Tuesday, January
16, 2018
But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife,
Sapphira, sold some property. He brought
part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let
Satan fill your heart? You lied to the
Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell,
as you wished. And after selling it, the
money was also yours to give away. How
could you do a thing like this? You
weren’t lying to us but to God!” As soon
as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a
sheet, and took him out and buried him. About
three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked
her, “Was this the price you and your husband received for your land?” “Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.” And Peter said, “How could the two of you
even think of conspiring to test the Spirit of the Lord like this? The young men who buried your husband are just
outside the door, and they will carry you out, too.” Instantly, she fell to the floor and died. When the young men came in and saw that she
was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear gripped the entire church and
everyone else who heard what had happened.
Acts 5:1-11(NLT)
This is one of the most
chilling passages in Scripture. Frankly,
when it shows up in the Lectionary cycle I tend to want to skip over it. I’d almost rather preach on Leviticus or any
other passage that isn’t so controversial.
Think of the premise and
how many ways this account of the early church can be misunderstood,
misapplied, or cause an argument. The
whole scope of the intents of the human heart and character of humankind are on
display.
Ananias and his wife owned
property and wanted to sell it. As
professing members of the early church they knew there was an expectation they
would contribute to the needs of others from that sale. They conspired to have their cake (people’s
approval when they brought some of the money to the offering plate), but they
wanted to eat the cake too! So they
decided to lie about the full price, and kept some back.
At this point some in our
culture would be quick to point-out that it was their money; they
could do with it what they wanted. And,
to an extent, this is true; the Apostle Peter even said as much. The point was they were attempting to build
themselves up in the sight of people while lying to God. Peter said that also, confronting Ananias about
Satan filling his heart with lies. A
side point would be that, as believers, disciples of Jesus Christ, no money is ours;
it is all His, and we are stewards.
Others might point to the
harsh outcome for the couple…well, geez…it was only a little bit they
held back. Why did God have to kill them? And what about forgiveness? Isn’t this about the God who forgives us? The reality here is not about the size of Ananias’ and his
wife’s lying. After all, how much
juggling of the books does there have to be before you’re an embezzler? The issue is about honoring God…honestly. You cannot honor God with a lie!
For You
Today
Think for a moment about the
football player on TV scoring a touchdown, and he then takes a knee, points to
heaven, and gives God the glory.
We watch the hitter make the sign of the cross when the ball sails over
the fence. We see the witness place his
hand on a Bible and solemnly swear…so help me God.
You
chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
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