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New Testament in a Year

Read the New Testament from start to finish, from Matthew to Revelation.

Duration: 365 days

Acts 5:1-21

Chapter 5

The Fraud of Ananias and Sapphira.^[a] ¹There was a man named Ananias who with his wife Sapphira sold a piece of property. ²With the approval of his wife, he held back some of the proceeds, and he brought the remainder to the apostles and laid it at their feet.

³Then Peter asked, “Ananias, why has Satan so gained control of your heart that you lied to the Holy Spirit and retained part of the sale price of the land? ⁴While it remained unsold, did it not belong to you? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds yours? What caused you to contrive this scheme? You have lied not to men but to God.”

⁵When Ananias heard these words, he collapsed and died, and a great sense of fear seized all who heard about it. ⁶The young men came forward and wrapped up his body. Then they carried him out and buried him.

⁷After about three hours, his wife came in, unaware of what had happened. ⁸Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for this much.” She replied, “Yes, that was the price.” ⁹Then Peter asked her, “Why did the two of you agree to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Listen! The footsteps of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will also carry you out.”

¹⁰Instantly, she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in, they found her dead. And so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹And a great sense of fear seized the whole Church^[b] and all those who heard of this.

¹²Life of the First Community—III.^[c] Many signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the apostles. They all used to assemble in Solomon’s Portico. ¹³No one else dared to join them, but the people esteemed them highly. ¹⁴More believers, men and women, were constantly being added to their ranks. ¹⁵People brought those who were sick into the streets and placed them on cots and mats so that when Peter passed by, his shadow might fall on some of them. ¹⁶A large number of people also came from the neighboring towns around Jerusalem, bringing with them the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits, and all of them were cured.

¹⁷Conclusion of the Trial.^[d] Then the high priest and his colleagues from the party of the Sadducees rose up, filled with jealousy, ¹⁸and they arrested the apostles and placed them in the public jail. ¹⁹But during the night the angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, led them out, and said, ²⁰“Go, stand in the temple, and tell the people everything about this new life.” ²¹Accordingly, they entered the temple at daybreak and taught the people.

When the high priest and his colleagues arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin, the full assembly of the elders of Israel, and sent to the jail to have them brought in.

Footnotes

Acts 5:1 The sharing of goods is voluntary, but gold has a fascinating power. A couple lies to the community, contrary to the life of the Spirit. They violate the life of the community and undermine it. In the Old Testament (Jos 7:1), such people were to be put to death. Paul would have harsh words on the problem of riches and neglect of the poor when the Christians of Corinth later failed to respect the assembly, the Body of Christ.
Acts 5:11 The word Church (Greek: ekklesia, “assembly called together”), already heard on the lips of Jesus (Mt 16:18), appears for the first time in Acts at the end of this story. In the Greek world, the word denoted an assembly convoked for deliberation; in the Jewish tradition, the ekklesia was the assembly of God’s people, which God had called together in the wilderness.
Acts 5:12 These verses show the components of a believing community: its unity, its internal communication, and its worship. Luke emphasizes the difference between this community and the rest of society. In the miracles worked by the apostles, the Spirit of Pentecost shines forth, continuing the work of Jesus, which is so significant of a change in the human condition.
Acts 5:17 The apostles continue their activity without letting themselves be intimidated. A time in prison is ended with deliverance, described in Old Testament terminology—with angels personifying God’s providential intervention as in the Exodus. Luke stresses the positive conclusion of the matter: the Word of God cannot be chained.
Standing in the midst of the Sanhedrin and the party of the Sadducees (who desire to crush the new movement), Peter repeats the message about Jesus. His discourse has the same structure as the previous ones, and the name of Jesus remains at the center of the discussion. Of the life of Jesus, only the trial and death are recalled, but Peter stresses that the God of their ancestors has raised the one who was hung on a gibbet and has exalted him as head of a people capable of introducing them to repentance. The apostles are to bear witness to the Resurrection under the power of the Spirit, and nothing can stifle their testimony.
The suppression of the leaders of this new movement is decreed. They are saved by the intervention of Gamaliel, who was a teacher of Paul (Acts 22:3). He speaks in the manner of a sage of the Old Testament and points out that there have been other uprisings that have come to naught and only time will tell if this enterprise of the followers of Christ is a more serious thing. For their part, the apostles express their joy at suffering everything for Christ. The community has a provisional freedom but looks to the future to bring the good news of the risen Christ to the world.

New Catholic Bible (NCB)