This blossoming congregation in the precincts of Jerusalem was becoming a nation within the nation of Judah. The first verse in our selection notes that, having been released by the Sanhedrin, Peter and John returned to their growing household. Luke chose words to paint the picture of a spiritual family, people who regarded each other as kinfolk. This was exactly what Moses commanded of Israel: This nation is your family. Israel never quite rose to that level during their history, but now the power of the Holy Spirit made it true for the nation of Christ.
Upon hearing the report of what happened to Peter and John, the household of faith prayed as one person to the Lord. Quoting from Psalm 2, they took it as prophecy fulfilled: The world system was united in one thing only — opposing the Messiah and His mission. Both Jewish and Roman governments moved against Jesus, and now it seems the whole nation was opposed to Him. Still, the enemies cannot do anything God didn’t sanction beforehand. For this cause, they asked to be made bolder, with showers of miracles in the name of Jesus.
Their presence in the city caused both literal and figurative earthquakes, shaking the very foundation of false religion and government. The Lord Himself was present in them, and they became fearless in promoting the gospel. A primary feature of this limitless spiritual power was detachment from worldly goods. This was an extended family in one household; there was no reason to withhold from each other the use of their physical property. They weren’t losing property; they were gaining a treasure of more family.
This was a new tribe of the Messiah. They sold property they couldn’t use and offered it to the Lord through a common treasury managed by the Apostles. Those who came into the family in poverty were raised up to the common status of the rest. It wasn’t communism, but tribalism. The reputation of their Master demanded they not let anyone suffer want compared to the others.
One man in particular, a wealthy Cypriot Levite, was nicknamed by the Apostles “Barnabas” (Hebrew: bar-nabas “Son of Prophecy or Encouragement”) because he sold an exceptionally large estate, and the money vastly expanded the fund. It served to encourage the Apostles to continue in their current mission; God was generously supplying their needs as they devoted themselves to the gospel message.
On the other hand, there was the couple, Ananias and Sapphira. Apparently they were envious of the attention given to this “Barnabas” and tried to get in on the trend. They sold something fairly valuable, kept some of it, and then brought the rest to the Apostles, claiming it was the whole amount.
Peter rebuked them. The other donors didn’t just empty their pockets. They gave what the Lord moved them to give. Nobody said they had to give everything; this was simply the voluntary action of many up to this point. The problem was the lie this couple told to gain an unjust reputation. They falsely perceived that they could join an elite club of big givers, but there was no such club.
Peter said, “You didn’t lie to mere men, but to God.” The words struck Ananias to his soul, and he died. This injected a note of caution in the whole congregation. Ditch the human pride or your gifts meant nothing.
Luke notes that it was the job of young men to get themselves ritually defiled by handling dead bodies in situations like this. It was a form of noble sacrifice to volunteer on behalf the rest. The ritual of burial took a while. Three hours after Ananias died, his wife came looking for him and told the same lie about their donation. Again, the rebuke from Peter, as the young men were returning. They would have stopped outside the door to prevent defiling those inside the house, having handled a dead body, but now they had to enter again to take away her body, too.
This helped everyone to keep a proper balance of sobriety in their joyful celebration of the Lord’s power moving in them.
