Acts 5
(1) Ananias Lies and Dies
But there was one couple named Ananias and Saphira who sold a property and colluded to hold back some of the profits for themselves. When Ananias brought a portion of the full price and laid it at the apostles’ feet, Peter said,
“Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to Different Spirit and hold back some of the profits? Before you sold it, wasn’t it still yours? And after you sold it, didn’t the money belong to you? Why did you put this endeavor in your heart? You didn’t lie to human beings, but to God.”
As Ananias heard those words, he fell over and breathed his last. Everyone who heard about that was horrified. Some young men got up, covered his body, carried him out, and buried him.
(7) Saphira Lies and Dies
About 3 hours later, Ananias’s wife came in without knowing what had happened. Peter asked her,
“Did you sell the land for the amount Ananias brought us?”
She said,
“Yes, that was the price.”
Peter said,
“Why did you guys agree to put the Ruler’s Spirit to the test? The people who buried your husband are at the door, and they’re about to carry you out too.”
She instantly fell at his feet and breathed her last. By the time the young men came back, she was dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Fear swept through the church and struck everyone who heard about this incident.
(12) Church is Unified & Grows as Miracles Occur
Lots of signs and marvels were taking place in the community through the apostles. They all had a unified mentality there in Solomon’s portico (the covered hallways in the temple). But no one else dared to join them, even though they were highly-regarded by everyone. Yet more and more people started believing in the Ruler, and their numbers kept growing. Sick people would be carried out into the streets and laid down on mats so that they might be touched by Peter’s shadow when he walked by. Lots of people even came from surrounding cities, bringing their friends who were sick or troubled with impure spirits, and they were all being healed.
(17) High Priest Imprisons Apostles, but Angel Releases Them
But the high priest and his colleagues (the Sadducees) took a stand because they were jealous. They arrested the apostles and threw them in jail—but during the night, one of the ruler’s messengers [an angel] opened the prison gates and led them out, saying,
“Go, and keep telling the people in the temple the entire message about this Life.”
So they went back to the temple at the break of dawn and started teaching.
When the high priest and his crew came, they called together their supreme court, including their senate of Israelite elders. The court sent orders to have the prison bring the apostles, but the officers couldn’t find them. They reported back,
“The prison cells were fully locked with guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them up, there wasn’t anyone inside!”
When the captain of the temple’s guards and the lead priests heard that, they didn’t know what to make of it. But then, someone came and told them,
“The people you arrested are standing in the temple teaching the people!”
So the captain and some officers brought them over (without using violence, because they were scared of getting stoned to death by the crowd.)
(27) Apostles Refuse to Stop Promoting Jesus
The guards brought the apostles into the court hearing, and the high priests said,
“We gave you strict orders to stop teaching in this name, yet you keep filling Jerusalem with your teachings and blaming us for His death!”
Peter and the apostles replied,
“We need to listen to what God says more than what people say. After you hung Jesus on some wood and killed Him, the God of our forefathers woke Him back up. Jesus is the one God lifted up to be His right hand man. Jesus is a leader and a rescuer that gives Israel the chance to change their minds and be forgiven for their shortcomings. We are eyewitnesses of these things, and so is the Different Spirit that God gives to the people who do what He says.”
(33) Gamaliel Suggests Letting Christianity Fizzle
When the court heard that, they were cut to the heart and wanted to kill the apostles. But there was one Pharisee named Gamaliel who was a widely-respected teacher of biblical law. He stood up in front of the court and ordered that the apostles be put outside for little while. Then he told the court,
“People of Israel, be careful with your intentions toward these guys. A while back, someone named Theudas gained popularity by claiming to be someone, and 400 men followed him. But after he was killed, all his followers were dispersed and nothing came from it. And then after that, there was Judas from Galilee who gained popularity when the census was happening. He attracted a following too, but after he died, all his followers were scattered too. So with this current situation, I think you should just back down and leave these guys alone. If what they’re doing is coming from a human agenda, it will soon be unraveled… but it’s coming from God, you won’t be able to stop them—and you might even find yourselves fighting against God.”
(40) Apostles Flogged, but Undeterred
Taking his advice, the priests called the apostles back in and flogged them. They ordered them to stop saying things in Jesus’s name, and they released them. As the apostles left the supreme court and went on their way, they celebrated that they had been deemed as worthy to have been shamed on behalf of Jesus’s name. After that, they kept on promoting Jesus and teaching that He’s the Chosen One in houses and at the Temple.
