Book of Common Prayer

Signs of the new covenant

³² The company of those who believed had one heart and soul. Nobody said that they owned their property; instead, they had everything in common. ³³ The apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power, and great grace was upon all of them. ³⁴ For there was no needy person among them, since any who possessed lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sale, ³⁵ and placed it at the feet of the apostles, who then gave to each according to their need.

³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, to whom the apostles gave the surname “Barnabas” (which means “son of encouragement”), ³⁷ sold some land which belonged to him, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Disaster

5 There was, however, a man named Ananias, married to a woman called Sapphira. He sold some property, ² and, with his wife’s knowledge, kept back part of the price. He brought the rest and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³ “Ananias!” said Peter. “Why did the satan fill your heart, to make you tell a lie to the holy spirit and to keep back part of the price of the land? ⁴ While it was still yours, it belonged to you, didn’t it? And, when you sold it, it was still in your power! Why did you get such an idea in your heart? It isn’t humans that you’ve lied to: it’s God!”

⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. Everyone who heard about it was scared out of their wits. ⁶ The young men got up, took him away, wrapped up his body and buried him.

⁷ After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

⁸ Peter spoke to her.

“Tell me,” he said, “did you sell the land for this much?”

“Yes,” she replied, “that was the price.”

⁹ “So why,” Peter answered, “did you agree together to put the holy spirit to the test? Look: the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door—and they will carry you out too!”

¹⁰ At once she fell down at his feet and died. The young men were just coming in, and they found her dead, so they took her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ Great fear came upon the whole gathering, and on all who heard about these things.

Jesus in the Temple

¹³ It was nearly time for the Judaean Passover, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

¹⁴ In the Temple he found people selling cows, sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting there. ¹⁵ He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the Temple—sheep, cows and all. He spilt the money-changers’ coins onto the ground, and knocked over their tables.

¹⁶ “Take these things away!” he said to the people selling doves. “You mustn’t turn my father’s house into a market!”

¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, “The zeal of your house has eaten me up.”

¹⁸ The Judaeans had this response for him. “What sign are you going to show us,” they said, “to explain why you’re doing this?”

¹⁹ “Destroy this Temple,” replied Jesus, “and I’ll raise it up in three days.”

²⁰ “It’s taken forty-six years to build this Temple,” responded the Judaeans, “and are you going to raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking about the “temple” of his body. ²² So when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Bible and the word which Jesus had spoken.

²³ While he was in Jerusalem during the Passover festival, several people came to trust in his name, because they had seen the signs he did. ²⁴ But Jesus didn’t entrust himself to them. He knew everything, ²⁵ and had no need for anyone to give him information about people. He himself knew what was inside people.