We are familiar with Saul the first King of Israel, ultimately killed in battle then replaced by David. – שָׁאוּל
His Hebrew name šā’ûl means ‘desired,‘ however Saul of Tarsus was not the ‘hebrew of hebrews’ that any follower of The Way currently wants to meet.
A brilliant and well-educated man under the tutelage of Judah’s most respected Rabbi, Saul was an up-and-coming leader bound for greatness in the eyes of all of the sanhedrin. A keen observer of their political and religious tutelage, Saul seized his potential claim to fame just as the Apostles had disrupted all Jerusalem.
“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed at him with one accord. They threw him out of the city, and stoned him.
The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Sha’ul.
They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying,
“Lord Yeshua, receive my Spirit!”
He kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
It had been some scene!
That was the day many disciples began fleeing Jerusalem and now, this Saul of Tarsus pursues them in hopes of more trials and executions like that of Stephen.
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
And the Lord said to him,
“Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.”
ACTS 9:11-12 NASB – The Word of the Lord to Ananias in a vision
We have already witnessed the Apostles laying hands on people who then received healing. This disciple of Jesus, Ananias, may have witnessed such signs or perhaps even the stoning of Stephen.
“Lord, I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”
Do you fear a high official of the priestly court who has authority to murder you?
Of course you do; but it is the Lord speaking in a vision to this saint in Damascus.
15 But the Lord said to him,
“Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer in behalf of My name.”
ACTS of the Apostles 9:15-16 – The word of the Lord to Ananias
Ananias anoints Saul
So Ananias departed and entered the house,
He placed his hands on him and said,
“Brother Saul,
the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
20 Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues:
Yeshua is the Son of God.
ACTS of the Apostles 9:20b, Complete Jewish Bible – Proclamation of Saul of Tarsus
You have to picture this NEW witness of Saul
.. in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 All those hearing him continued to be amazed, and were saying,
“Isn’t this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
But Saul grew stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
Luke records a little more of Saul’s conversion story in ACTS of the Apostles 9; however his reference to later readers some three decades later begins, ‘ὡς δὲ ἐπληροῦντο..’ that is: ‘When many days had elapsed..’
Saul, later records in his letter to the church in Galatia:
but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him for fifteen days.
Of all places the Apostles would not have ever thought the risen Christ would anoint yet another Apostle, a road to Damascus likely would have been the last place to come to mind.
Jesus had led them to places beyond Galilee (now formally a part of Syria under the administration of Rome for the readers of ACTS) like Tyre and Sidon.
Jews had built synagogues in many cities of the Roman Empire. By the time Saul studies in Jerusalem and now pursues disciples of Jesus in his zeal for the LORD, the politics of Rome, Jerusalem and the major cities of Syria, Galilee, Samaria and Judea are not-so-delicately intertwined.
Syria Cilicia Phoenice
Damascus, of course, was of strategic importance to Rome in governing all of Syria including Jerusalem and the cities of the eastern Mediterranean.
Tarsus, Damascus & the eastern administrative shore of Syria under Rome
The Roman prefects / procurators of Judea were directly subordinate to the Syrian governor.
In particular, the Legate of Syria was the next authority in complaints against the governor of Judea, as can be seen from the lawsuit brought by the Jews against Pontius Pilate to Lucius Vitellius in AD 36 and the Samaritans brought before the legate Gaius in AD 51
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On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.
Devout men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.
Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.
..went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus..
Meanwhile, in Damascus..
10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias..
Many Jews (including these Christian followers of the Way) lived in Damascus, a city with multiple synagogues. [v.2] These included a disciple named Ἰούδας [Judas, a common name of that time] [v.11].
From terrorizing Jews in Judea & Samaria to the road to Damascus
To the Roman Citizen born in Tarsus, Damascus will be a familiar stop along the roads from Jerusalem.
Now as he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
Acts 9:4b NASB – JESUS to Saul of Tarsus along the road to Damascus
5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
“I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told to you what you must do.”
Acts of the Apostles 9:5b-6 NASB, Response of the Lord to Saul of Tarsus with command for his leading into Damascus
7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.
Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus.
Prayer and Fasting
9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
ACTS of an Apostle to the gentiles + to be continued...
From a background of my own evangelical christian Americanthinking I had always squirmed with a certain sense of unfairness that Ananias and Saphira died instantly at Peter’s feet when the Apostle confronted them about a sale of THEIR OWN possessions.
Wasn’t the profit from THEIR MONEY from a SALE of their landone of the most generous GIFTS of CHARITY anyone could have given to the Apostles? They gave most of it to the CHURCH. It was certainly more than a 10% tithe.
So how much should Anaias and Saphira have given to the CHURCH?
Our Offerings to ‘the church’
Here’s MY gentile ALL-AMERICAN take on what Peter and the Apostles should have expected.
Wouldn’t giving EVERYTHING to the Apostles make the saints of the first century Church COMMUNISTS, or at the very least SOCIALISTS?
The COMMUNITY of the Jerusalem Churchseems unlike everything WE THE PEOPLE of the United States have come to expect as a 21st century christian ‘church.’ Yet most of our our preachers love to proclaim such generous gifts of substance from leading contributers like Ananias and Saphira to the church. (We know who they are.)
How many of US would sell our possessions just to give money to our local church?
WHY would GOD strike DEAD any believer in Jesus for holding back a few possessions for themselves?
It seems ‘un-American, doesn’t it?
OUR hearts recoil as our tongues to cry out, ‘THIS IS UNFAIR.’
ACTS of the Church in context
Most Christians know this story from ACTS 5:1-11 and the generosity of Joseph of Cypress from the preceeding two verses in Acts 4.
I have not skipped this story until now to avoid controversial contempory issues, but rather to maintain a storyline of Peter as the first leader of the Church.
A Chronological context ofActs from a first century perspective
Luke published Acts of the Apostles in about
the year of our Lord, 62,
just prior to empire-wide persecution of the Jews (including the sect of Christ followers) and the Jerusalem War which led to its fall in A.D. 70.
The Forgotten Saga of The Way
Christians reading Luke’s historical account of events some thirty years earler(in ~A.D. 30’s) would already have suffered persecution, loss of their possessions and lands, and even deaths of family and other saints of their church as most fled with little left to places of reletive safety.
Thissect of The Way, along with Jerusalem’s former ruling classes, would no longer have enough possessions to sustain daily life in Jerusalem, some even without food to eat.
28 AD John the Baptist is executed by Herod Antipas, son of King Herod in Judaea.
32 – 36AD Estimated date of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
44 AD Judaea is annexed as a Roman province after the death of Herod Agrippa.
49 AD Claudius passes an edict expelling all Jews from Rome.
64 AD The Great Fire of Rome speculated to have been started by Nero to make room for his palace. Christians Persecuted as scapegoats. Nero begins construction of the domus aurea (the Golden House).
67 AD The future Emperor Vespasian is sent to Judaea to put down a Jewish revolt.
Death of Paul the Apostle.
Some believe Luke wrote Acts after the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70; his death was probably in the mid-eighties).
It is more likely, however, that he wrote much earlier, before the end of Paul’s first Roman imprisonment (ca. A.D. 60–62).
Who should these new disciples of the Apostles ACT like during these desparate times of yet anotherjewish diaspora due to persecution?
Certainly the daily lives of every saint of the early church read like an unseen saga of suffering known to early readers of the GOSPELS, ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, the EPISTLES and THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRISTto John.
Possessions of the Church + Banking on the Risen Lord
We return now to Luke's second account ACTS of the Apostles in about AD32-36, as we have learned, and a fledgling gathering of saints in Jerusalem who increasingly must depend on the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the cohesion of love binding their community to each other.
Luke reveals their agreement or community compact:
For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need.
ACTS of the Jerusalem church 4:34-35 NASB – AD 30’s
This NEW community in the Spirit of The Way in Jerusalem applied Christ’s love for each other AND IT WORKED.
Luke tells later saints of the church how the Apostles gave us this example.
Luke begins with a positive example.
Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas, (translated Son of Encouragement) sold a field he owned..
Joseph, from the priestly Levitical line, is a faithful Jew who traveled to Jerusalem for its major festivals. Then after the Holy Spirit fills the community of faith on Pentecost, Barnabas (Joseph) fully commits to this new community of The Way led by the Apostles.
Joseph of Cypress (Barnabas) sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
ACTS 4:37 CSB
Luke encourages the poor and needy commuinties of Christ who will read of their sacrificial generocity years later while many saints suffer severe persecution.
32 Now the multitude of those who believe were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
.. all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.
ACTS 4:33,35b-36 NKJV of the Jerusalem Chruch after Pentrecost
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession.
Unlike Joseph of Cypress, Luke does not give us much detail about this couple, but his name, Ananias, would have been familiar in their community of fellow Jews.
Ἁνανίας – Ananías, an-an-ee’-as; of Hebrew origin (H2608); Ananias, the name of three Israelites:—Ananias.
a certain Christian [at Jerusalem], the husband of Sapphira: Acts 5:1-6.
a Christian of Damascus: Acts 9:10-18; Acts 22:12
a son of Nedebaeus, and high priest of the Jews circa A.D. 47-59.
Ananias = “whom Jehovah has graciously given”
(Luke the gentile Physician likely understands this irony as will the Apostles.)
The Hebrew root of Ananias also points to a familiar Scriptural example from Daniel: חֲנַנְיָה
Hananiah = "God has favoured"
the godly friend of Daniel whom Nebuchadnezzar renamed Shadrach; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king's table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord.
source: BlueLetterBible.org Lexicon :: Strong's H2608 - ḥănanyâ
Ananias is a leading man of means among these five hundred or so followers of the Apostles. And he has sold some of his possessions for the church to graciously give to others in need of his charity.
(But is their generous gift to the church truly their own?)
ACTS 5:2 However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
WHY?
Didn’t Luke tell us that ALL brought the proceeds of the things that were sold and laid them at the apostles’ feet?
AND also, these ACTS of GENEROSITY of ALL sharing ALL of their possessions resulted in
the Apostles distributing to each as anyone had need?
The offering of Anaias’ portion of the sale may have exceeded the value of what most could contribute who shared everything they sold. So often leading contributors of the Church receive public accolades for their ‘generosity.’
Yet what had Peter learned from Jesus preaching about our portion of riches?
10 “And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him;
but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him.
“Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
Peter and ALL of those touched by the tongues of fire on Pentecost have already experienced this.
But in this same teaching, Jesus warns again of the danger of riches to those who would cling to their possessions.
“Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one is affluent does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive..
Gospel of Luke 12:15b-16[21] NASB20 – Jesus cautioning against greed
AND IN THE END of Jesus’ parable:
We know the expression, but hear little of it's context: EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY..
‘And I will say to my [SOUL], “You have many goods stored up for many years to come; relax, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is demanded of you; and as for all that you have prepared, who will own it now?’
“Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control?
Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart?
You have not lied to men, but to God.”
Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last.
So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.
6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him.
FAR DIFFERENT from our 21st century receiving of this weeks 'offering' when we are obliged to put something in the basket (or plate) rather anonomously.
Saphira
I might easily expound at length on Saphira's role as the wife of Ananias. Should she agree with her husband's dishonesty OR tell the truth even when her husband is dishonest?
Just a Scriptures familiar to her for your own consideration:
All quotes from BlueLetterBible.org
and they shall become one flesh. – Genesis 2:24b
There certainly was no one like Ahab who gave himself over to do evil in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife incited him. – 1 Kings 25:25
His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.” But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong. – Job 2:9-10
An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones. – Proverbs 12:4
“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.
Gospel of Luke 14:26 + a caution of JESUS – v.27 “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
SAPHIRA, one with ANANIAS as his wife had a choice: Yet both also gave their word to the Apostles to remain one with the community of Christ in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Which choice will SHE make when confronted by truth?
Three Hours Later
Perhaps she had been window shopping in Jerusalem for some new clothes or possions appropriate to their high status. Maybe she had asked Ananias for some of their new-found profit. (This is just spectulation.)
