New Testament in a Year

Ananias and Sapphira Die

5 But a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some land. ² He kept back part of the money for himself; his wife knew about this and agreed to it. But he brought the rest of the money and gave it to the apostles. ³ Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan rule your thoughts to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep for yourself part of the money you received for the land? ⁴ Before you sold the land, it belonged to you. And even after you sold it, you could have used the money any way you wanted. Why did you think of doing this? You lied to God, not to us!” ^5-6 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Some young men came in, wrapped up his body, carried it out, and buried it. And everyone who heard about this was filled with fear.

⁷ About three hours later his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened. ⁸ Peter said to her, “Tell me, was the money you got for your field this much?”

Sapphira answered, “Yes, that was the price.”

⁹ Peter said to her, “Why did you and your husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰ At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ The whole church and all the others who heard about these things were filled with fear.

The Apostles Heal Many

¹² The apostles did many signs and miracles among the people. And they would all meet together on Solomon’s Porch. ¹³ None of the others dared to join them, but all the people respected them. ¹⁴ More and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to the group of believers. ¹⁵ The people placed their sick on beds and mats in the streets, hoping that when Peter passed by at least his shadow might fall on them. ¹⁶ Crowds came from all the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those who were bothered by evil spirits, and all of them were healed.

Leaders Try to Stop the Apostles

¹⁷ The high priest and all his friends (a group called the Sadducees) became very jealous. ¹⁸ They took the apostles and put them in jail. ¹⁹ But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and led the apostles outside. The angel said, ²⁰ “Go stand in the Temple and tell the people everything about this new life.” ²¹ When the apostles heard this, they obeyed and went into the Temple early in the morning and continued teaching.

When the high priest and his friends arrived, they called a meeting of the leaders and all the important elders. They sent some men to the jail to bring the apostles to them.