The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) are nothing if not frightful and puzzling. Lesson 14: The Deadly Sin of Hypocrisy (Acts 4:36-5:11) Related Media A 12-year-old boy was waiting for his first orthodontist appointment and was a bit nervous. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. The word "church," like the word "baptism," can refer to more than one thing. "Men"s conduct is likely to be much more wholesome when they realize the God of the universe sees and hears and knows all that goes on, even their thoughts and motives.." (Reese p. 208) "The whole Church was awe-struck" (Wey). Acts 5:11. ἐκκλησίαν, the church) Here for the first time (with which comp. Every reference to Israel in the New Testament refers to the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. "The truth always comes out." And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things. He is the Holy One. As in the older dispensation the fire which consumed Nadab and Abihu burned no more after that first awful judgment, and the earth which opened to swallow up Korah and his impious company remained for ever closed, though seemingly worse acts dishonoured the Land of Promise, so the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira were never repeated: the mercy, not the severity of God, was henceforth shown to those men who professed His high service, and at times, alas I dishonoured it, in a way less visibly awful. Sometimes it refers to Christians living in various places during one particular period of time (e.g, the early church). Porphyry accused St. Peter as cruel, for inflicting this punishment; to which the ancients well answered: "The apostle did by no means "pray for their deaths; but by the prophetic spirit denounced the judgment of God upon them, that the punishment of two persons might be for the instruction of many." Scripture Acts 5 Sort Bible Verse Bible Verse Newest Oldest Most Viewed Most Shared Sermon Be Like Barnabas Not Like Ananias! The first result and marvellous proof of that oneness was the so-called ‘community of goods,’ the account of which is remarkable both because it all but fills this picture, and because it is broken into two by Acts 4:33, rapidly summarising other characteristics. Surely that expression suggests that the stern words had struck at his life, and that his death was the result of the agitation of shame and guilt which they excited. God must always be glorified. Luke certainly implied they were; they were as much a part of the church as Barnabas was. As the word church ( εκκλησια) now occurs a second time in this history, it may be proper to observe, that we have here a native specimen of a New Testament church; which is a company of persons called by the gospel, grafted into Christ by faith and the Holy Spirit, admitted into the society of Christians by baptism, animated by love, united by every kind of fellowship, and disciplined by the execution of a divine judgment on two unworthy members. Sometimes it refers to the body of Christ as it has existed throughout history, the universal church. We are next told his rank. Hypocrites may deny themselves, may forego their worldly advantage in one instance, with a prospect of finding their account in something else. When Peter said, “You have not lied to men, but to God” (Acts 5:4), he was saying, in effect, “You have not merely lied to men, but you have ultimately lied 66 The only Apostles who appear in it are Peter, John, and James, the last only in a parenthesis recording His martyrdom. "ALL THAT HEARD THESE THINGS"-Those in the community. As Achan’s death warned Israel at the beginning of their entrance into the promised land, so Ananias and Sapphira perished, that all generations of the Church might fear to pretend to self-surrender while cherishing its opposite, and might feel that they have to give account to One who knows the secrets of the heart, and counts nothing as given if anything is surreptitiously kept back. The apostles didn’t leave Jerusalem until they were forced to by persecution (Acts 8:1, 12:1-2). Luke … Continue reading "Commentary on Acts 11:1-18" The general description is followed by one example of the surrender of wealth, which is noteworthy as being done by one afterwards to play a great part in the book, and also as leading on to an example of hypocritical pretence. This was exercising the apostolic rod: but we must always remember, that the power was that of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the apostles had only an impulse of the Spirit upon their minds, by which they were enabled to foretel such extraordinary and divine judgments. {a}. version for the “assembly,” or “congregation,” of Israel (Deuteronomy 18:16; Deuteronomy 23:1; Psalms 26:12; Psalms 68:26), its associations with the political life of Greece as applied to the assemblies, every member of which was a full citizen, made it a natural and fitting word for the new society; and the use by our Lord either of the actual Greek word or of the corresponding Aramaic term stamped it with His sanction. People probably said, "There but for the grace of God go I!". In Acts 11:26 ‘the church’, unqualified, meant in context such a body of people in Antioch, because it was said in Antioch. Sunday, November 22, 2020. Most, I suspect, will … Continue reading "Commentary on … Thus, upon the erecting of God's temporal kingdom among the Jews, Nadab and Abihu were struck dead for offering strange fire before the Lord; and Korah and his company were swallowed up alive by the earth, for opposing Moses, the faithful minister of the Lord; and lastly, Uzzah, for touching the ark, fell by as sudden and remarkable a divine judgment, when the kingdom was given to be established in the house of David, to teach Israel a reverence for God and divine things. [Note: Kent, pp53-54. 'It is worthy of remarks (says Lechler), that here the word "church" [ ekkleesia (Greek #1577)] occurs for the first time in the Acts. (Acts 5:3, NASB95) We also read in Acts 7 "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did." Acts 1:15); all that believed (ch. ды. These … Well begun is half-but only half-ended. ‘Not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own.’ That implies that the right of possession was not abolished. They may have been avarice, want of faith, greed of applause, reluctance to hang back when others were doing like Barnabas. III. Acts 5 - In-depth verse-by-verse Bible study and commentary of Acts chapter 5 in plain English. He is the Sovereign One. Acts 5:1-4 Bible Study Acts 5:5-11 Ananias and Sapphira Acts 5:12-16 Solomon's Porch Acts 5:17-23 Sadducees Acts 5:24-28 Chief Priests Acts 5:29-33 Obey God rather than Men Acts 5:34-42 Gamaliel Acts 5 Bible Study Questions (Handout) 10 Responses to Difficult Bible Passages: Acts 4:32-5:11 Mark Rabich Jun 21, 2010 at 5:46 pm The more I study the Bible the more I find out that there are a lot of cartoon versions of biblical teaching going around. * [5:1–11] The sin of Ananias and Sapphira did not consist in the withholding of part of the money but in their deception of the community. Acts 4:32).— πάντας, all) Even we ought to fear.— τοὺς ἀκούοντας, them that heard) “Without doubt the rulers of the Jews also heard of these things: and yet they did not institute proceedings on that account against Peter. Acts 2:43). "So familiar are we with "spots and wrinkles" in the church that we can with difficulty realize the significance of this, the first sin in and against the community. Thus it can mean the whole body of Christ’s people in totality, or the part of that body which is a body in a particular place. Biblical Commentary (Bible study) Acts 11:1-18 EXEGESIS: THE CONTEXT: The context for this story has its roots in the covenant that God made with Abram. The very name of the Holy Spirit sugges… 11. λ.] But he cannot do it unless the man opens his heart, as that ‘why?’ implies. The two halves may be considered together, and it may be noted that the former presents the sharing of property as the result of brotherly unity, while the latter traces it {‘for,’ Acts 4:34} to the abundant divine grace resting on the whole community. Biblical Commentary (Bible study) Acts 1:1-11 LUKE-ACTS: THE CONTEXT Luke was the author of two books—the Gospel of Luke (which tells the story of the life of Jesus) and the Acts of the Apostles (which tells the story of the early church). It is hard to read the mingled motives which lead ourselves wrong, and harder to separate them in the case of another. International Bible Lessons Commentary Acts 4:32-5:11 King James Version International Bible Lessons Sunday, September 13, 2015 L.G. That is exactly what we read the church doing in Acts 5:11 as great fear comes upon them when they heard about these things. But to say that "When Luke speaks of 'the church' with no qualification, geographical or otherwise, it is to the church of Jerusalem that he refers," is not strictly correct. This was a common word that writers often used to describe assemblies of people that congregated for political and various other types of meetings. Parkhurst, Jr. It can also refer to such a body of people in one particular locality, thus we find ‘the church which was in Jerusalem’ (Acts 8:1; Acts 11:22). The judgment on Sapphira was not inflicted by Peter. It comes in appropriately at the end of the account of the triumph over the first assault of civil authority, which assault was itself not only baffled, but turned to good. The tribe to which a disciple belongs is seldom mentioned, but probably the reason for specifying Barnabas’ was the same as led Luke, in another place, to record that ‘a great company of the priests was obedient to the faith.’ The connection of the tribe of Levi with the Temple worship made accessions from it significant, as showing how surely the new faith was creeping into the very heart of the old system, and winning converts from the very classes most interested in opposing it. Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. 11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. … This is the attitude of holiness we must bring before God. The same is true of Matthew 16:18 where the ‘new’ congregation of Israel must be in mind, the body of those who would respond to Christ and obey Him. Acts 5:11. ‘The multitude’ is used with great meaning, for it was a triumph of the Spirit’s influence that the warm stream of brotherly love ran through so many hearts, knit together only by common submission to Jesus. She had to make the hard choice which we have sometimes to make, to be true to some sinful bargain or be true to God, and she chose the worse part. 1. A solemn consciousness how awful in judgment is even the Spirit of love was the feeling of the Church. Indeed, 11:24 well sums up the portrait of this ‘Son of Encouragement’: ‘He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.’ We also learn that Barnabas was a Levite from Cyprus. Acts 4:32-5:11 ESV Easy-Print Commentary. Hitherto it is "the disciples" (Acts 1:15); "all that believed" (Acts 2:44); "the multitude of them that believed" (Acts 4:32). The sudden startling death of Ananias and his wife naturally tended to give a new prominence to the society, the rulers of which were seen to be clothed with supernatural powers; and the fear that fell upon all who heard of these things led them in part to draw near with reverence, in part to shrink back in awe. 5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife’s knowledge v he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and w laid it at the apostles’ feet. We may just remark, that this is the first place in which the word church is mentioned; and here is a native specimen ofa New Testament church, called by the gospel, initiated by baptism, animated by love, united by holy and divine fellowship, and disciplined by the exemplary punishment of hypocrites. Luke reemphasized the sobering effect these events produced in all who heard about them ( Acts 5:5; cf. They lacked personal integrity. Acts 5:1-11 God frowns upon poor-quality offerings. ., p64. Acts 5:11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things. This incident showed the reality of sin! (See Notes on Matthew 16:18; Matthew 18:17.) Resources » Matthew Henry's Commentary » Acts » Chapter 5 » Verses 1–11 Verses 1–11 The chapter begins with a melancholy but, which puts a stop to the pleasant and agreeable prospect of things which we had in the foregoing chapters; as every man, so every church, in its best state has its but. Many realized, that God knew their "secrets" also. And great fear came upon all the church, etc. Acts 4:31 says, “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of god with boldness.” Then – this account of benevolence, in Acts 4:32-37. καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας κ. τ. Commentary on Acts 5:1-11 (Read Acts 5:1-11) The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was, that they were ambitious of being thought eminent disciples, when they were not true disciples. Peter’s two questions bring out very strikingly the double source of the sin. Perhaps the husband had gone straight to the Apostles after completing the sale, and had left the wife to follow at her convenience. He told the disciples to go out to Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). The community had nothing to do with the money till it had been given to them. Many, no doubt, were put into a consternation by it, and were ready to say, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God and his Spirit in these his servants! The Ascension seems like the poor cousin among church festivals: often overlooked, passed over without being missed. Cf1Corinthians3:15; 5:5; 11:30; Hebrews 10:29; and1John5:16-17.]. CHAPTER 5 Acts 5:1-11.ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. Instead all the credit went to God. He, being silent, yet speaketh, and bids us learn our limits, and be content to be surpassed. It was a merciful opportunity given her to separate herself from the sin and the punishment; but her lie was glib, and indicated determination to stick to the fraud. ἐφ ̓ ὅλην τ. ἐκκλ. Right away, in the church’s infancy, God made it plain that hypocrisy and dissimulation were not going to be tolerated, and His judgment of Ananias and Sapphira helped guard the church against future pretense. [Note: Dillow, The Reign . Just because persecution had driven them closer to God and to one another, were the disciples so full of brotherly love and of grace as Luke delights to paint them. ", [Note: F. F. Bruce, "The Church of Jerusalem in the Acts of the Apostles," Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester67:2 (Spring1985):641. Acts 5, Adam Clarke Commentary, One of over 110 Bible commentaries freely available, this commentary is one of the most respected interdenominational commentaries ever written. ], [Note: See Ryrie, Dispensationalism Today, pp132-55; and C. I. Scofield, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, pp5-12.]. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. ., p64. Meanwhile the news of what had happened spread around, and the whole church were filled with awe and with the recognition that they must not treat God lightly, and many unbelievers heard, and they were made to think again about their lives. ‘ And great fear came on the whole church, and on all who heard these things.’. But he plainly expresseth in this place a double fear. I. Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary 5:1-11 The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was, that they were ambitious of being thought eminent disciples, when they were not true disciples. upon the whole church (in Jerusalem), and (generally) on all (and so also on those who had not yet come over to the church, Acts 5:13) to whose ears this occurrence came. Acts 4:4): the multitude of them that believed (ch. ], The writers of Scripture always referred to the church, the body of Christ, as an entity distinct from the nation of Israel. In Acts 20:28 it is ‘the church of God’ and means the whole body of Christ’s people but especially as connected with those addressed. We must observe, further, that the act of selling was the owners’, as was the act of handing the proceeds to the Apostles. Ananias follows Barnabas as surely as the shadow the substance. Their peculiar work was to say, ‘Behold! We first must see that “lying to the Holy Spirit” began with lying to men. Most likely because it stimulated Ananias and his wife to imitation. INTRODUCTION. Acts 11 - In-depth verse-by-verse commentary and Bible study of Acts chapter 11 in plain English. Apart from his grace, we are all the same as Achan at the battle of Jericho and Ananias and Sapphira in the early Christian Church. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. церковь В Деянии это слово употреблялось впервые, хотя оно очень часто описывает собрание уверовавших людей (ср. (Ephesians 4:30, NASB95) The sin really was not the particular deceit, but the state of heart [cf. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. One writer gave four reasons to conclude that they were real Christians. Acts 4:32-5:11 "Lying to the Holy Spirit" Introduction "The truth always comes out." KJV Acts 11:5 I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: I was in the city of Joppa in a Among the Venetians, it is death to diminish a penny of the public stock. Acts 5:1-11 1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. Acts 2:47) mention is made, and therefore a genuine specimen afforded, of the Church, as constituted in the New Testament, called forth by the Gospel, separated from Judaism, grafted on Christ by baptism, cemented together by fellowship of every kind, and disciplined by the death inflicted on (by the excision of) Ananias and Sapphira. In the meantime Luke used the designations, disciples and the number of names (ch. we saw, and know that He died and rose again.’. Therefore, by all those punishments which we read have been laid upon men in times past, and do daily see to be laid upon them, doth God call us back from the enticements and liberty of sinning. Further, the distribution was not determined by the rule of equality, but by the ‘need’ of the recipients; and its result was not that all had share and share alike, but that ‘none lacked.’, There is nothing of modern communism in all this, but there is a lesson to the modern Church as to the obligations of wealth and the claims of brotherhood, which is all but universally disregarded. The quality of an offering does not necessarily depend on the monetary amount. THE SHOCKING LESSON OF ANANIAS & SAPPHIRA – Acts 5:1-11. Had Ananias and Sapphira never professed to be as committed as they claimed when they brought their gift, God probably would not have judged them as He did. And all that laid their money at the apostles’ feet, after this, were afraid of keeping back any part of the price. Acts 5:7-11. Upon the whole church (ep olhn thn ekklhsian).Here ekklhsia for the first time in Acts of the believers in Jerusalem. And great fear came upon all, &c.— In the striking narrative before us, we have an example of the severest temporal punishment inflicted throughout the New Testament; a punishment inflicted by the apostle, not out of a spirit of passion, cruelty, or revenge, but by a prophetic spirit; not by the sword of the magistrate, or by any power of his own, but by a miraculous and divine power; punishing a notorious lie, which was made to tempt or try the Holy Spirit in the beginning of his peculiar oeconomy or dispensation. The Western (Beza) text used it in Acts 2:47, but it is probably incorrect there. Acts 5:11. And upon as many as heard these things — Who could not but acknowledge that it was the immediate hand of God by which both these persons died, and that he was just in this awful dispensation. Neither sin nor salvation are “make-believe!” What these two did was blasphemy! And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. Carried out by young men and buried by her husband c. Creating great fear upon all the church and all … (p. 115). The recent large accessions to it might have weakened the first feelings of brotherhood, so that it is by no means superfluous to repeat substantially the features of the earlier description [Acts 2:44 - Acts 2:45]. Peter did not think their sin was minor. B. Which of the two was tempter and which was tempted matters little. Indeed, such severity in the beginning of Christianity was highly proper, in order to prevent any occasion for similar punishments in future. The sin (delinquency) of Ananias was now palpable, and the punishment evidently miraculous. Mention of ‘the churches’ in the plural signifies a number of such bodies in different areas or cities (Acts 9:31). He did as many others were doing, and brought the proceeds to the assembly of the brethren, and there publicly laid them at the Apostles’ feet, in token of their authority to administer them as they thought well. This is the attitude of holiness we must bring before God. "So familiar are we with "spots and wrinkles" in the church that we can with difficulty realize the significance of this, the first sin in and against the community. Lesson: Acts 4:32-5:11; Time of Action: 31 A.D.; Place of Action: Jerusalem Golden Text: “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common” (Acts 4:32). Ver. Be that as it may, Peter’s stern words to Ananias put all the stress of the sin on its being an acted lie. It did not damp or check their holy joy, but it taught them to be serious in the midst of it, and to rejoice with trembling. He must have been for some time a disciple, in order that his special gift should have been recognised. "CHURCH"-The first time this word is found in Acts. Acts 5:3]-hypocrisy and unreality." Such an event was in fact only possible then, in those first days, in the early morning of the faith, when the Spirit of the Lord ever dwelt with the disciples, when still every thought and act and word was prompted and guided by His sweet and blessed influence—only possible when the old world love of self, bringing cheerless doubt and accursed deceit in its train, for the first time polluted that holy atmosphere. And upon the slaying of Uzzah, 2 Samuel 6:9, David was afraid of the Lord. It was used of ‘the congregation (church)’ of Israel in the Greek Old Testament (LXX). How much Ananias kept back is of no moment; indeed, the less he retained the greater the sin; for it is baser, as well as more foolish, to do wrong for a little advantage than for a great one. В посторонних же был иной вид страха, не приводивший к искреннему почитанию Бога, но все же побуждавший прославлять Его. Scripture: Acts 4:32–5:11 Topic: New Testament Biblical Figures; Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common. Formatting issue in the NIV '84 edition has been resolved. ], Some interpreters have wondered if Ananias and Sapphira were genuine believers. Barnabas’ significance is further indicated by the notice that he was ‘a man of Cyprus,’ and as such, the earliest mentioned of the Hellenists or foreign-born and Greek-speaking Jews, who were to play so important a part in the expansion of the Church. I believe there is an even greater principle working in these cases where God struck people dead. 32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. ‘Why hath Satan filled thy heart?’-an awful antithesis to being filled with the Spirit. Bengel’s note, in loco. That moment was heavy with her fate, and she knew it not; but she knew that she had the opportunity of telling the truth, and she did not take it. The terrible severity of the punishment can only be understood by remembering the importance of preserving the young community from corruption at the very beginning. No doubt this effect on the Christian community itself was the chief design of so startling a judgment, which had its counterpart, as the sin itself had, in Achan (Joshua 7:1-26), while the period at which it occurred-the commencement of a new era-was also similar. Levites were officials in the temple cultus, subordinate in rank to the priests. [Note: See Ryrie, Dispensationalism Today, pp132-55; and C. I. Scofield, Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth, pp5-12.]. Once more Luke pauses and gives a general survey of the Church’s condition. “Great fear seized the whole church” (Acts 5:11). 3 But , “, And great fear] {See Trapp on "Acts 5:5"} Laudo Venetos, apud quos unicum publicae pecuniae intervertisse denarium, non infame solum est, sed et capitale. Hypocrites may deny themselves, may forego their worldly advantage in one instance, with a prospect of finding their account in something else. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. That will then tell us which part of ‘the church’ is being spoken of. Thus they possessed as though they possessed not, and each held his property as a trust from God for his brethren. Are true Christians capable of deliberate deceit? On the Church, in all the city and neighbourhood, on many an indifferent and careless citizen outside the Church’s pale, fell the shadow of that great fear—fear, however, in its best and noblest sense better, perhaps, expressed as ‘a deep awe.’ ‘The rulers of the Jews,’ says Bengel, ‘without doubt heard of these things, and yet they did not institute proceedings on that account against Peter.’ The immediate effect within and without was one of the ends which the terrible judgment was intended to produce; it was not meant as an example of the way in which the varied communities of the Church of Jesus were to be governed in the future. Dr. Hort thinks that he may employ it by anticipation, and that we cannot be sure that it was actually in use at this early date (Ecclesia, p. 49), but, as the same writer reminds us, our Lord’s saying to St. Peter, Matthew 16:18, must have had its influence upon the minds and teaching of the Apostles. 1 Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, Discite justitiam moniti. The Christian sense of stewardship, not the abolition of the right of property, is the cure for the hideous facts which drive men to shriek ‘Property is theft.’, Luke adds two more points to his survey,-the power of the Apostolic testimony, and the great grace which lay like a bright cloud on the whole Church. It is not to be viewed as accidental that this collective idea of the Church is first brought forward in connection with that event which appears as an imposing act of "divine church discipline"' (as Thiersch expresses it). It is no wonder that our text concludes in Acts 5:11 by saying, “Great fear seized the … The word generally means a gathering or an assembly, but in Biblical use refers to a body of people seen as a whole because they saw themselves as within God’s covenant, who would regularly gather together to join in united action, and came under the same overall leadership. When it is used we must therefore often ask, what locality are we in? Twice already in the Gospels, once of the whole body of believers or the Kingdom ( Matthew 16:18), the other of the local body ( Matthew 18:17).In Acts 7:38 it is used of the whole congregation of Israel while in Acts 19:32 it is used of a public assembly in Ephesus. Kjv: `` and great fear came over the whole church, and James, the universal church Venetians. Therefore often ask, what locality are we in money till it had been given to them real Christians we. Too probably marks a distinction between the end Peter did not think their sin was minor collection! 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