Who were Ananias and Sapphira?
At the beginning of the fifth chapter of Acts, Ananias and Sapphira appear in the presence of the Apostle Peter. Luke, the author of Acts, has already explained that because of the outpouring of the Spirit and the work of the Apostles, the early church was growing in number and faith (Acts 2:41; 4:32). In fact, this growth was so powerful and genuine that believers were sharing their possessions with each other by selling assets and entrusting the funds to the discretion of the Apostles (Acts 4:34–35). Luke even gives the example of Barnabas, a native of the island of Cyprus, who sold a field and laid the whole of the proceeds at the Apostles’ feet. Barnabas eventually rose to relative prominence in the early church, and he accompanied Paul to Antioch and on his first missionary journey (Acts 11:25–26; 13:2–3).
Not wanting to be left out, Ananias and Sapphira also laid a financial gift at the feet of the Apostles (Acts 5:2). The two of them were quite possibly motivated by the opportunity to impress the Christian community and earn a position of prominence like Barnabas. But whatever their intention, their gift was clearly not motivated by genuine faith. Luke explains that, like Barnabas, this married couple sold a piece of property, but they only brought a portion of the proceeds instead of the full amount. The issue was not that the Apostles required this couple to empty their entire bank account, but rather that Ananias and Sapphira implied that they had done precisely the same thing as Barnabas had done when, in fact, they had secretly “kept back” a portion for themselves (Acts 5:2).
Peter saw right through this deception and called out Ananias’ malicious intent as motivated by Satan himself (Acts 5:3–4). With this Apostolic pronouncement of judgment, Ananias fell dead on the ground (Acts 5:5–6). Shortly thereafter, Sapphira appeared, and Peter tested her by asking how much they were paid for the property. When she lied to his face, she too fell dead like her husband, shocking the entire church (Acts 5:7–11).
The account of Ananias and Sapphira is a significant biblical passage for at least three reasons.
1. This event reveals the seriousness of malicious deception, especially among God’s people.
This story of Ananias and Sapphira alludes back to Joshua 7. After the fall of Jericho, Achan, an Israelite, “kept back” (this same word is used in the Greek Old Testament) a portion of the spoils from Jericho and hid it under his tent (Josh. 7:1, 21). Following this cunning move, Israel went into battle against Ai, and the Israelite army was utterly defeated (Josh. 7:4–6). God revealed Achan’s sin and he and his family were put to death (Josh. 7:7–26). Scripture everywhere pronounces harsh warnings about this kind of malicious deception (see Ex. 20:16; Prov. 12:22; Zech. 8:16; Eph. 4:15; James 5:12) because it often reveals a lack of genuine faith (Ps. 5:6; 1 John 1:6; Rev. 21:8) and it damages the witness of the people of God in the world (Ps. 15:2–3; Matt. 5:16). God’s people cannot serve Him when their lives are couched in deception. Perhaps this is why Paul states that those in submission to authority ought not to “keep back” anything for themselves with selfish intent, but rather they ought to show good faith to adorn their godly confession with godly practice (Titus 2:10).
2. The account of Ananias and Sapphira assumes that all sin is ultimately sin against God.
When Ananias attempted to deceive Peter, the Apostle said that Ananias had not lied to men, but to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:4). Likewise, when Nathan confronted David about murdering Uriah and stealing his wife, David exclaimed, “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13), and he cried out to God, “Against you, you only, have I sinned” (Ps. 51:4). The reverse is also the case. When we do good to others, we ultimately do good unto the Lord (Matt. 25:40). This is one reason why Martin Luther argued that a work can only be “good” if it is done out of faith and unto the glory of God. Every other work is ultimately done against the Lord and unto the glory of the self.
3. In this account, God interrupts His normal pattern of mercy to remind His people that they do not deserve it.
In the beginning of Acts, the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Apostles, resulting in miraculous speech that led to the salvation of three thousand souls (Acts 2:1–12, 41). We also observe that the same Spirit brought healing to a lame man through Peter and John at the temple gate (Acts 3:1–10). Yet now, we see the Spirit of God as an instrument of judgment, wreaking the havoc of death upon sinners, all of whom deserve nothing more than this kind of destruction (Rom. 6:23). A sudden and shocking interruption in the narrative brought great fear upon the whole church (Acts 5:11). In this way, we recognize that the same Spirit—indeed, the same triune God—is a God of both wrath and mercy. What distinguishes Ananias from Peter? Achan from David? Why does the one die, but the other live? Why does one receive wrath and another mercy? This very same Spirit tells us that it is the divine gift of faith that distinguishes those who receive wrath and those who receive mercy (Eph. 2:1–10).