2/26/24 - Acts 5:1-11

  Acts 5: 1-11

Observation:

Ananias and Sappira sell a piece of property; however, they conspire to keep back a portion of their revenue for themselves while pretending to give the entire amount to the apostles for the benefit of the community. Peter saw this and confronts Ananias about why he lied to the Holy Spirit. Peter makes it clear that Ananias didn't lie to the men but to God. At that moment, Ananias fell down and breathed his last when he heard the words from Peter. Roughly three hours later, Sapphira enters, unaware of what happened to her husband. Peter questions her about the sale price of the land, giving her an opportunity to be truthful. Sapphira also lies, claiming the price they received is the full amount. Peter confronts her, revealing the scheme, and she too falls down dead. Throughout this time, great fear comes upon the whole church and all who heard about the occured events. Young men in the community carried out the bodies and buried both Ananias and Sapphira. 

Interpretation:

Before going in depth of this passage, we need to remember that the early Christians practiced on giving up their possessions and sharing everything in common. Therefore, part of that practice was "selling their property and possessions to give to anyone who had need" (Acts 2: 45). Also in Acts 4: 34-35, it states "that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need." This reflects a commitment to caring for one another's well being. And Jesus often emphasized the importance of selflessness, generosity, and concern for others. One can safely assume that while the early Christians were selling off their possessions and giving their revenue to the needy, their hearts should be in the right place with the Lord. Going back to Ananias and Sapphira, the severity of the punishment underscores the seriousness of deceit within the community. Ananias and Sapphira's sin was not withholding the money but pretending to be more generous than they were. This passage emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit during that time period. The deception is seen as lying not just to the people but to God, symbolizing the intimate connection between the Spirit and the life of the believers. The fear that falls upon the community is not a fear of punishment but a deep reverence for the holiness of God and the importance of truthfulness in their midst. Peter was full of the Holy Spirit and Peter saw through the lies of Ananias and Sapphira without any interference nor anyone providing evidence to Peter on what transpired. This serves as a reminder that we may try to fool God but He sees through all the lies and that in turn leads to sin and sin leads to death.

Personal Reflection:

Honestly, after reading this passage, it made me question myself if there was a time when I was fooling those around me, making them think that I was being someone I was not. Admittingly, I did so back in high school when my friend was asking for prayers after she shared with me something incredibly personal to her. I did pray for her, in fact, I prayed for her that same night, and what I should have been is a prayer warrior for her letting her know that she can put her full trust in me and know that there's someone out there praying for her. Rather what happened was I not only prayed for her but I also shared those really personal confessionals she shared with me, which resulted in vast gossip within our grade. What's funny is after reading this passage, my friend who's name is also Peter came to me directly and told me that what I did was sinful, and that I need to repent and go ask for forgiveness. Long story short, the outcome of my relationship with my friend was not good as I lost a good sister in Christ and truth be told, I have no idea where she's at in her life with God but I have asked God for forgiveness and repented and at this point I can only pray that she's still a believer and a woman of God. 

I know I shared this before but I'll share it again, for the sake of knowing that God and the Holy Spirit were working together to speak to me. During my mid-20s, one sinful act I noticed a lot of Christians were making was abortions. And when it was my time to answer the test, I knew it was not an easy answer to make as the world's view was poisoning my mind on convincing me to be selfish and how I have a full life ahead of me, how my future is not set and having a child this early will hamper my career. Another reason to have the abortion was I can always have a child later. Deep down the Holy Spirit was speaking to me reminding me to not go down the sinful path. God was with me when I was praying to Him that one Friday afternoon when I was all alone and everyone went home except for my manager. And while in deep prayer, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me to go talk to my manager about my issue. After a couple of minutes of questioning, eventually I got up and asked for my manager's time. And during the entire time I was talking to my manager, I look back and know that the Holy Spirit and God were talking to me, reminding me to do the right thing and not go down the wrong path. 

Application:

These days I'm trying my best to make sure that my thoughts and actions are pure, honest and full of agape love so that I'm not fall into the same trap that Ananias and Sapphira fell into. During my college years I was wearing several faces, and I know a lot of Christians did it, but deep down I knew it was something I needed to change as I felt the Holy Spirit tugging on my heart to change. I was someone who would cuss left and right, I was someone who wanted to get drunk all the time, I was someone who simply didn't care and only did what he wanted to do while also being arrogant/egotistic at the same time. But when I was at church, I portrayed myself as a God-fearing person and what was even worse, I was a leader of the college fellowship. I eventually got humbled as God made sure of it, but during those tough times, I took the time to reflect and spent time with God and it became clear that I needed to change. I give credit all credit to the Father and He helped me change. Fast forward to now, there are times when I do get angry at my kids where I will certain cuss words. I should tell them I am sorry for saying those words, explain myself and ask for their forgiveness. There are times when I just want to get drunk and not care. Satan does a good job on sneaking those thoughts into my mind. But I know that God is with me and through prayer, QT, cell group and having the brothers and sisters in Christ around me, those thoughts do not manifest into anything dangerous. Thank God that He is with me, my friends and my family.