Bible Commentaries
Acts 5

Verse 1

1 Act 5:1. This verse gives the brief but important information that both Ananias and his wife acted in the transaction. I do not know what arrangements could be had in those times as to joint titles to property. However, the fact remains that the husband and wife acted jointly in the disposal of their property.

Verse 2

2 Act 5:2. Kept back part of the price. There was no wrong in this for the whole system was voluntary to begin with. This item will be noticed again in a later verse. Being privy to it. This phrase is from SUNEIDON which Thayer defines, "To see (have seen) together with others." The Englishman's Greek New Testament renders it, "being aware of it." The husband doubtless took the lead in the transaction, but the wife's knowledge of what was being done made her a full partaker in the deed. The whole family of Achan was stoned because the goods was stored in the tent, so that they had knowledge of it (Jos 7:21). If a person has knowledge of an evil deed and does not object to it, he is thereby made as guilty as the actual perpetrator. However, the wife of Ananias went further than guilty knowledge as we shall soon learn.

Verse 3

3 Act 5:3. Jesus said that the devil is the father of lies (Joh 8:44), hence Peter told Ananias that Satan had caused him to lie. Keeping back part of the money is mentioned again in connection with the sin of Ananias, but that is still not what constituted his sin. The mere fact of retaining part of the money would not be a lie, but the cause of his guilt will be shown before the case is finished.

Verse 4

4 Act 5:4. This verse clearly shows that Ananias could have kept possession of his land and not been blamed. And even after he sold it, he could have kept all of the money and still been guiltless, since no divine command had been given for any of this arrangement. Not only so, but Ananias could have brought a part of the money only and have been accepted. The sin is mentioned in the close of this verse, which was the committing of a lie as will be explained soon. And what made it all the more condemnable was their attempt to deceive man, thinking thereby to escape the judgment of God. But Peter informed Ananias that he had not lied to men (only) but unto God.

Verse 5

5 Act 5:5. Hearing these words. Even a human court of justice does not sentence and execute a prisoner without first informing him of the crime laid against him. Hence it was just for Ananias first to hear the accusation he was under, after which he was stricken with immediate death. Great fear means that a profound feeling of awe came over all the people by the mighty demonstration of the Lord's wrath against sin. Peter never as much as touched Ananias, yet at his words of denunciation of the shameful attempt to deceive the Lord, he fell down dead as if by a stroke of lightning. The crowd was thus made to know that the Lord had sent the punishment.

Verse 6

6 Act 5:6. Wound him up means the young men drew his garments up close around him, which was the only burial shroud that was given this unworthy character. He was taken out for immediate burial, as it was sometimes the custom anyway to bury on the day of death.

Verse 7

7 Act 5:7. Had Ananias and his wife come together in the first place, she might have tried to change her story when she saw the fate of her husband. But that would have been a change outwardly only, and one born of terror and not from a godly sorrow. The text says only that she came in; nothing said about her having any of the money. Of course it would have been foolish for her to bring it, for her husband had already brought all of the amount they had received for the land according to the story in their conspiracy. So her presence at this time was only to confirm the statement of her husband.

Verse 8

8 Act 5:8. For so much. This phrase is all from TOSOUTOS which Thayer defines at this place, "For so much," just as it is in the text. Robinson combines his definition and explanation in one sentence and gives us, "Of a specific amount, so much and no more." The necessary conclusion is that when Sapphira came into Peter's presence, he named the amount that her husband had brought, then asked her if that was exactly the price they had received for their property. She confirmed it by repeating the very word the apostle had used. This was the first time that the lie of which they were accused of doing was directly stated as far as the record informs us. But Peter did not have to hear the falsehood verbally for his own information; he was being informed by the Holy Spirit. The statement was drawn from her so that all could know about the wicked attempt of this couple to practice deception.

Verse 9

9 Act 5:9. It is always bad for men to commit wrong when they act individually, but worse when they conspire with others in the act. The daughters of Zelophehad made this point in their plea for their fathers' estate (Num 27:1-7), and the Lord accepted their reasoning. Peter charged Ananias and his wife with agreeing together in their covetous lie. He accused them of trying to tempt the Spirit of the Lord, and such a sin was condemned even in the Old Testament (Deu 6:16). The text does not inform us directly as to any instructions previously given to these burial servants. However, the necessary inference is that they were told to "stand by" and complete their task when it was ready for them. In compliance with such an understanding, they were at that very moment at the door, waiting to perform their duty in the sad affair.

Verse 10

0 Act 5:10. Yielded up the ghost means her spirit left her body as was done in the case of her husband. This gives us another instance that proves there is something in a human being besides his body and that they separate when death occurs. This woman's body was buried in the same tomb as that of her husband.

Verse 11

1 Act 5:11. This was the same kind of fear that is mentioned in verse 5, except that with the church it would include a feeling of reverence for the majesty of the Lord.

Verse 12

2 Act 5:12. There was a continual need for the evidence of signs and wonders at that time, because the New Testament had not been composed and the people did not have any written instructions. But when the apostles performed the miracles it proved them to be the true servants of God. When they spoke to the multitudes, therefore, they were heard as the authentic representatives of the Lord. At the time of these events the assembly of all the people in general was in Solomon's porch, the same place where they saw the lame man who had been healed (chapter 3:11).

Verse 13

3 Act 5:13. The rest refers to unconverted persons, but not to all such, for it immediately says the people magnified them. Hence the rest must refer especially to those not favorably disposed toward the apostles and other faithful disciples. They would not join themselves to them means they stayed away from the assembly. But some others were sufficiently interested to remain in the gathering, and even mag'n'ified (lauded or admired) the apostles.

Verse 14

4 Act 5:14. The aforesaid conclusion is justified by this verse which says that believers were added to the Lord.

Verse 15

5 Act 5:15. Insomuch should be connected with the statement in verse 12, about the "signs and wonders" that were performed by the apostles. Those wonders had produced so much interest among the people that they began to bring their sick folks into the vicinity. They had so much faith in the work of the apostles that even the presence of Peter was thought by them to be sufficient to heal them. Such an act was like those performed by the woman. in Mar 5:27, and the men in Mat 14:36.

Verse 16

6 Act 5:16. This verse tells us that the people were not disappointed in their efforts recorded in the preceding one, for they were healed every one. The healing was done by the Lord as a reward for the faith that had been shown by their actions. Vexed with unclean spirits is the same as being possessed of devils. (See the note on the subject of being possessed of devils at Mat 8:28.)

Verse 17

7 Act 5:17. The Sadducees are mentioned especially as being in sympathy with the high priest in ooposition to the apostles. That is understandable because they were disbelievers in the resurrection, which was the outstanding fact that the apostles had been stressing in their work in connection with the story of Christ.

Verse 18

8 Act 5:18. It has been a prominent weakness of man from the beginning that if he does not like the teaching someone is giving, the way to stop it is by persecuting the teacher. Jeremiah was put into a dungeon because the king did not like his teaching (Jer 38:6), and John the Baptist was imprisoned and slain because of his teaching that was objectionable to some wicked people (Mat 14:1-11). The Sadducees thought they could stop the preaching of a resurrection by imprisoning the apostles. Common prison means one "belonging to the people or state, public." It was the kind of detention place where captives in time of war were locked up.

Verse 19

9 Act 5:19. The tomb of Joseph that had been sealed with a Roman stamp was no hindrance to the act of an angel in opening the place (Mat 28:2). Likewise, the Lord's angel was able to open the door of this public prison and free the apostles.

Verse 20

0 Act 5:20. The angel did not tell them to "make good their escape" and flee while they had a chance. That is what he would have done, had his purpose been only to help them to avoid further persecution. Instead, he told them to go into the temple, the most public place in the city, and resume their preaching of the same facts that had got them into trouble in the first place. Life is from ZOE, which Thayer defines at this place, "Real life after the resurrection." Robinson defines it, "Eternal life, salvation." Since the Greek word generally means life of any kind, we can understand why the angel specified this life in his instruction to the apostles. The great issue at that time was the question of the resurrection which the Sadducees denied. That would make it especially appropriate for them to emphasize the truth of the resurrection, even in the face of possible further and more bitter persecution.

Verse 21

1 Act 5:21. This "jail delivery" by the angel was made in the night, and the apostles made no delay in carrying out the instructions of the angel, but entered the temple early tin the morning and taught All of this was unknown to the Jews, who called a meeting of the Sanhedrin in the morning to handle the case of the apostles, and sent officers to the prison to bring the captives into court.

Verse 24

4 Act 5:24. Doubted is from a word that means to wonder or be perplexed. Grow is from GINOMAI, which has such a wide range of meanings that it would be hard to settle on a definite one in any one place. Some idea of the word may be gathered from the fact that in the King James Version, the word is translated by 39 different terms; one of them is "be," used 249 times. The verse simply means the captain and chief priests did not know what to make of the situation revealed by the report.

Verse 25

5 Act 5:25. It would be difficult to imagine the surprise these Jewish leaders must have felt upon the news of this verse. They were already perplexed over the mere absence of the apostles from the prison, with the parts of the building intact and the keepers at their post of duty. They might finally have recomposed themselves and made further investigation with a view of discovering some unfaithfulness in the keepers. But before they had time for anything of the kind, here came the officers with this strange report. That would shut out any surmise of crookedness on the part of the keepers, for had the apostles been able and disposed to bribe the keepers, it would have been from a motive of cowardice, and in that case they would have fled from the city.

Verse 26

6 Act 5:26. In view of the foregoing considerations, they could but conclude that some unseen power stronger than theirs was working on behalf of the apostles, and that it would be dangerous for them to mistreat their prisoners. Without violence means they did not use or even threaten to use physical force upon the apostles. Had they done so, public sentiment that was on the side of the apostles was so strong, that the officers would have suffered violence from the people.

Verse 27

7 Act 5:27. The council was the Sanhedrin, the highest court the Jews were allowed to have in the time of Christ and the apostles. It had the power to arrest a man and examine him, and pass its own judgment upon the case. But if it passed a verdict of capital punishment, the case had to be taken before the secular court that operated under the Romans before it could be executed.

Verse 28

8 Act 5:28. The faithfulness of the apostles in preaching the Gospel of Christ was proved by the statement of these enemies, that they had filled Jerusalem with it. Bring this man's blood upon us. These rulers knew that if the people were fully informed of the story of Jesus as he was dealt with in Jerusalem, they would hold them (the Jewish rulers) responsible for His death. In a threatening attitude, they reminded the apostles of their order not to teach in the name of Christ.

Verse 29

9 Act 5:29. We ought to obey God rather than men. This is one of the most important sentences in the New Testament concerning the conduct of man. It states a rule or principle that should be observed whenever two or more requirements are made on one that conflict with each other, and yet where they come from sources that are supposed to have authority to command. For instance, children are commanded to obey their parents in all things (Col 3:20); wives are commanded to submit themselves unto their husbands (Eph 5:22), and Christians are commanded to be subject unto the higher powers or laws of the land (Rom 13:1). If any one of these sources of authority should give a command that would interfere with one's duty to God, then that child or wife or disciple should refuse to obey it, regardless of the possible consequences.

Verse 30

0 Act 5:30. Having made the reply shown in the preceding verse, the apostles began to preach to these wicked Jews the very doctrine they had forbidden them to preach anywhere. As was always the case, they began their story with the resurrection of Jesus. But they also connected that subject with the guilt of their hearers in the death of the One in whose name they were preaching.

Verse 31

1 Act 5:31. Exalted with his right hand. Other translations word it "at" or "to" his right hand, and likewise the lexicon so defines it. The word right in this place comes from DEXIOS, which never means "right" in contrast with "wrong," but always means the right hand instead of the left, and hence has no moral significance. It is the rule for men to use their right hand in their one-handed manual activities, while it is an exception to use the left. When such an exception exists the writer will generally call attention to it (Jdg 3:15 Jdg 20:16). There is no information in the Bible why God created man thus, we only know it is so. And the fact has been a source of some figurative uses of the word, meaning the more exalted or honorable place with reference to the person of God or Christ or any other being of dignity. God overruled the wicked purposes of the Jews and exalted his Son to be a Prince (leader) and a Saviour for all who would accept him. Give repentance means to give Israel the chance to repent (reform) their lives, with the promise that their sins would be forgiven.

Verse 32

2 Act 5:32. We are his witnesses. This denotes that the apostles were witnesses to the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead. So is also the Holy Ghost. Jesus had said (Joh 16:7) that if he did not go away (back to Heaven) the Comforter (Holy Ghost) would not come. Therefore, the fact that He did come and was possessed by disciples, was a proof (witness or testimony) that Jesus had arisen from the dead and had ascended to his Father. As to how or when the gift of the Holy Ghost was received, see the comments on chapter 2:38.

Verse 33

3 Act 5:33. Cut is from DIAPRIO, which Thayer defines at this place, "to be sawn through mentally," and explains it to mean, "to be rent with vexation." This was different from the case in chapter 2:37, which says they were "pricked in their heart," which means they were overwhelmed with a conviction of guilt. In the present instance the Jewish leaders were overcome with anger, because they realized that everything the apostles said was true, yet they were not in a penitent frame of mind. Instead of wanting to do the right thing as did the ones on Pentecost, they plotted to bring violence upon the apostles. Took counsel denotes that they held a consultation to decide on some means by which they could have the apostles slain. They knew they would have to do some kind of scheming to get it done, for they could not lawfully slay anybody (Joh 18:31).

Verse 34

4 Act 5:34. Gamaliel was a member of the Sanhedrin, the man referred to by Paul in Chapter 22:3. He was a doctor or teacher of the law of Moses. We know nothing about his qualifications of education in the branches of secular learning. The frequent expressions that represent him as a "professor" in the sense that term is used in connection with schools of literary training are only guesswork. But he did have a good reputation among the people, and his advice was regarded with respect.

Verse 35

5 Act 5:35. Gamaliel advised the council to be careful how they proceeded against the apostles. But he did not ask them to act solely on his general suggestion; he proposed to support it with some facts with which they were evidently acquainted, or at least which they accepted as true due to their respect for Gamaliel.

Verse 36

6 Act 5:36. Funk and Wagnalls New Standard Bible Dictionary says the following about this Theudas: "A Jewish revolutionist in the reign of Augustus [Caesar] who instigated a political uprising in Palestine that came to an inglorious end." We may also read the account of Josephus in his Antiquities, Book 20, Chapter 5, Section 1, as follows: "Now it came to pass, while Fadus was procurator [agent] of Judea, that a certain magician, whose name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the river Jordan; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it; and many were deluded by his words. However, Fadus did not permit them to make any advantage of his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen out against them; who, falling upon them unexpectedly, slew many of them and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, and cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem." Some historians question whether this is the same Theudas as the one Luke writes about, while others say he is the same. All agree, however, that the account in Josephus is true, and we know it corresponds with the description as Gamaliel gave it.

Verse 37

7 Act 5:37. I shall quote from Jo-sephus, Wars. Book 2, Chapter 8, Section 1:"Under his [Coponius, an agent] administration it was that a certain Galilean, whose name was Judas, prevailed with his countrymen to revolt; and said they were cowards if they would endure to pay a tax to the Romans, and would, after God, submit to mortal men as their lords. This man was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own, and was not at all like the rest of those their leaders." As a further support of the account of Gamaliel touching the downfall of the claims of Judas, I shall quote Jo-sephus, Antiquities, Book 20, Chapter 5, Section 2: "And besides this, the sons of Judas of Galilee were now slain; I mean of that Judas who caused the people to revolt, when Cy-renius came to take account of the estates of the Jews" [for the purpose of taxing them].

Verse 38

9 Act 5:38-39. Gamaliel based his reasoning on the outcome of the historic cases to which he referred. He was considering the subject very much along the line of some familiar sayings that "history repeats itself," or that "time will tell." On that principle, he thought these Jewish leaders need not be so concerned about the activities of the apostles. He was correct in saying that if their work was of God, they would not be able to overthrow it. This passage has been used by professed disciples today, to show that we should not oppose any new doctrine or institution that might appear among us, but should let time decide whether it is right or wrong. There are at least two phases of this reasoning that shows it to be a perversion. Gamaliel was only a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, and had no special authority that we know of. The most that could be said about his speech was that it was his personal judgment as to the better procedure to follow toward the apostles, and hence it was no authentic principle on which to handle the question of conduct in the affairs of the church. Again, even if it had been a statement produced by approval of the Lord, that would not make it a proper rule today. The New Testament was not in existence at that time, and hence there was no written document by which to test new teachers or new propositions. Today we have the completed book given to the church by the inspired apostles. If something appears among us that is new (to us), and that could easily occur, we do not have to wait until experience has tested it, but can learn at once whether it is "of God," by examining it in the light of the New Testament. (See 1Pe 4:11.)

Verse 40

0 Act 5:40. The leaders of the Sanhedrin accepted the advice of Gamaliel, not to do anything too rash against the apostles. It was not because of any just feeling of righteousness or fair consideration for the prisoners, for they just could not stand to let them go until they had given them a parting threat accompanied with a beating.

Verse 41

1 Act 5:41. It was and still is an honor to suffer persecution for the name of Jesus (1Pe 4:16): it indicates that one is living a godly life (2Ti 3:12).

Verse 42

2 Act 5:42. Their persecutions did not intimidate the apostles, even to the extent of decreasing the amount or frequency of their preaching, but they preached daily. Neither did they seek for private spots or places of safety to do their work. They preached in the temple, the most public building, and in every private house, where they ran a risk constantly of coming in contact with some telltale member of the Sanhedrin.