What if Ananias and Sapphira Didn’t Hold Anything Back?

“But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. “Ananias,” Peter asked, “why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God!” Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price.” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.” Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things.” Acts 5:1-11

The story of Ananias and Sapphira is a difficult, yet powerful story from the early church. The problem with our friends Ananias and Sapphira is, perhaps, that they wanted to receive a reputation for a greater personal sacrifice than they actually made. The church’s well-intentioned sharing of goods probably led to a considerable amount of subtle pressure on members to make donations. In other words, when one member, or several make significant donations and sacrifices to the church community, others will want to look as if they too can make such a sacrifice. So, perhaps Ananias and Sapphira got caught up in a band-wagon effect. The couple wanted to appear as outstanding church members, but they didn’t want to part with their possessions. In order to have both, they pretended to give the full price of the sale of their property to the Apostles. But they secretly kept part of the money for themselves, thus trying to deceive the community. But what if they had given everything to the community? And what if they did not lie to Peter?

It would seem that the reputation of Peter, his power and his faithfulness to the community would have spread mightily after this encounter. Acts 5 goes on to say that a great fear seized the church and all who heard of this account. If Ananias and Sapphira did not withhold anything from the sale of their property, they would have gone on to remain nameless and faceless among those who lived within the community of the believers following the Day of Pentecost. Could it be that, by their selfish actions, their sudden and shocking deaths serve more to embolden the power and position of Peter rather than if they had remained faithful followers? I think this is a fair question. Obviously, by being named as liars, and suffering the shocking judgment of Peter, the fear their story produces continues to have an impact within the church community – well, for those who even know their story. When we consider reading the Bible and taking the words and teachings of G-d seriously, we have stories like these that have the power to keep us up at night.

Pastor Dave