Good Snowy Friday Morning,
Read Acts 5.1-16
Today we are looking at the story of Ananias and Sapphira. This story stands in stark contrast to the two verses just before it where Barnabas sells a field and brings the money to the apostles.
As you read, Ananias and Sapphira sell some property but instead of giving all the proceeds to the church they keep some of it back. The early church was not demanding or requiring people to sell property and give the proceeds to them, this was the response of people to the Spirit’s nudges in their lives. Let’s be clear, from the story the issue is not that they didn’t give all the proceeds, but that they lied to God about giving all their money.
This story shows the battle we face as Christians and people filled with the Spirit of God, that Satan still tries to grab a foothold in our hearts as well (5.3). This story also seems to show how Ananias and Sapphira are giving not solely because they want to help the needy, but because they think this will increase their standing in the community. Their primary concern is not loving God or their neighbors. No, their primary concern is loving themselves, their reputations so they give out of selfish motives.
If I were writing Acts, I don’t know if I would have included this story. I don’t know how it read in the 1st century, but in the 21st century it reads rather harshly. How do we go from lying to death so quickly? And yet, much like the failures of the disciples in the gospels shows their humanity and that God works through imperfect humans. Perhaps this story is important because even during all this incredible Spirit-led growth in the church and the kingdom of God, not everything is perfect. Not everyone is on board. There is still resistance from the Evil One at work and so it stands as a warning to us.
Perhaps the best thing you can do from this story is honestly reflect about the ways you have acted like Ananias and Sapphira before. As we talked in our Bible study on Wednesday night, transparency and honesty are so important for the early church and community today. How have you been less than honest with God and others? How do you personally balance stories like this (i.e. fear-of-the-Lord stories) with the abundance of stories about God’s relentless love and grace?
Grace and Peace,
Matt
Inductive Questions: (These will be included each day and your work on them will be the foundation we build upon at our Wednesday evening in-person and Zoom Bible Study as we explore the church, mission, and Holy Spirit in Acts.)
Pick at least one of these to be a focus for all of Acts, but answer as many of them as you want.
- What does the church look like in Acts? Who is a part of it? What do they do? How is it formed? How does it relate to mission and the Spirit? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the ecclesiology of Acts?
- What does mission look like in Acts? Who does it? What do they do? How does it happen? How does it relate to the church and the Spirit? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the missiology of Acts?
- What does the Holy Spirit look like in Acts? What does the Spirit do? How is the Spirit active? How does it relate to church and mission? In other words (fancy, technical terms) What is the pneumatology of Acts?
Answer the question with the language of Acts as much as possible and cite the chapter and verse reference in your notes.