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Chapter 5 records the story of Ananias and Sapphira, verses 1 thru 11. Notice the chapter begins with a melancholy "but". It puts to an end the loving and agreeable conditions that were so evident in chapters 3 and 4. Every church, every congregation has it's "but". This appears to be the first recorded sin to creep into the new church. The sin was lying and hypocrisy. Notice what they sought after un-deservingly. They wanted the phrase of the Apostles so they did as most of the other members did and sold a piece of property and brought only a part of the money that they received, and laid it at the Apostles feet, on the pretence that they were bringing all of it. They were not only seeking the phrase of the Apostles but they also wanted the phrase of the other members also. They wanted their "cake" and they wanted to eat it also. They ended up with neither.
Up to this time, the Apostles did "signs and wonders" of mercy and healing but now comes a miracle of judgment. The opposite of this story is the story of the rich young ruler. He asked Jesus what he must do to be saved. Jesus answered and said, "Sell all that you have and take up your cross and follow me." But the rich young ruler had many possessions and he could not do what Jesus asked so he went away sorrowing. There was no lying or hypocrisy there. It was commendable that he was honest with Jesus and himself and did not pretend as Ananias and Sapphira did.
What problems were these two having? They showed lack of faith in the Lords promise to take care of them. They were like a lot of people today that show lack of faith in the Lord's promise to save them and believe that they must do something to merit salvation. They yield to "peer pressure" and they wanted to do as the others and be phrased for it, but they really did not want to make the sacrifice. Thus they were guilty of lying and hypocrisy.
The question had been asked many times, why didn't Peter take them aside and ask them to repent and go home and get the rest of the money and bring it to the store house? Didn't they deserve an opportunity to repent and be forgiven? Hadn't Peter done something considerably worse and wasn't he forgiven? The answer lies in "premeditation". Peter did not determine ahead of time to deny Christ. He did it in a moment of weakness. Ananias and Sapphira had this all planned out ahead of time. Satan had filled their heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. Notice the sin was against the Holy Spirit not the Apostles. Peter asked a good question, why did they sell the property for before it was sold it belonged to them to do with as they pleased. The answer probably laid in the fact that this was the Jubilee Year. They saw the opportunity to make a good profit and get a few "brownie points" from the Apostles.
Now notice what the penalty was for their sin. Their lives were taken from them. It is not clear just what happened. It does not appear that Peter knew it was going to happen. Some believe that they were struck down by an Angel like Herod was. Even though there was a short period of time between their deaths, their deaths were the same. Many believe that when they found out that Peter knew they had cheated the Lord that their conscience did them in. Others believe that they died of fear, realizing that Peter could read their minds.
Lets get back to an earlier question, why was this punishment needed? The obvious answer was to maintain the honor of the Holy Spirit. What Ananias did was a "test" of the Spirit. If they had gotten away with this what else would they have tried. Perhaps a test of Peter Also. If Peter, led of the Spirit, could not have discovered the fraud, how could he discover the deeper things of God? The punishment was also to be an example to others.
Notice how Ananias was buried immediately, as was the custom of the Jews. The young men were attendants to the Apostles They carried the body out of the city and gave it a decent burial. Three hours later, Sapphira came in expecting to receive phrase for the sacrifice that she and her husband had made, only to be found guilty of lying to the Holy Spirit. Peter said to her, "You can hear those coming who have buried your husband, they will carry you out also." And they did and they buried her beside her husband.
What effect did this event have on the other believers? Verse 11, "Great fear
came upon the whole church and those who heard of these things." If, as some
think, this event happened on the porch of the Temple, then it must have been
witnessed by many people and they spread the word around the city.
Mixed Response to Ministry
["Click here for Acts 5:12-16"]
In verses 12 thru 16 of chapter 5, we have recorded for us an indication as to how the Gospel was progressing. We need to look at two things in these verses.
As to the miracles, Luke says in verse 12, "Many signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the Apostles." We are not told exactly what these signs and wonders were, however, we do know that God had left the "judgment seat" where he sat in the last story and returned to the "mercy seat" where the Gospel could be about physical and spiritual healing.
As to the effect upon their mission, they proved the divine nature of the Apostles mission. As to where they were done, they were done out in the open where everyone could see and hear the Gospel Truths.
As to the effects of these signs and wonders, four are listed.
During the ministry of Jesus, one would only need to touch the hem of His garment
and be healed, here it would seem, only their shadow was needed. This was amazing
but Jesus said of them when the Disciples commented about His great works,
"Greater works than these will you do." Word soon got out around the countryside
and they brought their sick to be healed, sick of body and sick of mind, and they
were all healed. Why? Matthew Henry suggests that this power was given the
Apostles to convince people that they were appointed by the Lord and thus aid in
their ministry. Proof that their message and commission was from God.
In Jail Again, this time with Company
["Click here for Acts 5:17-42"]
Verses 17 thru 26 of Chapter 5 covers the second arrest of the Apostles. Matthew Henry describes these verses as having the malice of hell and the Grace of Heaven struggling throughout them. One of the best ways to know that you are doing something good is when the forces of Satan are turned against you.
Notice first, the anger of the High Priest, kindled by jealousy. It was either Annas or Caiaphas who saw all of their wealth and position going down the drain for there jobs were literally at stake. Then the Sadducees were quick to join them for these Apostles preached about life after death a reality that they denied. It really bothered these people to see the popularity of the Apostles, to see the admiration and respect of the people being taken from them.
So what did they do? They had the Apostles arrested and put into prison. This was apparently a prison where the worse of criminals were kept. They hoped, by doing this, to keep them from witnessing any further. Also to put fear into their hearts. The last time when they had Peter and John, they warned them and turned them loose. They found out that didn't work so now they hoped to scare them into submission.
Notice what happen. God sent an Angel to release them from prison. Notice they are "led" out of prison, past the guards, thru the locked doors and gates, without anyone noticing. No lock was broken, no guard was hurt, all was done without any opposition. They were released and told to go to the Temple and speak to the people. Notice their release was not to save their lives, it was done to make it possible for them to go on doing what they had been doing, where they had been doing it. Not on some back street or out in the country, but right back at the Temple.
Now, what were they to speak? "All the words of this life." Much is included in these instructions. First, they were to tell the people about their arrest and their release. Especially how God had cared for them and took care of their release. Tell them of the peace experienced despite being imprisoned and in spite of the threats of the Priests and Sadducees. Tell them about the resurrection which the Sadducees so despised. Tell them that this "heavenly life" which they had been living could be theirs also for the asking. Tell them the "words of Life" as you have in the past, led of the Spirit.
Well, what did they do? They went back to the Temple, onto Solomon's Porch at daybreak, and began to preach. Notice they did not hesitate the least in following these orders. You might think by now that they would find somewhere else to preach, somewhere not so close to the source of their problems. But not so, they did as they were told. This was probably about 6:00 AM. They entered the Temple Courtyard as soon as the gates were opened and the people began to gather.
Meanwhile, the Council, not aware of what was going on with the Apostles, met at their usual time, 9:00AM.
Notice this was no ordinary council meeting. They had summoned all the Senate of the Children of Israel. This included three courts. The Sanhedrin consisting of 70 Elders, The Outer Court consisting of 23 Judges, and the Inner Court consisting of 23 judges. That was a total of 116 judges in all. Perhaps this was the work of the Lord for certainly there was no need of 116 judges to judge 12 Apostles, no, it was done to confuse the enemy, 116 opinions would confuse any issue. Also, it was done that all 116 Judges might hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. What was intended by the High Priest to be a rally of his forces against the Apostles turned out to be an opportunity for the Apostles to witness to all the Judges of Israel.
Notice what happens. The High Priest sends for the prisoners. The Officers of the Guard return and report that the prisoners are gone and the amazing thing was that all the gates were still locked and the guards were still standing at their posts and no one had seem the Apostles leave. Can you imagine the embarrassment of the Officer of the Guard and the High Priest when this was reported? Matthew Henry says, "They were perplexed and at their wits end."
They began to reason, speculate, guess, make excuses. What could have happened? Perhaps they had been "conjured" out by a witch. Perhaps some magician devised a means of escape. Perhaps the guards were playing tricks on them, knowing how popular the Apostles were with the common people. Maybe, with this miraculous escape they would be more popular than before. Maybe instead of helping their situation, the High Priest and the Sadducees had only made matters worse.
This speculation was suddenly stopped by the news that the Apostles were standing in the Temple teaching the people. This bit of information only confused the High Priest all the more. Why would these Apostles escape from prison and return to the scene of the crime? Why would these men return to the Temple and do the very thing for which they were arrested? Good Question. Lets find out.
The Temple Guard was sent out to bring the Apostles in before the council. Why did God allow this? Why did he have them released only to be arrested again? Two reasons seem obvious. One, to humble the pride of the Apostles. Two, to humble the fury of the persecutors. Notice the officers that bring the Apostles in show a great deal of respect for them. Not a common sight among Roman Soldiers. It appears that the Apostles had gained the respect of all in Jerusalem with the exception of this Council.
Chapter 5, verses 27 thru 42, close this chapter and tell what happened when the Apostles were brought before this Council. The Apostles were set before the 116 Judges. The charge was read against them. "We strictly charged you not to speak on the name of Jesus but you have filled Jerusalem with His teachings." Notice the charge was made in the form of a question. "Did we not command you?" The answer was obviously yes, but Peter might well have reminded them that He and John had not agreed to that command and that they had told them at that time, that God's authority was superior to theirs.
They also charged that the Apostles were spreading a doctrine that was contrary to the teachings of Moses and that they had filled Jerusalem with this teaching. How could uneducated simple Galileans cause so much disturbance, and why did they do it? Well the council thought that they knew, "You have done this to get even with us for having Jesus done away with." "You intend to bring this man's blood upon us." Thus they were charged not only with contempt of court but also with sedition and malefaction. In the heat of the trial before Herod, these Judges had cried out "Let His blood be upon us and our children." But now they could not bear to even talk about it. They were being condemned by their own consciences.
Now notice how the Apostles justified their disobedience to the ruling of the Sanhedrin. The Apostles, probably by their spokesman Peter, said (v 29) "We must obey God rather than man." God had commanded them to teach in His name, therefore, they had to do so. It was inescapable that in preaching Christ, they would indeed condemn those who killed Him so with great courage the Apostles said to the Chief Priest, "You killed Him by hanging Him on a tree." This may have been a good time to downplay what the Jews had done to Jesus but they, filled with the Holy Spirit, told it like it was, "You killed Him".
They certainly did not want to hear that and most certainly did not want to hear what followed. "You killed Him, but God raised Him from the dead." "God exalted Him and put Him at His right Hand." "God made Him leader and Savior of all who would repent and accept His forgiveness." They killed Him, they dishonored Him, they called Him a blasphemer. God raised Him, honored Him and made Him the Savior of the world. Now you judge, who is right? Verse 32, and they were witnesses to all that they had said, so was the Holy Spirit whom God gives to all that obey Him. The Gift of the Holy Spirit is not only to bring people into a saving relationship with God, but He also makes us useful in God's work.
Now, in one accord, the Apostles put the judges on the spot. "You must judge then whether we should obey you or obey the Holy Spirit." How would they respond to that statement? They found themselves in an unattainable position. What do you do when your whole case goes out the window? Well these Judges opted to get mad, so mad that they wanted to kill the Apostles. It became obvious to these Judges that the only way that they could stop these men from preaching was to kill them.
The calmness and security demonstrated by these Apostles was in contrast to the perplexed and disturbed minds of the Judges and it only served to enrage them all the more. However, there was one on the council that displayed some good judgment. A Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel.
The control of Judaism was in the hands of three groups. We have talked about these before, but lets do a little review. The Sadducees, who were known for their lack of faith in life after death, the Essenes who were the conservatives of the day and who lived a communal life with strict attention to the Law, and the Pharisees who exercised great political power and were the teachers of the Law. Though criticized by Jesus for their harsh and uncharitable stress on legalistic observance of religion at the expense of the loving nature of God, they should be given credit for preserving Judaism. For the most part, the Pharisees had the ability to change with the times and accept, with reason, new ideas. This ability to reason is here demonstrated by Gamaliel. As we shall see later, he was one of the major teachers of the Law and one of his students was Saul of Tarsus.
Matthew Henry says that Gamaliel was a Pharisee by profession but he also was a Doctor of Law. He was knowledgeable of the scriptures, gave lectures on them and taught in a religious school. Tradition has it that Stephen and Barbabas were also students of Gamaliel. It is believed by some that he was the "Son of Simon" that took the baby Jesus into his arms at the Temple when Jesus was dedicated. He had a reputation for his wisdom and his gentle conduct, and here shows great wisdom and a clear head as he keeps the situation from getting out of hand.
Notice what he does. He takes charge and has the Apostles taken from the room. This gave everyone time to cool off. It also gave every one on the council an opportunity to speak freely. Notice it was Gamaliel that spoke first. "Men of Israel, take care what you do with these men." He reminds them of their position as leaders of Israel and as such should use care and reason in considering this case.
Then Gamaliel reminds them of other cases where seditious men and trouble makers were left alone and they defeated themselves. One such man was Theudas who had boasted of being a teacher or prince with a divine commission to revolutionize the Jewish church. About 400 men joined him and in a short while, in some sort of scuffle, he was slain and his men were scattered.
Then there was Judas of Galilee. His attempt occurred before Theudas. It occurred at the time of the census or the taxation which was at the time of the birth of Jesus. This Judas rounded up a few followers and he was slain like Theudas and his followers were also dispersed. Gamaliel reminds them that all of this took care of itself and did not require any action on their part.
"Now, on this present case,....notice Gamaliel seems to equate this present case as being comparable to the others, however, he does leave some room for doubt in the event that he was wrong. Notice his reasoning. "If this plan or undertaking by these Apostles is of man, it will fail." "If, on the other hand, it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow it." The wisdom is this, if there is any doubt about the motivation of an endeavor, if it is of man or if it is of God, it is best to let it resolve itself. To fight that which , given time enough will destroy itself, is foolish, and what so ever is of God cannot be destroyed. In fact, Gamaliel warns them that they might even be found opposing God. They were His people, but He was not against punishing them when they went against His will.
Well, did they take his advise? Yes, to a degree. They took Gamaliel's advice and agreed not to put the Apostles to death, but, they could not let them go without some punishment, so they had them stripped to the waist and wiped. Then they released them and commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus anymore.
Well, what effect did this have on the Apostles? "They went away, rejoicing." What kind of person would take that kind of unjust treatment and go away rejoicing? They left the Council Chamber bearing the marks of the wipe and instead of being ashamed as the Priests had hoped, they phrased God for being counted worthy to suffer for His name. Certainly, being men of honor, the hurt to their pride was far greater than the physical pain. They remembered what Jesus had said to them early in the ministry they men would revile and persecute them but they would rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great would be their reward in heaven. They also phrased God for the Grace that was sufficient for their needs.
Well, did they stop preaching? No. Everyday, in the Temple and in homes, they preached Jesus as the Christ. This was the subject that gave most offence to the Priests. If what the Apostles were saying was true, then they had crucified the Messiah, the Son of God. What a burden that must have been.
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