Acts 5:1-11
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“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet… While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own power? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things…And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether you sold the land for so much? And she said, yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?…Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost…”
What was Ananias’ and Sapphira’s sin? Did they simply wish to keep money that was already theirs? Acts 2:44 has shown that, during this period, all people in the Church had “everything in common,” meaning for common use. From Acts 5:1-11 we can conclude it meant money and possessions. This couple conspired (Ac 5:2) to “keep part of the price” of their land, when others gave everything they had (Acts 4:36-37), apparently by prior agreement, and this is the hidden key, not readily visible.
Their sin was lying, not stealing, as Ac 4:4 makes clear. This couple tried to deceive Peter into believing that they were giving the entire sum they had been paid. Their sin was certainly not an unwillingness to become socialists. In fact, they obviously wanted to be thought of as more generous than they actually were. In other words, they had a problem with pride—vanity. And the matter was serious. The apostles had, no doubt, been acting on the knowledge that certain funds were coming. The impact of this deception on the Church must have been great.
Ac 4:4 shows they neither (1) had to sell the land at all, nor (2) had to give the entire value once they did. Lying occurred by saying that they were giving it all when they were not! That Ananias and Sapphira died is a powerful statement about how God views lying.
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