Act 5 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Acts 5:1-11: 5:1-11 Luke is fond of balancing a positive example with a negative example. He has just recorded the remarkable story of Barnabas (4:36-37 ). Now Luke presents the opposite conduct of Ananias and Sapphira , who were tempted by the desire to be held in high regard. Ananias had not been forced to sell his property or to give the proceeds away. The couple’s sin was in their pretense and deception.

Summary for Acts 5:1-11: 5:1-11 ^a Luke is fond of balancing a positive example with a negative example. He has just recorded the remarkable story of Barnabas (4:36-37 ^b). Now Luke presents the opposite conduct of Ananias and Sapphira, who were tempted by the desire to be held in high regard. Ananias had not been forced to sell his property or to give the proceeds away. The couple’s sin was in their pretense and deception.
Summary for Acts 5:3-4: 5:3-4 ^c In lying about their property sale, Ananias was not just lying to others but to the Holy Spirit—that is, to God. His actions compromised the transparent sincerity, unity, and integrity of the church at its very foundation, and thus he fell under the direct judgment of God (cp. Lev 10:1-5 ^d; Josh 7:16-26 ^e).
5:11 ^f Great fear gripped the entire church and everyone else who heard what had happened: The sudden judgment on Ananias and then on Sapphira had a sobering effect on both the Christian community and those who heard about this incident (cp. Heb 10:31 ^g). Believers were forcefully reminded that they needed to be pure, and for non-Christians the believers’ integrity was reestablished, so that once again “all the people had high regard for them” (Acts 5:13 ^h). Yet it also made outsiders wary of joining a movement with such high standards (5:13 ⁱ). This divine “pruning” (see John 15:1-11 ^j) helped new growth to follow (Acts 5:14 ^k; cp. 6:5-7 ^l; 11:24 ^m; 21:20 ⁿ).
Summary for Acts 5:12-16: 5:12-16 ^o As in Jesus’ ministry, the apostles’ preaching was accompanied by many miraculous signs and wonders, including convincing works of healing and exorcism (see also 6:8 ^p; cp. Matt 4:24 ^q; 9:35 ^r; Mark 1:32-34 ^s; Luke 4:40-41 ^t).
5:13 ^u no one else dared to join them: Perhaps the high standards of belief or what had happened to Ananias and Sapphira (5:11 ^v) were daunting to the crowds.

• though all the people had high regard for them: Christians were markedly different from the unbelievers around them.
Summary for Acts 5:17-40: 5:17-40 ^w The success of the apostles’ ministry again aroused strong opposition (cp. 4:1-3 ^x). The wealthy and powerful Sadducees controlled the Temple establishment and had a Temple police force at their disposal. They opposed belief in the resurrection and were determined not to allow the apostles to proclaim their message about the resurrection of Jesus unchallenged. They also sensed that their hold on the Jewish people was loosening, so, filled with jealousy, they attacked the apostles.
Summary for Acts 5:19-20: 5:19-20 ^y The irony here is that the Sadducees denied the existence of angels (23:8 ^z). Angels frequently intervened in Acts (see also 10:3 ^aa, 7 ^ab, 22 ^ac; 11:13 ^ad; 12:6-11 ^ae, 23 ^af; 27:23-24 ^ag). Luke presents God as guiding his people in their ministry, using angels to accomplish his purpose.
5:29 ^ah See study note on 4:19-20.
Summary for Acts 5:30-32: 5:30-32 ^ai We are witnesses of these things: The apostles, as witnesses, were required to testify to what they had seen and heard (see Lev 5:1 ^aj; cp. Acts 1:8 ^ak; Matt 28:18-20 ^al; Luke 24:44-49 ^am; John 20:21 ^an).
Summary for Acts 5:33-40: 5:33-40 ^ao God once again thwarted the Jewish leaders’ plans to stop the apostles—this time through the counsel of Gamaliel.
5:34 ^ap Gamaliel was an eminent Pharisee, a leader in the Jewish high council, and a famous teacher of the law. He was Paul’s teacher during his rabbinical education (see 22:3 ^aq).
Summary for Acts 5:36-37: 5:36-37 ^ar This Theudas is otherwise unknown, although Josephus mentions a different man by that name who raised a revolt some years later (see Josephus, Antiquities 20.5.1). Theudas was a common Jewish name.

• Judas of Galilee appears in Josephus as a rebel who opposed giving tribute to Caesar about AD 6 or 7, following the census of Quirinius (see Josephus, Antiquities 20.5.2; cp. Luke 2:2 ^as). His resistance, too, was crushed.