UNIFORM LESSON FOR SEPTEMBER 13, 2015
Scripture passage and lesson focus: Acts 4:32-5:11
Luke’s description of the earliest Christian community is both idealized and frightening. His idyllic picture portrays the first Christians as being “of one heart and one soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions … . There was not a needy person among them.” This idealistic picture should to be placed alongside the frightening reality that when Ananias and Sapphira were caught lying to the Holy Spirit, they died instantly and “great fear seized all who heard of it.”
Acts 4:32-35 — Generous friends
In Acts 4:32, Luke says the new believers “were of one heart and one soul.” To be of one soul was a common Hellenistic way to define friendship. Luke is repeating his characterization of the earliest believers found in Acts 2:44-45: “All who believed were together and had all things in common.”
Their friendship extended to sharing their possessions. As commentator Beverly Gaventa points out in her commentary on this passage, it “need not imply common ownership as such; instead, it may mean that those who did possess property did not claim it as such but thought of it as property to be shared with those in need.” Peter’s subsequent exchange with Ananias (5:4) certainly implies that private ownership of property was acceptable in the community. The suggestion that the earliest Christians practiced a form of communism is not correct.
The generosity of those first Christians assured that there were no needy believers among them. This may have been a continuation of long-standing Jewish tradition of care for the needy (cf. Deuteronomy 15:4).
The crucial role of the apostles in the earliest congregations is central to Luke’s description of the early church. This is evident in the practice of laying the proceeds from property sales at the feet of the apostles. More importantly, Luke emphasizes that the apostles proclaimed “with great power” the resurrected Lord Jesus. The grace that the first believers experienced was not only God’s grace, but also the approbation of many of their neighbors in Jerusalem.
Acts 4:36-37 — Joseph’s generosity
Luke provides a positive example of the generosity of the first Christians with a brief profile of a Levite named Joseph who is given the name Barnabas. He sold land he owned and faithfully laid the proceeds “at the feet of the apostles.”
However, the details of Luke’s account have raised questions. Although Luke says the name Barnabas given to Joseph by the apostles means “son of encouragement,” this does not seem to be correct. In his commentary, Luke Timothy Johnson says that Barnabas means “son of Nebo.” While his name may reflect the role Barnabas will have as a companion of Paul (see Acts 11:22-26), there is no linguistic evidence to support Luke’s understanding of the name.
Acts 5:1-6 — Ananias lied to God
Luke’s idealistic picture of the earliest congregation of believers in Jerusalem soon took on a much more realistic dimension. Ananias and Sapphira, a married couple, conspired to keep for themselves a portion of the proceeds from the sale of some land they owned. The verb used by Luke and translated “held back” has strong connotations of financial fraud. When Ananias presented only a portion of the money they received for their property, Peter confronted them and asked, “Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds of the land?” Luke’s account makes it clear that the confrontation here is ultimately between God and Satan.
Acts 5:7-11 — Sapphira lied to God
Again Peter confronted the apparently generous benefactor, in this case, Sapphira. Unaware of her husband’s fate, she told Peter the same deceitful story he had heard from her husband. Accused of lying to God, Sapphira also dropped dead. The same people who had carried out her late husband’s corpse returned to carry out her body. They buried her next to her husband.
Very understandably the rest of the congregation was shocked when they heard this frightening story. Luke reports that great fear gripped the whole church. This is the first time Luke has used the term ekklesia, the Greek word from which the English term “ecclesiastical” is derived, to refer to the community of Jesus’ followers.
For discussion
What features of the early church as described by Luke in Acts 4 should modern Presbyterians try to re-establish today? What do you think caused the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira? In our Presbyterian system of church order, who exercises the authority of the apostles?
JAMES A. BRASHLER is professor emeritus of Bible at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.
