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September 21 - Acts 5 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday, the 21st of
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  September. So good that you can invite me
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  into your day so that you and I can continue on this incredible
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  adventure of hearing about the birth of our church in the
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  world, empowered by Jesus and his spirit in the book of Acts.
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  And today we reached chapter 5, which starts off with that very
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  scary encounter of Anna, Nice and Saphira, that couple who
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  died because they withheld money from the church.
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  This is just one of those fascinating stories.
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  It is unique in all of the book of Acts, in fact, in all of the
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  New Testament that we see this sort of thing go down.
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  And there are a number of people with a number of opinions on
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  this, but there probably a couple of things that are worth
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  noting. Firstly, that the Holy Spirit is
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  not just some timid little toy that makes people brave enough
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  to say some words, but the Holy Spirit is indeed the living,
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  breathing presence of the Almighty God of the universe,
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  who is just and powerful. And this is evidence of that.
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  It's also to say that money, or the love of money is a tricky
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  thing. And in fact all of the gospel
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  authors speak really quite angrily and violently against
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  that love of money and putting money above other things.
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  And this is another example of that theme, really just wanting
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  to point out that the way of the world chasing money is not where
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  we should be at, but promoting God's Kingdom.
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  And another fascinating interpretation is it's not just
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  the man who is punished, but there is equal waiting in the
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  story given to both Anna Nice and Saphira.
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  This is the first time that men and women are both held equally
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  accountable for the work of their faith in their community.
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  This is very new for the Jews in that space where women were
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  often subservient to men and their decisions.
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  So here this is the church saying that there is equal
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  footing for men and women in this work.
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  Isn't that cool? In the midst of the awfulness of
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  the story? So anyway, I've said enough.
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  Let's actually read the chapter and hear these words as written
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  in Acts chapter 5. But there was a certain man
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  named Annanis, who, with his wife Saphira, sold some
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  property. He brought part of the money to
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  the apostles, claiming it was the full amount with his wife's
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  consent. He kept the rest.
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  Then Peter said. Anna Nice, Why have you let
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  Satan fill your heart? You have lied to the Holy
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  Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself.
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  The property was yours to sell or not sell as you wished.
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  And after selling it, the money was yours to give away.
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  How could you do a thing like this?
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  You weren't lying to us, but to God.
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  As soon as Anna Nice heard these words, he fell to the floor and
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  died. Everyone heard about it was
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  terrified. Then some young men got up,
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  wrapped him in a sheet and took him out and buried him.
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  About 3 hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had
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  happened. Peter asked her, was this the
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  price you and your husband received for your land?
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  Yes, she replied. That was the price.
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  And Peter said, how could the two of you even think of
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  conspiring to test the spirit of the Lord like this?
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  The young men who buried your husband are just outside the
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  door, and they will carry you out too.
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  Instantly she fell to the floor and died.
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  When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they
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  carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
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  Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who
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  heard what had happened. The apostles were performing
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  many miraculous signs and wonders among the people, and
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  all the believers were meeting regularly at the temple in the
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  area known as Solomon's Colonnade.
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  But no one else dared to join them, even though all the people
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  had high regard for them. Yet more and more people
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  believed and were brought to the Lord.
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  Crowds of both men and women as a result of the apostles work.
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  Sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and
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  mats, so that Peter's shadow might fall across some of them.
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  As he went by, crowds came from the villages around Jerusalem,
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  bringing their sick and those possessed by evil spirits, and
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  they were all healed. The high priest and his
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  officials, who were sadjusses, were filled with jealousy.
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  They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
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  But an Angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the
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  jail, and brought them out. Then he told them, go to the
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  temple and give the people this message of life.
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  So at Daybreak the apostles entered the temple as they were
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  told and immediately began teaching.
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  When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened
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  the high council, the full assembly of the elders of
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  Israel. Then they sent to the apostles
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  to be brought from the jail for trial.
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  But when the temple guards went to the jail, the men were gone.
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  So they returned to the council and reported the jail was
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  securely locked with the guard standing outside.
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  But when we opened the gates, no one was there.
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  When the captain of the temple guard and the leading priests
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  heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all
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  end. Then someone arrived with
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  startling news. The men you put in jail are
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  standing in the temple teaching the people.
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  The captain went with his temple guards and arrested the
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  apostles, but without violence, for they were afraid the people
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  would stone them. Then they brought the apostles
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  before the High Council, where the high priest confronted them.
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  We gave you strict orders never again to teach in this man's
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  name, he said instead. You have filled all Jerusalem
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  with your teaching about him, and you want to make us
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  responsible for his death. But Peter and the apostles
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  replied, we must obey God rather than any human authority.
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  The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you
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  killed him by hanging him on a cross.
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  Then God put him in the place of honor at his right hand as
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  Prince and savior. He did this so the people of
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  Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven.
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  We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy
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  Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.
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  When they heard this, the High Council was furious and decided
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  to kill them. But one member, a Pharisee named
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  Gemalial, who is an expert in religious law and respected by
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  all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be sent
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  outside the council chamber for a while.
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  Then he said to his colleagues, men of Israel, take care what
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  you are planning to do with these men.
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  Some time ago there was that fellow Theodos who pretended to
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  be someone great. About 400 others joined him, but
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  he was killed, and all his followers went their various
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  ways. The whole movement came to
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  nothing after him. At the time of the census, there
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  was Judas of Galilee. He got people to follow him, but
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  he was killed too, and all his followers were scattered.
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  So my advice is, leave these men alone.
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  Let them go. If they're planning and doing
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  these things merely on their own, it will soon be overthrown.
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  But if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them.
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  You may even find yourselves fighting against God.
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  The others accepted his advice. They called in the apostles and
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  had them flogged. Then they ordered them never
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  again to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.
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  The apostles left the High Council rejoicing that God had
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  counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus.
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  And every day in the temple and from house to house they
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  continued to teach and preach this message.
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  Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus, thank you for the wisdom
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  of that man, Gemalio. Thank you that he had the
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  foresight to say that if this is from people, it's going to fall
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  over in a matter of a matter of weeks.
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  But here we are a matter of thousands of years later and
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  your Spirit and your church is alive and thriving in this
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  world. Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
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  Ah, We love you, Jesus, and we are just so delighted to be part
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  of your church and to have this faith that you have gifted us in
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  you, our Lord and our Messiah. We just lift you up and place
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  you on the highest throne and worship you as our eternal and
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  sovereign God. Lord Jesus, we love You.
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  You are incredible and we are Your disciples.
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  Thank you that you draw us to Your side, that you love us,
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  that you forgive us, and that You invite us into your church
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  and into your family. And it's in Your name that we
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  pray. Amen.