Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 4:32—5:11

The Believers Share

³² The whole group of believers was united in their thinking and in what they wanted. None of them said that the things they had were their own. Instead, they shared everything. ³³ With great power the apostles^w were making it known to everyone that the Lord Jesus was raised from death. And God blessed all the believers very much. ³⁴ None of them could say they needed anything. Everyone who owned fields or houses sold them. They brought the money they got ³⁵ and gave it to the apostles. Then everyone was given whatever they needed.

    ³⁶ One of the believers was named Joseph. The apostles called him Barnabas. (This name means “one who encourages others.”) He was a Levite^x born in Cyprus. ³⁷ Joseph sold a field he owned. He brought the money and gave it to the apostles.

Ananias and Sapphira

5 ¹ There was a man named Ananias. His wife’s name was Sapphira. Ananias sold some land he had, ² but he gave only part of the money to the apostles. He secretly kept some of the money for himself. His wife knew this, and she agreed with it.

³ Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan^b fill your mind with such an idea? You kept part of the money for yourself and lied about it to the Holy Spirit^c! ⁴ Before you sold the field, it belonged to you, right? And even after you sold it, you could have used the money any way you wanted. How could you even think of doing such a thing? You lied to God, not to us!”

^5-6 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Some young men came and wrapped his body. They carried it out and buried it. And everyone who heard about this was filled with fear.

⁷ About three hours later his wife came in. Sapphira did not know about what had happened to her husband. ⁸ Peter said to her, “Tell me how much money you got for your field. Was it this much?”

Sapphira answered, “Yes, that was all we got for the field.”

⁹ Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! Do you hear those footsteps? The men who buried your husband are at the door. They will carry you out in the same way.” ¹⁰ At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. The young men came in and saw that she was dead. They carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ The whole group of believers^d and all the other people who heard about this were filled with fear.

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    w 4:33 apostle A follower of Jesus chosen to represent him in a special way. During his earthly ministry, Jesus named twelve men as apostles. They had the specific responsibility and authority to represent him and proclaim his message throughout the world. Later, he appeared to Paul and gave him a similar commission, especially to non-Jewish people. Barnabas, Paul’s missionary companion, and James, the brother of Jesus, are also called apostles, as well as several others in the New Testament. Some of these occurrences of the word, however, have the more general sense of “messenger” or “representative.”

    x 4:36 Levite Any of the men from the tribe of Levi, who helped the Israelite priests in the Holy Tent (Tabernacle) and Temple. In later periods some Levites worked for the civil government.

    b 5:3 Satan A name for the devil meaning “the enemy,” or “the accuser.”

    c 5:3 Holy Spirit Also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, and the Comforter. In union with God and Christ, he does God’s work among people in the world.

    d 5:11 group of believers Literally, “church.”