Ananias, Sapphira & the Fatal Flaw of Pretend Piety

In the opening chapters of Acts, Luke offers what is likely the most comprehensive description of a healthy church in the New Testament. Here we learn that as “awe came upon every soul” (Acts 2:43), the Jerusalem Church listened to the apostles’ teachings, broke bread in each other’s homes, and shared their resources generously while the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved (Acts 2:42–47; 4:32–37). By any measure, the Church of Jerusalem was healthy and thriving. And yet, while it’s easy to think that the Jerusalem Church was nearly perfect, Luke disabuses us of any such notion when he describes a shocking episode of moral failure and instant judgment—God strikes two people dead three hours apart! Their names were Ananias and Sapphira. After selling some property, they laid the proceeds from the sale at the apostles’ feet. But what looked like a generous donation was a work of calculated deception. What they claimed was a total donation of the proceeds was actually a partial one. They kept back some of the money for themselves. Thus, they lied about how generous they were being, about the extent of their sacrifice. The result? Both dropped dead at the apostle...