But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
why has Satan filled your heart - "Satan filled or controlled Ananias's heart. The same verb appears in the command for believers to be filled with the Spirit in Eph 5:18." (Ryrie)
"The power of Satan is revealed in the event. What Ananias and Sapphira did was suggested to them by Satan. Vain glory was in their hearts; they followed pride to win fame and get the praise from man. They had the root of all evil 'the love of money' in their hearts and yielded to it. Acting thus in the flesh Satan came and suggested the lie to them. Their eyes were then blinded and they lost sight of the great truth so well known to them that He who is 'perfect in knowledge' dwelt in them and in the midst of the congregation as Jehovah had dwelt in the midst of Israel." (Gaebelein)
to lie - "The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was not in not selling all their property, or in keeping part of the proceeds of the sale, but in lying about how much they had received." (Ryrie) [notice that Stam (below) contradicts Ryrie]
to test the Spirit of the Lord - i.e., to see how far they could go in presuming on God's goodness
"It is sometimes supposed that the sin of Ananias and Sapphira marks the beginning of the breakdown of the divine communism practiced in early Acts. This is not so, for while these two deceivers departed seriously from the God-given program, they were stricken dead immediately and the program continued unchanged. Nor must it be thought that Ananias and Sapphira were slain simply for lying. All of Adam's children have been guilty of telling lies — often much greater ones — but all have not been stricken dead for it. What we have here is rather a foretaste of conditions which will prevail in the kingdom, when any deviation from the divine order will be visited by immediate judgment. Ananias and Sapphira were not slain for dishonesty alone, but for dishonestly keeping back part of their goods, and so violating the standards of the kingdom. They were stricken dead for trying to join the Messianic Church while deceitfully holding on to private investments. Note carefully the wording of Verse 3: 'But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?' As Ananias and Sapphira came into contact with the believers at Jerusalem they must have observed that their way of living was blessed and wonderful beyond anything known until that time. It would be like heaven on earth to belong to such a group. Moreover, they apparently had their eyes on the honor that would naturally go to those giving up their all in such a cause. They 'loved the praise of men.' But — they loved money even more. They were not prepared to actually part with all their possessions to case in their lot with the followers of Messiah. They were like the rich young ruler, only less honest, for he at least went away sorrowful (See Matt 19:16-22) while Ananias and Sapphira tried to gain the advantages of the Messianic program without paying the price. We might have concluded that Ananias and Sapphira were tempted to keep back part of the price of their property after having sold, but Verses 2, 4 and 9 seem to indicate too clearly that their sin was deliberate and planned. So as not to be deprived of the blessings enjoyed by the happy throng at Jerusalem, Ananias and Sapphira had agreed upon the following plan: They owned an estate. They would sell it — really sell it — and then bring a good part of the price to the apostles, keeping the rest for themselves, although not mentioning this last fact. The actual selling of their property would make the desired impression upon the disciples, and as to that which they were keeping for themselves, they did not have to tell others their business. In fact, even if Peter should ask whether they had 'sold the land for so much,' they could answer: 'Yea, for so much,' for they had sold it for so much — and more! How many believers since that day have followed the example of this shrewd couple! As though God did not know what they owned and how much of it they were giving to Him! But this was not time to deal dishonestly with finances, for along with 'the powers of the age to come' went the gift of knowledge, and their lie was immediately detected. Even as Peter rebuked Ananias (who came in first) for lying to the Holy Spirit and keeping back part of the proceeds of his land, Ananias fell down dead. Whether this was from shock or by purely supernatural means, it was still the finger of God and it had a salutary effect upon the group as a whole. The whole scene is one of judgment. Nothing is said of sorrow or mourning, but rather it is noted that 'great fear came on all them that heard these things,' and as to the smitten Ananias, we read simply that, 'the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him' (Ver 6). It was three hours later when Sapphira came in (Ver 7). It would be interesting to speculate on what she might have been doing in those three hours, but we do know that she had that much more time to consider her action and that she was given even further opportunity to repent, as Peter asked her: 'Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much?' (Ver 8). One would think that being questioned as to the actual amount of the sale would have unnerved her, but her attitude was entirely foreign and contrary to that which was making the Messianic Church such an overwhelming success. Brazenly she lied and said: 'Yea, for so much.' In her case Peter informed her of the judgment awaiting her though, as with her husband, he did not actually pronounce death upon her. And once more the young men came in, carried out her dead body and buried it alongside that of her husband, with the result that 'great fear came upon all the church' (Ver 11). And rightly so, for Messiah's kingdom would be little improvement upon the present state of affairs if by pretense and deceit men were permitted to lay up store for themselves while others gave their all for the common good. Thus the character of the kingdom was to be (and is to be) one of absolute equality and justice (Is 66:24; Jer 23:5; Rev 19:15).
"As we know, the proclamation of the kingdom has been interrupted by the dispensation of the grace of God. Rather than proceed immediately with the prophetic plan, crushing the world's rebellion against Christ, setting Him up as King, etc., God in grace has postponed the judgment and held the establishment of His kingdom in abeyance while He offers reconciliation to all men everywhere entirely by grace, through faith in the merits of the rejected Christ. The story of Ananias and Sapphira could not possible fit into the present dispensation. However, many of God's dear children, alas, come dangerously close to being as unfaithful — not to say dishonest — with their earthly possessions as they, and as a result will lose rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. Simply because we in this age are not commanded to sell all that we have and give to the poor, does it follow that we are justified in greedily gathering in and hoarding all we can for ourselves, while the cause of Christ and others about us suffer need? ... Like the poor rich man who in his folly could think only of pulling down his bars and building greater ones, they plan and toil almost exclusively for this life. Under the Pentecostal order they would have had to give it all up to be Christ's disciples. Under the Law they would have been obliged to bring at least their tenths, but with all the riches of God's grace bestowed upon them, many seemingly sincere children of God do not even give Him that much, they are so occupied with getting riches for themselves (2 Cor 8:7-12; Col 3:2; 1 Tim 6:10)." (Stam)
why has Satan filled your heart - "Satan filled or controlled Ananias's heart. The same verb appears in the command for believers to be filled with the Spirit in Eph 5:18." (Ryrie)
"The power of Satan is revealed in the event. What Ananias and Sapphira did was suggested to them by Satan. Vain glory was in their hearts; they followed pride to win fame and get the praise from man. They had the root of all evil 'the love of money' in their hearts and yielded to it. Acting thus in the flesh Satan came and suggested the lie to them. Their eyes were then blinded and they lost sight of the great truth so well known to them that He who is 'perfect in knowledge' dwelt in them and in the midst of the congregation as Jehovah had dwelt in the midst of Israel." (Gaebelein)
to lie - "The sin of Ananias and Sapphira was not in not selling all their property, or in keeping part of the proceeds of the sale, but in lying about how much they had received." (Ryrie) [notice that Stam (below) contradicts Ryrie]
to test the Spirit of the Lord - i.e., to see how far they could go in presuming on God's goodness
"It is sometimes supposed that the sin of Ananias and Sapphira marks the beginning of the breakdown of the divine communism practiced in early Acts. This is not so, for while these two deceivers departed seriously from the God-given program, they were stricken dead immediately and the program continued unchanged. Nor must it be thought that Ananias and Sapphira were slain simply for lying. All of Adam's children have been guilty of telling lies — often much greater ones — but all have not been stricken dead for it. What we have here is rather a foretaste of conditions which will prevail in the kingdom, when any deviation from the divine order will be visited by immediate judgment. Ananias and Sapphira were not slain for dishonesty alone, but for dishonestly keeping back part of their goods, and so violating the standards of the kingdom. They were stricken dead for trying to join the Messianic Church while deceitfully holding on to private investments. Note carefully the wording of Verse 3: 'But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?' As Ananias and Sapphira came into contact with the believers at Jerusalem they must have observed that their way of living was blessed and wonderful beyond anything known until that time. It would be like heaven on earth to belong to such a group. Moreover, they apparently had their eyes on the honor that would naturally go to those giving up their all in such a cause. They 'loved the praise of men.' But — they loved money even more. They were not prepared to actually part with all their possessions to case in their lot with the followers of Messiah. They were like the rich young ruler, only less honest, for he at least went away sorrowful (See Matt 19:16-22) while Ananias and Sapphira tried to gain the advantages of the Messianic program without paying the price. We might have concluded that Ananias and Sapphira were tempted to keep back part of the price of their property after having sold, but Verses 2, 4 and 9 seem to indicate too clearly that their sin was deliberate and planned. So as not to be deprived of the blessings enjoyed by the happy throng at Jerusalem, Ananias and Sapphira had agreed upon the following plan: They owned an estate. They would sell it — really sell it — and then bring a good part of the price to the apostles, keeping the rest for themselves, although not mentioning this last fact. The actual selling of their property would make the desired impression upon the disciples, and as to that which they were keeping for themselves, they did not have to tell others their business. In fact, even if Peter should ask whether they had 'sold the land for so much,' they could answer: 'Yea, for so much,' for they had sold it for so much — and more! How many believers since that day have followed the example of this shrewd couple! As though God did not know what they owned and how much of it they were giving to Him! But this was not time to deal dishonestly with finances, for along with 'the powers of the age to come' went the gift of knowledge, and their lie was immediately detected. Even as Peter rebuked Ananias (who came in first) for lying to the Holy Spirit and keeping back part of the proceeds of his land, Ananias fell down dead. Whether this was from shock or by purely supernatural means, it was still the finger of God and it had a salutary effect upon the group as a whole. The whole scene is one of judgment. Nothing is said of sorrow or mourning, but rather it is noted that 'great fear came on all them that heard these things,' and as to the smitten Ananias, we read simply that, 'the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him' (Ver 6). It was three hours later when Sapphira came in (Ver 7). It would be interesting to speculate on what she might have been doing in those three hours, but we do know that she had that much more time to consider her action and that she was given even further opportunity to repent, as Peter asked her: 'Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much?' (Ver 8). One would think that being questioned as to the actual amount of the sale would have unnerved her, but her attitude was entirely foreign and contrary to that which was making the Messianic Church such an overwhelming success. Brazenly she lied and said: 'Yea, for so much.' In her case Peter informed her of the judgment awaiting her though, as with her husband, he did not actually pronounce death upon her. And once more the young men came in, carried out her dead body and buried it alongside that of her husband, with the result that 'great fear came upon all the church' (Ver 11). And rightly so, for Messiah's kingdom would be little improvement upon the present state of affairs if by pretense and deceit men were permitted to lay up store for themselves while others gave their all for the common good. Thus the character of the kingdom was to be (and is to be) one of absolute equality and justice (Is 66:24; Jer 23:5; Rev 19:15).
"As we know, the proclamation of the kingdom has been interrupted by the dispensation of the grace of God. Rather than proceed immediately with the prophetic plan, crushing the world's rebellion against Christ, setting Him up as King, etc., God in grace has postponed the judgment and held the establishment of His kingdom in abeyance while He offers reconciliation to all men everywhere entirely by grace, through faith in the merits of the rejected Christ. The story of Ananias and Sapphira could not possible fit into the present dispensation. However, many of God's dear children, alas, come dangerously close to being as unfaithful — not to say dishonest — with their earthly possessions as they, and as a result will lose rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. Simply because we in this age are not commanded to sell all that we have and give to the poor, does it follow that we are justified in greedily gathering in and hoarding all we can for ourselves, while the cause of Christ and others about us suffer need? ... Like the poor rich man who in his folly could think only of pulling down his bars and building greater ones, they plan and toil almost exclusively for this life. Under the Pentecostal order they would have had to give it all up to be Christ's disciples. Under the Law they would have been obliged to bring at least their tenths, but with all the riches of God's grace bestowed upon them, many seemingly sincere children of God do not even give Him that much, they are so occupied with getting riches for themselves (2 Cor 8:7-12; Col 3:2; 1 Tim 6:10)." (Stam)
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