Commentary - Acts 5:1-11

Bird's-eye view

The narrative of Ananias and Sapphira is a stark and terrifying intrusion into the idyllic picture of the primitive church presented at the end of chapter four. Immediately following a description of radical generosity and unity, Luke records a story of radical judgment. This is not accidental. This event serves as God's foundational statement on the absolute necessity of holiness within His new covenant community. A husband and wife conspire to lie to the Holy Spirit for the sake of their reputation, and God strikes them dead. This is a divine act of ultimate church discipline, administered directly and immediately. The central sin is not stinginess but hypocrisy, a high-handed lie offered up in the very presence of God's manifest power. The result of this severe mercy is that a "great fear" fell upon the church and the surrounding community, purifying the church from within and establishing a holy reputation without. This is the New Testament equivalent of the Achan episode in the book of Joshua, where sin in the camp had to be purged before God's people could move forward.

This passage establishes several crucial principles for the church in all ages. First, it demonstrates the personhood and divinity of the Holy Spirit; they lied to the Spirit, which Peter equates with lying to God. Second, it shows that God is intensely concerned with the purity of His church. He will not be trifled with. Third, it reveals that the root of hypocrisy is often the love of money and the love of reputation. Ananias and Sapphira wanted the credit for total sacrifice without the cost. Finally, it teaches us that a healthy, holy fear of God is the necessary atmosphere for the church's growth and power. This was not a public relations disaster; it was a divine purification that made the church both formidable and attractive.

Outline

Context In Acts

This story must be read in its immediate context. Acts chapter 4 concludes with a beautiful summary of the church's unity, power, and extraordinary generosity. Believers had "all things in common," and "great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:32-33). Barnabas is highlighted as a positive example, a man who sold a field and laid the money at the apostles' feet (Acts 4:36-37). The story of Ananias and Sapphira begins with the adversative conjunction "But," setting their actions in stark contrast to the genuine spirit of Barnabas and the others. They are a counterfeit example of the real thing. This event happens at the very dawn of the church's life, while the memory of Pentecost was fresh and the power of the Holy Spirit was being demonstrated through signs and wonders. God is setting a precedent. Just as He established the rules for the priesthood with the judgment of Nadab and Abihu at the start of the tabernacle worship, so He establishes the non-negotiable demand for integrity at the start of the church's life. The judgment here is severe because the foundation is being laid, and a crooked foundation stone must be removed immediately.

Key Issues

The Fear of God is the Health of the Church

Our modern sensibilities are often offended by a story like this. We prefer a God who is endlessly affirming and certainly not one who strikes people dead in church for lying about a real estate transaction. But this reveals more about our spiritual anemia than it does about God. The early church was born in an atmosphere of awe and power. Miracles were happening. The Holy Spirit had been poured out. And with great grace comes great responsibility. The repeated refrain in this passage is that "great fear came over all" who heard about it. This is not the cowering, craven fear of a slave before a tyrant. This is the clean, healthy, upright fear of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom. It is the sober recognition that God is holy, that He sees the heart, and that sin is a deadly serious business. God loved His new bride, the church, too much to let her begin her life with a cancerous hypocrisy growing in her heart. This act of judgment was an act of severe mercy. It cauterized a wound before the infection could spread. The fear it produced was a potent evangelistic tool. It kept the half-hearted away, and it attracted those who were serious about dealing with a holy God. A church that does not fear God will soon become a church that no one else fears either, least of all the devil.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,

The word "But" immediately signals a contrast with the preceding verses, which extolled the genuine generosity of the believers, epitomized by Barnabas. Ananias and Sapphira are now introduced as a counter-example. They are part of the same community, witnessing the same move of the Spirit, but their response is tainted. They go through the outward motions, selling a piece of property just as others were doing. The action itself was not the problem; the motivation behind it was.

2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge. And bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Here is the heart of the deception. The sin was not in keeping back some of the money. As Peter will make clear, the money was theirs to do with as they pleased. The sin was in pretending that the portion they brought was the whole price. They wanted the reputation of Barnabas without the sacrifice of Barnabas. It was a calculated lie, a conspiracy between husband and wife, designed to purchase spiritual esteem. They laid a "portion" at the apostles' feet, wanting it to be received as the whole. This was an act of profound hypocrisy, an attempt to deceive the leadership of the church, and as it turns out, God Himself.

3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land?

Peter, operating with a word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit, immediately confronts Ananias. He does not ask, "Did you keep some back?" He asks, "Why did you do this?" Peter identifies the ultimate source of the temptation, Satan, but he places the responsibility squarely on Ananias. Satan "filled your heart," which indicates a complete yielding to the temptation. But the central crime is specified: you have chosen "to lie to the Holy Spirit." This was not a fib to the church finance committee. In this new community, filled with the Spirit's presence and power, this was a direct assault on the Spirit of God Himself. To lie in such a context was a high-handed, audacious sin.

4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your authority? Why is it that you laid this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

Peter demolishes any excuse Ananias might have offered. He makes it clear that this was not a matter of coercion. This was not communism. The property was his. The proceeds from the sale were his. There was no church tax or mandatory offering. The generosity of the early church was entirely voluntary. The problem was the conception of the lie within his own heart. "Why is it that you laid this deed in your heart?" Satan may have provided the suggestion, but Ananias was the one who conceived the plan and carried it out. Peter then elevates the charge to its highest level. The lie was not ultimately aimed at Peter or the other apostles. "You have not lied to men but to God." In lying to the Holy Spirit (v. 3), Ananias was lying to God. This is one of the clearest affirmations of the deity of the Holy Spirit in all of Scripture.

5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came over all who heard.

The judgment is immediate and final. There is no trial, no appeal. At the pronouncement of his sin, Ananias is executed by God. This is a terrifying display of divine power and holiness. God is making a statement that cannot be misunderstood. The effect is precisely what God intended: "great fear came over all who heard." This includes those inside the church and, as we see later, those outside as well. This is not the kind of fear that drives people away from God, but the kind that drives them to their knees before Him. It is the fear that purifies.

6 And the young men rose up and wrapped him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

The response of the community is swift and businesslike. There is no extended mourning or questioning of God's justice. The "young men," likely a designated group for physical service in the church, handle the burial. The matter-of-fact tone of the narrative underscores the solemnity and finality of the event. The church has just witnessed a divine judgment and they respond with sober obedience.

7 Now there was an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

The scene is set for the second act of this divine drama. Three hours pass, a sufficient time for the burial to be completed. Sapphira, his co-conspirator, arrives completely unaware of her husband's fate. This highlights the fact that she is about to be judged for her own part in the sin, not simply because she was married to Ananias.

8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you were paid this much for the land?” And she said, “Yes, that much.”

Peter gives Sapphira an opportunity to tell the truth. He doesn't accuse her; he simply asks a direct question, likely pointing to the money that was laid at his feet. "Was this the full price?" Her response is a direct, unhesitating lie: "Yes, that much." She confirms her full participation in the conspiracy. She had three hours to reconsider, to have a change of heart, but she walks in and doubles down on the deception.

9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.”

Peter's response reveals the essence of their sin. They "agreed together," it was a willful conspiracy. And the purpose of it was "to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test." They were testing God, seeing if they could get away with hypocrisy in His very presence. They were treating the Holy Spirit as though He were blind or foolish. Peter then delivers the sentence with chilling prophecy. The sound of the young men returning from her husband's burial is at the door, and they will perform the same service for her.

10 And immediately she fell at his feet and breathed her last, and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

As with her husband, the judgment is instantaneous. She falls down dead at Peter's feet, the very place where they had laid their deceitful offering. The young men enter, find the grim scene, and carry out their duty, burying her next to the man with whom she had conspired in sin and now shared a grave in judgment.

11 And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard these things.

Luke concludes the episode by restating the result, now amplified. The fear grips not just a few bystanders, but the "whole church." This was a foundational, community-shaping event. And the fear spread beyond the church to "all who heard these things." The reputation of this new movement was being forged. It was a place of great power, great grace, and great holiness. It was a place where you did not lie to God.

Application

We live in an age where the church is often desperate for cultural approval. We want to be seen as friendly, relevant, and non-judgmental. This passage is a strong corrective. The health of the church does not depend on its marketing savvy, but on its holiness. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is a permanent warning against hypocrisy, particularly the kind that seeks a reputation for spirituality without the reality of it.

We must ask ourselves if we have a low-grade, respectable version of their sin in our own hearts. Do we give, serve, or pray in order to be seen by others? Do we present a carefully curated version of our spiritual lives to the world while our hearts are full of covetousness and deceit? This passage reminds us that all our deeds are done before the face of God, who cannot be mocked. We are not dealing with an impersonal force, but with the living, holy God. Lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God.

The solution is not to stop giving or serving, but to do so from a heart that has been cleansed by the gospel. We must confess that we are all natural-born hypocrites, and our only hope is the perfect righteousness of Christ credited to our account. When we understand that our standing before God depends entirely on His grace and not on our performance, we are liberated from the need to perform for others. And we should pray that God would restore a measure of this "great fear" to His church today. Not a fear that paralyzes, but a holy reverence that purifies, strengthens, and makes the church a radiant witness to a world that desperately needs to see something real.