seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Acts 5:1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.
I cannot understand why this had to happen.When I closed the fourth chapter yesterday, Peter was teaching and the people were thrilled. Thousands upon thousands of people were flocking to Jerusalem to be part of the new church. They were sharing and all was hunky dory.... and now there's a dead man and wife.
To this point, everyone who came did what Jesus told the disciples to do. They dropped everything and walked away. Things weren't important. The magpie was gone and the robin was singing in their hearts. Everyone was one "Spirit".
Along came Ananias and his wife. They weren't quite so bitten by the "turn over a new leaf" plan. They wanted some insurance that they were making the right decision. They, like the rich man that visited Jesus, had "responsibilities". They weren't totally on board. They just wanted to be part of the party.
Land was a big deal back in the heyday of the Jewish traditions. Back in the days of Moses... they traveled around for forty years in order to get to Jerusalem... the Promised Land. Then they had to run the "pagans" off their land and take possession of it. They cultivated it... they managed it... It was a source of family pride. Selling it... well, it's like selling the family homestead and throwing everything away. They had a comfy life... cozy... well earned... And now, well they figured they would hold back a little of the cash, in case this didn't work out. Think of it as, like trying the sex before marriage to make sure it would be up to snuff.
I don't think Peter killed them. I think the Spirit did it. God is still vengeful. He wants His church to be "pure" in heart. He tried it one way... giving them the land.... now God is trying it another way... getting them to give the land back.
The problem isn't the land.... it's betrayal. They acted like they wanted to be part of the church.... but they didn't want to put their faith in Jesus. Like the rich man... they just could not give it up... but they wanted the praise that was given when someone new joined the flock. They wanted the recognition, but they didn't want to make the full commitment. The wanted the Baptism without the Repentance. Like a preacher who wants to preach but doesn't really Believe. I mean who could turn down a free place to live and all those homecooked meals with the families.... They would "pretend" to Believe.
It wasn't the "failure" to hand all the proceeds over to the church that brought about their deaths. It's not about the possessions. It's not about keeping a little nest egg. It's not about money. They lied.
Fear seized the church.
