgments of God rid the church of this foul blot upon its purity and removed this stain. This signal evidence of the discerning Spirit of Christ in the church was a terror to hypocrites and evil-doers, and it spread great and reverential fear and awe among all.
Infinite Wisdom knew the check was needed to guard the rapidly growing and rapidly increasing young church from disgrace and demoralization when professed Christians increased. It was necessary because professed servants of God were being added who professed to serve God but worshiped mammon. It led new converts to greater caution and reverence and to thorough self-examination testing the motives of actions. In every great religious movement a class carried by feeling soon reveals selfishness and vainglory and can never be an honor to the cause they advocate.
As trials and persecution came, only those willing to forsake all for the truth's sake desired to become and remain disciples, and those unwilling to forsake all did not desire to remain. Evil-doers could not long remain in connection with those who in habit and disposition constantly represented Christ. So while persecution continued the church remained comparatively pure.
Links to Other Scriptures
About three hours after Ananias fell dead and was buried, his wife came in not knowing what had been done to her husband, and her entrance led to Peter questioning her about the price, exposing her agreement with her husband to lie and tempt the Spirit of the Lord, followed by her immediate death and burial by her husband. The whole case including her unknowing coming is recorded that the whole world may have a testimony as to how God regards dishonest practices, keeping back part of what is professed to be given, coveting, stealing, and dissembling, which is lying not to men but to God and to the Holy Ghost. The standard of judgment in the gospel shown in her coming and death is the same as in the case of Achan. God thus exposed their concealed sin and brought swift retribution upon them, warning the church in every age that sins bringing His wrath upon ancient Israel can also bring His wrath upon the church. Their fearful fate warns against covetousness, and they are presented alongside Achan and Judas as examples of the ruin that follows this sin.
She came in still thinking the withholding would never be known by the brethren, but together she and her husband were guilty of withholding a portion of what God claims in the tithing system. Their example warns that God searches the heart and that the motives and purposes of men cannot be hidden from Him. As long as truth is progressive God claims a part of what He has entrusted to men for advancing His work, moral discipline depends on everyone cooperating with Him and doing something, and everyone is to be his own assessor and is left to give as he purposes in his heart. He has left this case as a perpetual warning to Christians of all ages to beware of the sin to which human hearts are continually inclined. Her part in their fraud against God means that human beings are God's property and no one can defraud Him and prosper, calling for forsaking sin and turning to God and for cultivating the Christian graces, because the influence of one unrepentant sinner defiles and corrupts many others.
Warning and Present Application
The whole case including her coming three hours later is recorded so the whole world may have testimony of how God regards dishonest practices, keeping back part of what is professed to be given, coveting, stealing and dissembling. It stands as a perpetual warning to Christians of all ages against selfishness, deception and failing to keep a pledge, a sin to which human hearts are continually inclined. She came in still thinking the withholding would never be known by the brethren, having shared in pretending the whole amount was given.
A pledge to the cause is a vow made not to man but to God and is to be sacredly kept like a written note, with brethren only visible witnesses of a contract between giver and God. No legal bond for money is more binding, and a vow to God the giver of all favors is of still greater importance than a pledge to fellow men, from which release is not generally asked, so release should not be sought from vows to God. To appropriate to one's own use what was once pledged to advance His sacred work is sacrilege, it is robbing God, and a promise is not less binding because made to God or because it will not be tried in courts of justice. Vows and actions even of one professing to be saved by Christ's infinite sacrifice are weighed in the balance of justice in the heavenly courts.
Breaking a pledge to God is grave even when no visible sign of displeasure follows. Repeating their sin now brings no visible mark, yet it is just as heinous in His sight and will surely be visited in the day of judgment and in final reckoning, with many feeling His curse even in this life. If the same instant punishment fell now there would be many dead bodies in churches requiring burial, for many Ananiases and Sapphiras dissemble from love of money and withhold from the treasury the means entrusted for advancing His cause.
The same sin remains prevalent in withholding gifts and offerings while trying to make others think all is given. God does not accept a small offering given while the giver indulges personal wants and withholds what should be given to Him, for they purposed to rob God. People are accountable in proportion to their offenses. Their punishment shows His abhorrence of deception about gifts and offerings, though it no longer receives such visible punishment.
God searches the heart and detects hidden sin, and motives and purposes cannot be hidden from Him. He reads motives, knows the exact truth, and holds people accountable, so false witness before Him and falsehood carried from human dealings into His presence brings judgment. Withholding what is due to God cannot hide motives from Him.
The verse warns churches in every place against deceptive, unjust and oppressive dealings in the Lord's work, using lawyers to take advantage, exacting exorbitant prices, hindering the cause, conniving at fraud and diverting His means into a wrong channel. Such dealings will just as surely bring punishment, because God has a work to accomplish on earth and truth shall triumph. Those in high positions of trust must not become careless and pass by sin, for God holds them responsible with the guilty if they leave hidden sins and confirm that sin is not exceedingly offensive. Ministering angels passing through the churches note neglect as well as faithfulness, the Lord knows whether those bearing responsibility are faithful stewards maintaining strict integrity in every transaction, He desires those in trust to exemplify the mind of Christ, and it is sad when anyone handling sacred things brings in peculiar traits and selfishness, making God to serve with sins and marring the sacred cause.
Those who selfishly enter the health food work and give customers the impression profits aid benevolent enterprises while using them for personal interests commit the same deception. They are under God's displeasure and will surely meet the same fate in the day of final reckoning. Lying is not slight but a sin of enormous magnitude which God regards with abhorrence, as shown when He immediately struck dead Ananias and Sapphira his wife for prevarication and falsehood. The enormity of this sin must be impressed on children who lie, with prayer and faithful correction by a Christian father rather than excusing it or removing them from reproof.
False brethren will be found in the church till the close of time, for they joined the disciples as unworthy members and true and false believers were mingled from the beginning. The world has no right to doubt Christianity because of them and Christians should not become disheartened because of them. They must be borne with as Christ bears long with perverse human nature because He does not want to lose one soul. Human beings are God's property and no one can defraud Him and prosper, so the call is to forsake sin and turn to God and cultivate the Christian graces, because the influence of one unrepentant sinner defiles and corrupts many others.