“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 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? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things” (Acts 5:1-11).
The passage says, “a certain man named Ananias,” not “a Christian believer,” so it is not supposed that one of the Lord’s redeemed would do such a thing. There is something similar in this passage: “if any man that is called brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat” (1 Cor. 5:11). The passage does not say, “if some brother,” because it is not considered that one of the Lord’s redeemed would be such a person.
Ananias and his wife were not obligated to give the apostles the entire price of their inheritance, not even part of it; it was completely in their power. But they, pretending they had given the entire price, retained a part of it for themselves, since their manner of working was greedy and deceiving. God took their lives, giving through this case a solemn testimony to everyone of His holiness. In the Garden of Eden, Satan spoke the first lie to Eve: “Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4). In the church, Satan made Ananias lie, the first sin recorded in her.
We see another solemn thing here: the Lord Jesus, raised back to life, said to His disciples, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained” (John 20:22-23). Peter was full of the Holy Spirit and had divine discernment. The couple, Ananias and Sapphira, retained their sins. That is to say, they did not have the opportunity to repent and be pardoned. Their sin stayed with them — it was a “sin unto death” (1 John 5:16).
Ananias and Sapphira were probably Christians, but, because of their sins, their life on this earth was taken away. Equally solemn, the Corinthians that acted in a similar manner suffered the same way, “For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep” (1 Cor. 11:30). God took away their life in this world, because they gave a bad testimony not only to their brothers and sisters in the faith, but also to the unsaved.
It should be clear to every intelligent Christian that the remission or detention of sins by the apostles is not about a judicial pardon, and it is not about our status before God, but rather about the government within the church in the world.
The judicial pardon of sin is granted by God, and only by Him. “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (Luke 5:21). The only “mediator between God and men” is “the man Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5-6). Jesus satisfied God for all of our sins. “The wages of sin” was “death” and Christ received the payment that the sinner had deserved. The sinner is justified “freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness; that He might be just, and the justifier of Him which believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:24-26).
Even though there are not any apostles now, nevertheless, with the Word of God and the guiding of the Holy Spirit, Christians have everything they need to maintain the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus in the church, whether it be by exercising holy discipline or seeking restoration for a fallen brother. (Compare 1 Cor. 5:11-13 and 2 Cor. 2:7-10).
“And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them: but the people magnified them” (Acts 5:12-13).
Regarding the “many signs and wonders” done by the apostles, Hebrews 2:3-4 says: “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will?”
The Lord testified and confirmed His testimony through miracles in order to establish Christianity in the world once and for all. The testimony was so powerful and holy that the unsaved did not dare join themselves with the Christians. It was as if they had said to themselves, “this holy atmosphere makes us afraid; it is not advisable for us.” But these days, religious sinners join any congregation, without any fear, and pretend to be the Lord’s “sheep” when they are really “grievous wolves.”
“(And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.) Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one” (Acts 5:14-16).
Jesus had said to His disciples: “Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father” (John 14:12).What! The apostles would do greater works than the Son of God had done? How? Because He sent the Holy Spirit, of which He had already said, “He will glorify Me” (John 16:14). With Christ glorified at the right hand of the Father in heaven, the Spirit came to the world to glorify Him here, so that sinners would be convinced and come to “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Therefore, miracles and signs greater than those that Jesus had done in His time on earth were done, since the goal was that He would be glorified more and more.
“Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison” (Acts 5:17-18).
Even in the religious leader of the Jews himself, Satan had an instrument to oppose the work of the Lord! A religious man without Christ is a wild beast. Full of pride and zeal — in addition to being blind and stubbornly opposed to the gospel of the sovereign grace of God. When he has the opportunity, he will use violence against the Lord’s servants. But, while Satan and his agents were proposing one thing, God was preparing another:
“But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught” (Acts 5:19-21). God wanted the gospel of His grace, the words of eternal life, to be preached to everyone, and He took care of His faithful servants.
“But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought. But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned and told, saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow” (Acts 5:21-24).
What evidence could more clearly show the spirit of animosity towards God on the part of the Jewish religious leaders! What a great surprise when they found out that the prison was empty! “They doubted of them whereunto this would grow.” They did not know God.
“Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us” (Acts 5:25-28).
Blinded, the high priest, captain of the temple, and the chief priests did not see the all-powerful hand of God in the apostles’ release from prison. Full of pride and zeal, they asked the apostles why they had defied their commandment not to teach in the name of Jesus. Later, the high priest falsely accused them of having wanted to cast the blood of Jesus on him and his followers. However, the truth of the matter was that it was completely the opposite: they were the ones who had yelled, “His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matt. 27:25).
“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are His witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey Him” (Acts 5:29-32).
When any in authority — abusing his power — wants a Christian to do something that does not please God, he has exceeded the limits of the authority granted to him by God. In a case like that, the Christian should obey God instead of man. That is what the apostles said to the high priest. In addition to that, they told him that He whom the Jews had killed, God had exalted to the highest place, that forgiveness of sins was offered once more to Israel, and that they, the apostles, were witnesses of these things; as was the Holy Spirit.
“When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to slay them. Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space; And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God” (Acts 5:33-39).
God had anticipated everything that happened and (blessed be His Name!) had His instrument in the center of the Jewish council. God gave Gamaliel — a Pharisee, but very respected by the people — the impulse to stand up and give the wise advice:
“For if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God”
“And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:38-42).
So the Lord providentially took care of His apostles and they were not killed by the Sadducees — the “modernists” of those days. But they were whipped — and they later rejoiced that they were given the honor of suffering for the Name, the Name of the Lord Jesus, the Name that is above every Name (see Phil. 2:5-11). They did not obey the Sadducees, but continued daily teaching and preaching publicly in the temple and in homes, praising the Lord Jesus Christ.