In this New Testament account, in Acts 5, God Judges Ananias and Sapphira. One may ask, “Why did they die?” They sold a piece of property and pledged to give the money to the church, but they held back some of the money. So, did they die because of failing to give generously? Did they die because they lied? Did they die because God is a vindictive God? Did they die because of their greed? The land was their possession, and so the money from the sale was also theirs. What’s wrong with only giving a portion? Was their sin so grave that they had to die because of it? I will share the answers and form a conclusion from scripture. But first, let’s read the occurrence from scripture.
Acts 5:1-11
5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 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.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
God Judges Ananias and Sapphira
In verses 1-2, we see a couple that sold a possession. The possession could be land, a home, a business, or a flock of sheep. In this case, the type of possession is not relevant. What they did with the proceeds is what’s in question. The act of keeping back would not have been sinful. They simply had to honestly share that they needed the money they kept. The money was their money, to give the whole or part. However, the contribution of the partial funds appeared to reproduce Barnabas’s act from Acts 4:36-37. Barnabas gave the entire proceeds from the sale of his land. But Ananias and Sapphira gave as if it were all the proceeds, but it wasn’t. The word for “kept back” is rendered “purloining” in Titus 2:10 and always carries with it the idea of dishonest and secretive appropriation.
Verses 3 and 4 share that Peter knew what Ananias and Sapphira had done. We don’t know if it was a direct revelation from the Holy Spirit or if he knew what was being sold and understood its market value. But either way, a lie to the Apostle was a lie to the Holy Spirit, under whose guidance and power the Apostle acts. Ananias’s fraud was an ignoring of the relationship the Apostle had with God, which was manifested with an immediate fatal punishment. You do not lie to God.
Ananias dropped dead as soon as Peter said he lied to God the Holy Spirit, and fear and terror struck those who were present and heard what was said. Then, the young men took the lifeless body of Ananias, wrapped it, and buried it.
In verses 7-11, we see that Ananias’ wife, who was in collusion with her husband about withholding some of the money, arrived about three hours after his death. Peter immediately quizzed her about the sale and the contribution. She, too, lied. Then Peter told her to behold the feet of the men who buried her husband. She was witness to the dirty feet of the men who buried her husband as a testimony that he was indeed dead. Then, straightaway, she dropped dead. Again, fear and terror struck those who were present and heard what was said and witnessed what happened. You do not lie to God.
God Judges Ananias and Sapphira – Life Lessons
God Judges Ananias and Sapphira not because they didn’t give enough. They didn’t die because Peter or God were mean or vindictive. They died because they formed a plot. Then, they executed the plot by appearing to give the entire proceeds from the sale, as Barnabas did, but instead surreptitiously, with greedy intent, kept some of the money. This deception was an agreed-upon plot to look generous and pious, but through the Apostle Peter, they were lying to God the Holy Spirit. It was not their greedy withholding of money; it was the evil, greedy intent of their hearts that got their bodies sent to the grave and their immortal souls sent to hell.
Some will still say that these rotten people didn’t deserve to die. It was their property that was sold, so they should decide where the money goes. True, it was their money, but they formed a deceptive plot intended to make themselves look good, generous, and appear Christian. They had no good or appropriate intent and just wanted to deceive Peter and those present to look impressive. They lied to the Apostle and, by extension, lied to God. You do not and cannot lie to God.
The horror and terror this struck into the people present, and to all those that talked about the incident, I’m sure, acted as an outstanding deterrent. I’m sure no one even thought of doing something this stupid after hearing about this incident. So, our life lessons are: don’t lie, don’t be greedy, don’t try to look more important than you are, don’t formulate evil plots, and never lie to God.
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