Ananias and Sapphira: A lie has short legs but it runs faster than the truth

At the beginning of the Acts of the Apostles, we are told how they were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) and Peter preached his first sermon to thousands of people who had come from many different places to celebrate the day of Pentecost. Such was the blessing and anointing of the Spirit upon him, that on that day 3000 people were touched by God’s grace and salvation.

The church in Jerusalem was growing daily in number and holiness. But Luke shows us the reality of a church that was not all righteousness and goodness as we may sometimes think of the early church, it was a church full of sinners but who had repented and been saved by the atonement of Christ. The verses before Acts 5, which is the passage that interests us, tell us that the multitude of believers was of one heart and soul (Acts 4:32). There were no needy because many believers sold their possessions or houses voluntarily, this is important to keep in mind, no one forced anyone to do so, and they brought it to the apostles to distribute it to the neediest.

Among these generous Christians was Joseph, or as he is better known by his nickname “Barnabas”. He sold a piece of land he owned and brought the money to the apostles so that they could distribute it to the neediest. In that same church in Jerusalem, there was a married couple of believers named Ananias and Sapphira. And this is where the story begins.

Right after Barnabas’ donation to the needy, Acts chapter 5 begins with a “But…”, which implies that you are going to see a contrast between what Barnabas did and what Ananias and Sapphira did. Nowhere else in the Bible do we hear about Ananias and Sapphira, we know nothing about their family, or if they had children, or what they did, or how many possessions they had. What the Scripture does show us is that they two agreed to sell a possession. Up to this point, there is no problem, the problem comes later: the donation of Ananias and Sapphira, in appearance, followed the behavior of other believers, but “And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” (Acts 5:2)

The problem was not that Ananias and Sapphira kept part of the money from the sale of the possession because they could do it, no one forced them to give it all. Their problem was that they lied to the apostles and said that they were bringing all the money they had taken from the sale of the possession,. They wanted to give the image of being as generous as Barnabas, and that the brethren in the church in Jerusalem would praise them and think that they had sacrificed by giving everything. They wanted to impress others, to make them think that they were very spiritual and generous, when what they were doing was deceiving and lying, first to the Holy Spirit and then to the believers: “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” (Acts 5:3)

The apostle Peter learned of the deception, by revelation from God, and confronted Ananias with his sin. “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.” (Acts 5:4)

“And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.” (Acts 5:5-6)

It was a divine punishment, here we cannot see that he had a heart attack and died, we can clearly see the hand of God acting directly. Ananias died because of deception, because of a lie.

But there is a second part, three hours later, the biblical account tells us, it happened, that Sapphira entered where Peter was, but without knowing what happened to her husband. Peter gave her the opportunity to repent and asked her: “… Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.” (Acts 5:8-11)

Sapphira, having agreed with her husband about the money, lied to Peter without her voice trembling. She did not even suspect what this lie was going to bring her, if she had repented for a moment, she would have realized that this sinful attitude does not please God, if she had told Peter the whole truth, the end of this story would have been very different.

So how do you live when no one sees you in private? You may give a very spiritual image, but you do not deceive God, He sees your heart. Is there deceit on your lips? Perhaps you think that you do not lie or deceive, but lies have many faces and can present themselves in many ways. Is your life transparent? Do you act honestly in your work? Do you tell half-truths? Do you like people to know about the good works you do so that they can flatter you? Analyze your heart before God, and if there is something to fix, remember that through Christ’s atonement all people can become cleansed from sin and start over.

Jesus begins by saying: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.” (Matthew 25:1-2) 

Jesus does not say that half of the disciples who inherit the Kingdom of Heaven are foolish and the other half are wise. Rather, what he means is that, when it comes to the Kingdom, each disciple has a choice between being alert or distracted. However, Jesus has no doubt that each of his servants can remain faithful and receive the blessings of his Father.

In the comparison, the ten virgins go out to greet the bridegroom and join the wedding party. When the bridegroom arrived, the girls would have to light the way with their lamps to honor him as he led the bride to the house prepared for her. But does that actually happen?

Jesus explains: “They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumberedandslept. ”(Matthew 25: 3-5). The bridegroom arrives later than they expected. It seems that the delay is long, and the girls fall asleep.

In the parable of the ten virgins, Jesus recounts what happens when the bridegroom finally arrives: “ And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. ‘”(Matthew 25: 6). Will the girls be prepared and vigilant?

Jesus continues: “Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. '”(Matthew 25: 7-9).

“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”(Matthew 25: 10-12). What a sad ending! And all for not having been ready or vigilant.

The apostles realize that the bridegroom is Jesus, since he has been compared to a bridegroom before (Luke 5:34, 35). What about the wise virgins? Speaking of the “little flock” that would receive the Kingdom, Jesus said these words: “Be ready and with your clothes on, and have your lamps burning” (Luke 12:32, 35). So now the apostles can understand that virgins represent faithful disciples like themselves. What lesson does Jesus want to teach them with this comparison?

Jesus leaves no room for doubt. He concludes by saying, “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh. ” (Matthew 25:13).

Therefore, Jesus advises his faithful followers to “always be vigilant” during his presence. He will come, and we have to be ready and vigilant like the five wise virgins, so that we do not lose sight of His precious hope and the blessings we may receive. We must be prepared, we must take breath, because Christ has promised us that he will come and that promise is not delayed.

“But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and wentnot. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.” - Matthew 21:28-32 

Our life is full of opportunities to say “yes” to God, and also, to say “no”.

We are free, and we can choose either one or the other. But when we choose to say “yes,” God expects us to stay true to Him, and to be consistent with our decision.

It is useless to say “yes” with our lips if our way of acting does not confirm our words.

In this case it is more meritorious, after having said “no”, to repent of what was said, and act as if we had said “yes”, as Jesus teaches in the parable.

Many times we believe that we are good people, and that we “deserve salvation”, because in our life there is one or another pious practice, which we carry out with the desire to “please God”, but in the rest of the time, we do not remember for nothing of Him, and we live according to our wishes and whims.

On the other hand, there are people who, despite being branded by others - and also by us - as “sinners”, estranged from God due to some circumstance in their life, who recognize their smallness, and with humble hearts beg for his mercy and compassion. with true repentance, and a deep desire for conversion.

Faithfulness and consistency are two essential qualities of the disciples of Jesus.

Faithfulness enables us to persevere in time and despite it, in our original decision to make his message of love and salvation come true in our lives. Consistency leads us to fully match our decisions and our actions.

Both require a great effort on our part, but with the grace of God, who is always ready to help us, both are possible.

We live in difficult times for faith; times in which to remain faithful and be consistent, can bring us displeasure, in many cases serious, and with people who are important to us; It can even happen - why not? - that at some point and due to some circumstance, our life is threatened; but God expects from us generosity and dedication to his cause; that’s why we can’t give up.

Faith gives us the certainty that whatever happens, He will be with us, accompanying us, strengthening us, illuminating us with his light, as he did with Jesus.

The episode of Zacchaeus is narrated to us only by Luke, and placed after the healing of the blind man from Jericho (Luke 18: 35-43) as a complement. The blind man is healed so that he can see Jesus, and Zacchaeus climbs a fig tree so that he too can see Jesus.

Tax collectors were looked down upon as sinners by the Jews of that time. The way in which taxes were collected then lent itself to much corruption and abuse, practices condemned by the Law of Moses. Sharing a table with a sinner was considered a “contamination” in sin, a complicity with him that was incapable of prayer and worship. Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector in the Jericho region, and for this he was the target of scorn.

Jesus, who reads hearts, takes the initiative and invites all his people to Zacchaeus’ house, which should not be small at all. The attempt is this to see the teacher has been more than rewarded. And the presence of Jesus and his words change her heart. The conversion of Zacchaeus is important because it shows us how faith in Jesus entails a change in attitude and lifestyle.

Zacchaeus agrees to give half of his assets to the poor and, in addition, if he has never extorted taxes, he will pay back four times more.

The expression of Jesus: today salvation has come to this house, contains a double meaning. On the one hand, Jesus, who is the salvation of God, has lodged in Zacchaeus’ house, and has even stayed in his heart. On the other hand, salvation, understood as conversion to God, has transformed Zacchaeus’ life.

To know more please read Luke 19: 1-10: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/luke/19?lang=eng

In John 6 we find the miraculous feeding of the five thousand. This is the only miracle of Jesus that all four gospels reported. Furthermore, no other miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ was performed in the presence of so many witnesses, nor did it have so many beneficiaries at the same time. The disciples could only do calculations with their own possibilities, forgetting that the power of Jesus always surpasses all human calculation. So they kept looking to see what they had, and finally all they could find was “five barley loaves and two small fish” that a boy had. This was a ridiculous amount, and as they themselves stated, “What are they among so many?" 

However, although they probably weren’t very aware of it, they did two things that always make it easier for the Lord to start working:
On the one hand, they admitted that they didn’t have a solution to the problem, so they left the door open for the Lord to work.
And on the other hand, they put what little they had into the Lord’s hands.

For more information please read John Chapter 6: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/6?lang=eng