ACTS 4-5

Verses 4:32-5:11 deal with problems within the church while 5:12-41 shows the conflict of the early church with the outside world. We must keep in mind that the Enemy can attack us internally as well as externally.

Why are these particular verses worth studying today?

“We are left with a staggering picture of the Church as it was meant to be and a startling presentation of what it is always in danger of becoming.”

“There is no more pressing item on God's agenda for us than to study and absorb this passage, allowing it to be the charter and charge for the Church in America.”

Lloyd John Ogilive, The Drumbeat of Love

4:32-35 

“heart, soul and might” – echo of the Shema. Deuteronomy 6:5: “You shall love the LORD your God 

with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Heart was the seat of the intellect 

in Jewish thinking, soul brings in your personality and emotions, and might refers to one's will. In 

other words, your whole self.

Jesus quoted from this passage when he was questioned as to the greatest commandment. And he 

added a second commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:29-31 Notice that 

the theme of these verses in Acts also covers the second great commandment.

The Western Text of Acts after “soul” adds the words “and there was no division among them.” 

Compare to the church today. The practice described here has often been called Christian communism.

J. Schattenmann, Dictionary of New Testament Theology, I, p. 642 : “There is no hint of either 

communal production or communal consumption. It was not organized, and is not to be seen in 

economic categories...The idea of equality is completely lacking. The extraordinary action of Barnabas 

and that of Ananias and Sapphira were singled out for mention.” We know that private ownership of 

property continued – i.e. as with Mary the mother of Mark who made her house available for the 

church to meet in (Acts 12:12).

The important point is that no one CLAIMED his possessions to be his own, they were given or used in 

the service of the community as they were needed.

It has been suggested that the practice of sharing was the reason the Jerusalem Church became so poor 

that they needed to be bailed out later by the Gentile churches through Paul's collection. This should be 

a lesson to us, according to some, that capitalism is a superior economic system to communism. It is 

quite doubtful that the practice of sharing caused the economic hardship itself. It is known that Judea 

suffered from several harsh famines and there was also the situation of many elderly people flocking to 

Jerusalem to die and be buried there, etc. (We can relate to a little of that here in in the city where I live 

since it has a large retirement community. This definitely affects the social structure of an area for 

better or worse.)

V. 35 is a repeat of Acts 2:42-47. Those verses indicated that sharing took several forms – food, 

possessions, teaching and prayer. Home Bible studies are one current example. Sharing is often 

translated as “fellowship.”

If you compare different translations for verse 33, you will see a lot of variety in wording.

“And much grace was upon them all” – NIV

“And much favor was accorded them all” – Anchor Bible

"They were all given great respect" – Jerusalem Bible

“They were all held in high esteem” – New English Bible

“God poured great blessings upon them all” – TEV

“And there was warm fellowship among all the believers” – Living Bible

“A wonderful spirit of generosity was among them all” – John Lloyd Ogilive

“Grace, the Lord's uninvited favor, flowed among them and through them from the Spirit to each 

other.” – John Stott

The first two translations are literal renderings of the Greek but are ambiguous in meaning; the next 

two take it to mean that outsiders respected them; TEV feels that it refers to grace coming from God; 

the next two translations point to the sort of fellowship shared among the church members; and finally 

Stott puts together several of these concepts in his version.

Assuming that it refers to respect within the community, the question is: Are Christians respected 

today?

Acts 4:34-35 Part of the reason that there were financial needs in the community may have been from 

new Christians being ostracized in their businesses, and perhaps being discriminated against in the 

distribution of Temple collection money for the poor. Great emphasis on meeting material needs of the 

community is also seen in Paul's collection on behalf of the poor in Jerusalem.

Note “as many as had fields or houses.” This indicates surplus property; not their own living quarters.

The verb “sold” is in tense indicating an ongoing process, i.e., as the need arose. They realized the goal 

of Deuteronomy 15:4 regarding Israelites' life in the Promised Land, “There should be no poor among 

you.” This is unlike the Dead Sea community where you had to give all your property to them first in 

order to join; the Christians' actions were done in love and gratitude after joining the community. 

(grace vs. works)

Notice the phrasing of verse 35 because it will occur again. Question--Why do you think they gave the 

money to the apostles rather than directly to the people in need?

(a) So that anonymity could be preserved between giver and receiver.

(b) The apostles would know all the needs and distribute it fairly. This verse has been quoted in the 

context of the controversy between those who feel individuals should support missionaries directly and 

those who feel it should be done through the church and church agencies. I come from a 

denominational tradition that had a major split over this issue, and I can see merits to both methods.

Some form of sharing continued later and elsewhere as we learn from II Thessalonians 3:7,10: “Now 

we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are 

living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us...For even when we were 

with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.” Obviously, some 

were mooching off the church. That is why most churches have put procedures in place to minimize 

that possibility.

Another example was the Macedonian church, which begged Paul to be allowed to share with the poor 

in Jerusalem. Paul lays down this general principle in II Corinthians 8:13-15: “I do not mean that there 

should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your 

present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there 

may be a fair balance. As it is written, 'The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who 

had little did not have too little.'” This is actually a quote from Exodus concerning the distribution of 

the quail God had provided in the wilderness.

Does the wording in v. 35 sound familiar? Karl Marx used it. This is one of the reasons that Marxism 

has been labeled by some historians as a Christian heresy – a truth taken too far. I once overheard a 

heated conversation with two church friends as to whether Jesus was a communist or a socialist. It 

illustrates how ridiculous it is to attach modern political or economic labels to people and events in 

ancient times.

Also it raises the general question while we are in an historical book like Acts. We have to carefully 

distinguish between description (something reported because it historically happened) and prescription 

(something commanded or commended as an example for us today).

Acts 4:36-37 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means “son of 

encouragement”), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles’ feet.

This is the second time this phrase occurs.

And now we are given a particular example of sharing and are introduced to Barnabas. It indicates he 

was given the name Barnabas due to his characteristic actions. The name can be translated as “son of 

exhortation or encouragement.” The Greek version of his name is the word (paraklesis) used by Jesus 

in John 14:16 to describe the Holy Spirit – counselor. What else do we know about Barnabas? He is 

called a prophet in Acts 13:1, cousin of John Mark, and of course is a fellow-missionary with Paul.

Note his treatment of Paul later on in introducing him to the apostles (9:27) and his taking Mark with 

him on a mission trip after Paul had rejected him as two examples of Barnabas as an encourager.

It has been pointed out that Levites were not supposed to own land in Israel so this may refer to land he 

owned in Cyprus or indicate that this regulation was no longer enforced.

One more comment on Barnabas before we leave him. Barnabas was the author of Hebrews according 

to Tertullian (155-240 AD). And some current scholars see a hidden reference to his name at the end of 

that letter. Hebrews 13:22: “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, bear with my word of exhortation for 

I have written to you briefly.”

Acts 5:1-2 “Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sappphira, also sold a piece of 

property. With is wife's full knowledge, he held back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest 

and laid it at the apostle's feet.” This is the third time this final phrase appears. Almost all 

commentators compare the story of Ananias and Sapphira with that of Achan found in Joshua 7:1. If 

you recall, after the taking of Jericho, he held back part of the booty that was supposed to be given to 

God. The verb “hold back” in Greek is used in the Septuagint only once – for Achan's sin = 

misappropriating that which belongs to another (i.e., God). The only other appearance of this verb in 

the NT is by Paul in Titus 2:10, where he warns slaves not to steal from their masters. Similar stories of 

temptation occur when the Jews first occupy the Promised Land, when Jesus starts his ministry, and 

now when the new church begins.

F. F. Bruce: “If the Gospels are the 'Torah' of the NT, Acts is its book of Joshua.” “The story of Ananias 

is to the book of Acts what the story of Achan is to the book of Joshua. In both narratives an act of 

deceit interrupts the victorious progress of the people of God.”

This couple's actions have also been compared to the sin of Adam and Eve in the garden, spoiling an 

idyllic situation. Human sin threatens to mar God's perfect plan. The church would be perfect if it 

weren't for the people.

Acts 5:3-4 Satan as the father of lies. This is my personal guideline on whom to vote for. 

 Unfortunately, that eliminates practically all political candidates; so I just go with the one who lies the 

least.

In Paul's words to the Ephesians (4:25), he describes the church as a body and concludes with 

“Therefore, putting away falsehood, let every one speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are 

members one of another.” John Stott makes the point that Satan attempted three counter-attacks after 

Pentacost (parallel with the three temptations in the wilderness): physical violence, moral corruption or 

compromise, and distraction (of the apostles as we will see in the next chapter).

God and the Holy Spirit are equated here. The language also indicates that the Holy Spirit is a person, 

not a thing or a property of God. We learn here that the pooling of resources was strictly voluntary. The 

situation is similar to that of making a vow to God:

Deuteronomy 23:21-22 “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not postpone fulfilling it; for 

the LORD your God will surely require it of you, and you would incur guilt. But if you refrain from 

vowing, you will not incur guilt.”

Acts 5:5-8 Barnabas' actions brought consolation while Ananias' actions brought great fear.

5:5 Quick corporal punishment prevented development of full apostasy later. (I Corinthians 11:29-32) 

 Different kinds of fear are found in 5:5, 5:11, 5:13, 5:26, 5:39. But the disciples are not afraid of the 

authorities.

Acts 5:9-10 I hate to think what kind of bedside manner Peter would have if he were a doctor. Testing 

the Holy Spirit: this is when you know what God wants you to do, but you purposely disobey to see if 

God is really serious and will react or not, like the Israelites in wilderness testing God. Notice anything 

appropriate about the place she dies? She dies where all the money should have been deposited (v. 2). 

Literally, your money or your life. Some people have a lot of trouble with this story. Did Peter or God 

kill them, or was it due to the shock of being found out? It could be seen as a working out of the 

principle Paul taught in I Corinthians 3 that God may destroy anyone whose actions threaten to destroy 

the unity of the church. And remember that there are several indications in the NT, such as in I 

Corinthians 11 (Lord's Supper), that God may on occasion actually cause the premature death of a 

sinning Christian to prevent him from continuing on a path toward actual apostasy, thus saving their 

soul.

The action now switches to the temple complex and Solomon's Porch or Portico. This was also where 

Peter preached in Chapter 3.

Acts 5:1-14

Verse 11 is the first occurrence of “church” in the NT. Ekklesia is the Greek translation of the Hebrew 

 qahal or congregation. “Called out and called together.” Use of the word indicates that the early 

Christians considered themselves the true assembly of Israel. Great fear now extends further than in 

verse 5. Different kinds of fear are mentioned in Chapter 5. This doesn't appear to be godly awe; they 

were just plain scared. Why do you think the whole church was afraid? It may indicate that others may 

have had hidden sins, too.

Verse 13 seems to be a contradiction with verse 14. Several proposals around this problem, some 

involving a change in the Greek text.

Them = Apostles and The Rest = any non-Apostles, or

Them = the believers and The Rest = Rulers, Pharisees and Sadducees, The People, Levites, Non-

Christians.

To complicate matters, Join = Associate With, Join in Debate, Physically Remove. “None of the 

Levites dared to prevent them from meeting in the temple courts.”

Verse 13 says, “but the people held them in high esteem.” Can we say the same thing today about 

evangelical Christians?

Acts 5:15

Fall over or overshadow (episkiazo) appears five times in the NT, all of which have God as the cause. 

This includes the Holy Spirit overshadowing Mary (Luke 1:35) and the cloud at the

Transfiguration (9:34). On the surface this overshadowing sounds like magic, but later in Acts, Luke 

will use contrasting examples to carefully distinguish between miracles brought about through true 

faith and attempts to use magical objects or formulas. Cured by their faith, not magical objects. You 

can also think of the woman touching Jesus' clothes and the use of Paul's handkerchief in cures.

Verse 16 is like the previous summary statement at the end of Ch. 2 except that now people from 

outside Jerusalem are attracted, which prepares us for the next phase in the geographical spread of the 

Gospel.

Acts 5:17-21 This is ironic since Saduccees didn't believe in angels.

Acts 5:22-37

v. 28 He avoids using the name Jesus and ignores the fact that they somehow escaped from prison.

v. 34 Gamaliel was the teacher of Paul. This foreshadows Saul's conversion.

vv. 36-37 There is an historical problem in that Judas the Galilean came in 6AD before Theudas, and 

Theudas appeared later in Jewish history than this story (44-47 AD). Perhaps there was an earlier 

Theudas. It has been proposed that Luke misread Josephus' Antiquities, but that wasn't published until 93 

AD. Josephus could have been the one making the error.