IV. Further Progress of the Church and a Second Persecution. (4:32-5:42)
A. Unity and liberality of the church (4:32-37)
v.32 An emergency situation existed, many of the new Christians were far from home and their sources of income.
v.33 Who was giving their witness? The Apostles. See the NASV. The church was generally in favor with the people of Jerusalem.
v.34,35 No Christian lacked due to the generosity of his fellow Christians. The apostles were in charge of this community chest, since no officials (deacons) had been appointed to serve at this time.
v.36,37 This is the first mention of Barnabas, and we see that he sold a field and brought the money to the Apostles. This story is related here so that we might compare the actions of a righteous man (Barnabas) to the actions of sinners within the church (Ananias and Sapphira). Born on the Island of Cyprus to Jewish parents of the tribe of Levi, Barnabas will attain prominence in our study as we progress into the book of Acts.
B. A case of discipline (5:1-11)
v.1 This verse needs to be contrasted to verse 32 of chapter 4. Barnabas is commended for what he did, but Ananias and Sapphira are condemned. We will see why.
v.2 Why would they give a part of the money and say that it was all of it? They wanted to look benevolent in the eyes of men, but their greed made them want some of the money also.
v.3 Satan is the father of all lies. Jn. 8:44 The lie is the sin, not keeping back part of the money. This is the first record of sin being committed by a Christian.
v.4 Ananias had tried to lie to God. The sin had found him out. The pitiful thing here is that Ananias could have kept part or all of the money, but he yielded to the temptation of lying and sinned.
v.5,6 Ananias paid immediate consequences for his sin. The church and the world had to be shown that God could not be lied to. Luke's purpose in recounting this story is to warn us: Do not attempt to deceive God. The Jewish custom was to bury on the day of death. Why?
v.7 Sapphira appears three hours later, not knowing the fate of her husband.
v.8 Peter gave Sapphira a chance to confess her sin, but she refused the opportunity.
v.9 Peter accuses her, and Ananias of trying the Holy Spirit, tells her that her husband is dead and says she will be dead too, all in one breath.
v.10 Sapphira dies and is buried with her husband.
v.11 I Cor. 3:17 The word church appears for the first time in Acts. Previously it was used in Mt. 16:18 and 18:17. Fear is awe and reverence. A lesson for us today: Do not understate our wealth or overstate our giving.
C. Prosperity of the church increased (vv. 12-16)
v.12 In the N.T. miracles are described by four names: signs, works, wonders, and powers. Notice that the congregation was still gathering at Solomon's porch.
v.13 People began to keep a more respectful distance from the apostles knowing the power that they possessed. That is, they worried that the apostles could see within their hearts as Peter saw into the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira. However, the people still admired the apostles, for the power they did have.
v.14 Believers kept being added to the Lord's body. Were any of these infants? How can you believe if you cannot understand?
v.15 Compare the attitude of these people with the woman of Mk. 5:27 and the men of Mt. 14:36. The faith being shown is not that of the sick themselves, but of those who carried them out into the streets.
v.16 Everyone that came was healed. Notice that the demoniacs and sick are listed separately as in Lu. 6:18
To conclude this lesson read: McGarvey (vol. 1) pp. 89,90.