Acts 5:1-11
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” 5 When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.
7 After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
Today's reading is in sharp contrast with yesterday's reading. Yesterday we read what a community looked like who was led by the spirit, today we see how God looks at a community who is led by self. Just a casual look at this passage reminds us of 'law'; they were killed for not giving everything they had...but that is not at all what we have, what we have is God judging a husband and wife who are full of hypocrisy and desire praise, which is in sharp contrast to what God wants: men and women who are full of integrity and give him praise! Let's look deeper:
There are a couple reasons this story is important: (1) It deepens our insight of the inner life of a spirit-filled community (2) It is an example of Satan's strategy in disarming the church. We are told that a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, first, sold a piece of property and then with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. Let's compare this (briefly) with the opposing example: Joseph also had a field, sold it, and laid the proceeds at the apostles feet. They both (Ananias and Joseph) owned land; they both sold it; and both gave money to the church - Joseph gave it all; Ananias, appeared to give it all. What made Ananias and Joseph different was not in the percentage they gave, but rather the motivation of the heart. The text says that Ananias, with his wife's knowledge...kept back for himself some of the proceeds the word 'knowledge' here can be translated to mean connived. and the phrase 'kept back' is to insinuate 'to hide or hidden or misappropriate' this is the same word used in the account of Achan's theft, and it is used only one other time in the New Testament. So, based off of all this, we can assume that Ananias and his wife had already agreed to give all the proceeds to the church for the good of the needy.
We could probably come up with a list of sins committed here, but the ONE that Peter concentrates on is that of hypocrisy or the lack of integrity. Here is what we have to see and be very aware and willing to look for in our life is that Ananias and his wife wanted the praise and credit for generosity without the inconvenience of it. Their motive was not to fight poverty in the name of Jesus, but to bring fame to their own name! So what was the result? First Peter compares the Holy Spirit to God, thus giving us a thread of Trinitarian theology, "lie to the Holy Spirit...You have not lied to men but to God" On top of that Peter tells Ananias that their sin was not just a simple lie to man or the church, but rather a mock and lie to God the Holy Spirit. I wonder if this is why we take our lies and sin so lightly, do we missapproriate the direction of our sin, Peter seemed to know what King David knew. Then Peter seems to give them a chance to repent and reveals to us that the selling and giving of all their property was not a demand which allows us to realize that their issues was hipocrisy, "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart?" Then the judgement of God fell on both him and his wife: he fell down and breathed his last and then an interval of about three hours had passed and Peter said to Sapphire the same thing and the judgment of God fell on her as she too, Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. The result in the Christian community was not accusation against God but rather great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. This is not a fear that causes one to stay away from God, but one that causes the utmost honor and respect. In fact the word fear hear is the Greek word, phobos and denotes an outward manifestation rather than the sensation of fear. That which we fear we respect, for example, if I fear hights, I respect it and act accordingly when I am on a high ledge, I will not move beyond the control of heights, but when I fear God, I respect it, and my outward actions will not go contrary to that.
So, what can we learn from this:
There are a couple reasons this story is important: (1) It deepens our insight of the inner life of a spirit-filled community (2) It is an example of Satan's strategy in disarming the church. We are told that a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, first, sold a piece of property and then with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. Let's compare this (briefly) with the opposing example: Joseph also had a field, sold it, and laid the proceeds at the apostles feet. They both (Ananias and Joseph) owned land; they both sold it; and both gave money to the church - Joseph gave it all; Ananias, appeared to give it all. What made Ananias and Joseph different was not in the percentage they gave, but rather the motivation of the heart. The text says that Ananias, with his wife's knowledge...kept back for himself some of the proceeds the word 'knowledge' here can be translated to mean connived. and the phrase 'kept back' is to insinuate 'to hide or hidden or misappropriate' this is the same word used in the account of Achan's theft, and it is used only one other time in the New Testament. So, based off of all this, we can assume that Ananias and his wife had already agreed to give all the proceeds to the church for the good of the needy.
We could probably come up with a list of sins committed here, but the ONE that Peter concentrates on is that of hypocrisy or the lack of integrity. Here is what we have to see and be very aware and willing to look for in our life is that Ananias and his wife wanted the praise and credit for generosity without the inconvenience of it. Their motive was not to fight poverty in the name of Jesus, but to bring fame to their own name! So what was the result? First Peter compares the Holy Spirit to God, thus giving us a thread of Trinitarian theology, "lie to the Holy Spirit...You have not lied to men but to God" On top of that Peter tells Ananias that their sin was not just a simple lie to man or the church, but rather a mock and lie to God the Holy Spirit. I wonder if this is why we take our lies and sin so lightly, do we missapproriate the direction of our sin, Peter seemed to know what King David knew. Then Peter seems to give them a chance to repent and reveals to us that the selling and giving of all their property was not a demand which allows us to realize that their issues was hipocrisy, "While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart?" Then the judgement of God fell on both him and his wife: he fell down and breathed his last and then an interval of about three hours had passed and Peter said to Sapphire the same thing and the judgment of God fell on her as she too, Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. The result in the Christian community was not accusation against God but rather great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. This is not a fear that causes one to stay away from God, but one that causes the utmost honor and respect. In fact the word fear hear is the Greek word, phobos and denotes an outward manifestation rather than the sensation of fear. That which we fear we respect, for example, if I fear hights, I respect it and act accordingly when I am on a high ledge, I will not move beyond the control of heights, but when I fear God, I respect it, and my outward actions will not go contrary to that.
So, what can we learn from this:
- The Gravity of Sin: Specifically it is obvious that God HATES hypocrisy. Luke records Jesus denouncing it several times. So, first we have to realize specifically that the sin of hypocrisy is hated by God, but on a larger view is that our sin is not first against people, but first against God, "You have not lied to men but to God." Second, they sinned against the church. For the first time Luke uses the word, ekklesia, which on a minor liver confirms the church as the continuation of God's covenant people from the OT. But on a much more major plain, Luke is emphasizing the great evil of sinning against God's people - Where in yesterdays reading we see what makes-up true community, today we see how the gravity of sin ruins true community.
- The Importance of our Conscience: I think we learn the importance and sacredness of the human conscience. Later on Paul says in front of Felix that he always goes to great pain to keep his conscience clear before God. When I talk about a clear conscience, I am not just talking about a casual emotion, but the importance of being or living a life transparent before God and his people, so that our community isn't split by hypocrisy and our ears don't deafen to the voice of God. We need to strive to live in such a way that NOTHING comes between our community of Faith and God or other people. It was this openness which Ananias and Sapphira failed to maintain.
- The Necessity of Church Discipline: The necessity of church discipline is the third and final thing we can learn here. One if you are a church member, it is important to realize it is important, biblical, and willing to submit to; and if you are a church leader it is important to NOT take this lightly or as a power trip, but let it set on you very heavily and bend you to your knees in humility. Although physical death may have continued in some situations as a penalty for those sins which despise the church of God, it came to be associated with excommuniction.
No comments:
Post a Comment