RESURRECTION PEOPLE EMBRACE AUTHENTICITY

 

April 17, 2024



Acts 5:1 

Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.



2 Corinthians 5:17 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!


Acts 1:8 

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

RESURRECTION PEOPLE EMBRACE AUTHENTICITY

The end of Acts 2 and Acts 4 describes a voluntary type of shared investment among the early church. People sold their possessions and property, bringing the proceeds to the Apostles to meet the needs of others. We said this week that this was the genuine outcome God brought to a faithful group of “resurrection-living” people. It is a beautiful scene as Acts 4 concludes.

Then, in Acts 5, we are introduced to a couple named Ananias and Sapphira who did a similar thing. They sold a parcel of land and brought money from the sale to the Apostles. While they said they brought the entire proceeds, they saved some for themselves. The first push back, or conflict after Pentecost, that we are told about is “internal” not external.

There is so much to unpack in Acts 5, I hope you take the time to read the chapter. Here is what strikes me, that at a time of the powerful authenticity that we see in this community of Jesus, this couple chose hypocrisy and pretense. In Acts 4, Barnabas was admired for selling land and giving the proceeds to the apostles, Luke, then immediately records Ananias and Sapphira’s attempt to mislead the Apostles. Theirs is an example of wanting the outcome of sacrificial generosity without the process.

The scary part comes next. I remember back in seminary in our class on Acts one of my classmates saying, “Acts 5 is the scariest passage in the book of Acts.” Maybe you have thought that too. This couple, Ananias and Sapphira, come separately before the Apostles, but both experience the same thing. They lie to the Apostles. The Apostles confront them. They are struck dead by God in front of the Apostles. See why my classmate said what he said?

The bigger picture of all this is in my view, that God rejected their hypocrisy because He knew the danger it posed to this fragile group of resurrection people. I think we all know that Hypocrisy destroys our communities, many of you have witnessed this no doubt, in church, home or work. 

The profound spiritual momentum and energy recorded in Acts 1-4 could have been extinguished by Acts 5 by what Ananias and Sapphira did by lying. This shocking event occurred to eliminate this behaviour and protect the early community of Jesus. It is always in my mind when I read this account that they could have brought their sale proceeds before the Apostles and said, “we sold our land and here is a portion of the sale to support those in need.” There was no requirement to sell and give all.

So, what is the take away for us? Could it be this story is saying that resurrection people embrace authenticity. Might this story in Acts be in God’s Word to remind you and me to be who God says we are? To live our lives out of the identity we have in Jesus. In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul wrote that we are new creations - the old has gone; the new has come. In Acts 1, Jesus said we are His martyrs - His witnesses.

After Acts 5, we read that the people lived with humility, reverence, and awe for God. As they lived authentically with dependence on the Holy Spirit, God moved in power. People continued to put their trust in Jesus. Resurrection kept happening all around them.

If we’re going to live as resurrection people all year long…

If we’re going to be “Easter people in a Good Friday world”...

If we’re going to see Easter become bigger than one day per year…

That journey begins as we look to Jesus and live expecting Him to bring resurrection all around us. I’m on that journey. I’m excited you are on that journey with me too!



"God, I believe You're at work in the world.
You're bringing resurrection in me and around me.
My eyes are open - I want to see You." Amen