Ananias

December 17, 2025 –  Unlikely Choices and Impossible Tasks— Acts #25

David Chupp Acts , , ,

December 17, 2025 –  Unlikely Choices and Impossible Tasks— Acts #25
Acts 9:10-19

Before we continue in Acts, I want to talk about the timeline.  (You will not find universal agreement on the actual dates, but it is the division of time I want you to see here.)   The Gospels begin with the story of John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ birth around 4 BC and end with his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension in 28 AD, covering 31-32 years.  But other than the birth narrative and the visit to the temple at 12 years old, everything else in the Gospels happens in this 1 1/2 year or 70-week period.  When we covered the ministry of Jesus, we went pretty much week by week, following him through the Gospels in real time.

The Timeline for Acts is also around 30-35 years, but the action is not concentrated at a single point.  Acts begins with the Ascension of Jesus and Pentecost, which would have been in June of 28 AD. So we have covered the first 8.5 chapters of Acts in the past 6 months, but that encompasses 2-3 years.  By the 9th chapter of Acts, it is now 2-3 years since Jesus’s crucifixion, resurrection, and the events of Pentecost.  The church has grown in numbers, and persecution has begun.  The rest of Acts covers the 3 years Paul spent in Arabia and his three missionary journeys.

Again, today, in Acts 9, we are at the red arrow above.  Saul met Jesus near Damascus and had been in the city for 3 days.

Acts 9:10-19   Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. Yehovah said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And Yehovah said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But Yehovah said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, Yehovah Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.

“Now there was a disciple named Ananias.” (Acts 9:10)   Where did this disciple come from?  Saul is on his way to Damascus to find the followers of Jesus who escaped from Jerusalem.  But Ananias is not one of this group, for in his conversation with Jesus, he says this:

Acts 9:13   But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.

He may be a new follower of Jesus through the gospel spread by these escapees from Jerusalem, but it is more likely he has been a follower of Jesus in Damascus for some time.   Saul says in his personal account of the story in Acts 22:

Acts 22:12   And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there…

Notice that Ananias is considered a devout man by all the Jews in Damascus.  And we have already seen that he was a disciple of Jesus.  Don’t miss that followers of Jesus can worship alongside Jews in the synagogue.  And these Jews consider the Christians devout, because the Christians are keeping the law.  Again, these followers were not changing religions when they went from the Judaism they grew up in to a belief that their Jewish Messiah had come in Jesus. 

So somehow, Ananias became a follower of Jesus some time ago.  But Jesus never went to Damascus.  Damascus is a long way from anywhere Jesus went.  The closest Jesus came was Caesarea Philippi (about 40 miles away), and there was no public ministry by Jesus there that we have recorded.  

But the message spread through people whose names have never been recorded.  Someone shared the gospel of Jesus with Ananias, and now God has chosen him to correct Saul’s vision problem.  We are not told he is a leader in the church.  He has no title.  He is just an ordinary guy worshiping with all the Jews in the synagogue every Sabbath.  And they all speak well of him.  He is a man of character, well respected by all. 

God calls this ordinary man, Ananias, to do a task.   Go to Judas’ house on Straight Street to see a man for me.  The “street called straight” would be the major east-west street in the center of the city, called the decumanus maximus.  (The major North-South street is called the cardo.) You can see this street in the old town of Damascus today.  But in Ananias’ day, it would have looked more like this colonaded Roman decumanus (Straight Street) in Jerash, Jordan.

In Saul’s day, there would have been houses and shops all along these streets.  So God tells Ananias to go to the home of Judas to see a man named Saul, who has been praying, and who God had shown in a vision that you are coming.  God has really set the table for Ananias.  Have you had a witnessing experience like this: God performed a miracle to get someone’s attention, told you that you personally were coming to help them, and then told you exactly where to go?  I wonder if it wouldn’t happen more if we made a practice of listening for God’s voice.  

But this is no ordinary person that Ananias is being sent to.  Imagine Ananias’ surprise: “His name is Saul?   Saul from Tarsus?    Wait a minute!   You mean the guy who put all the Jesus followers in prison in Jerusalem, the guy who chased some of them all the way up here to tie them up and take them back there to be beaten or worse?    And you want me to go see him?” Well, to cut to the end, Ananias does go; he lays hands on Saul, and his blindness is healed, and Saul is given his call to be a minister.

Two things I want us to see in this story.  First, that God uses ordinary people like Ananias to do his work. Secondly, that God works through very unexpected ways, seeing the potential in people that we often do not see.  And I want to illustrate that by comparing this story in Acts to a very similar story in 1 Samuel. So let’s take a look at 1 Samuel 16:1-13.  Remember 2 weeks ago when we talked about King Saul?  He disobeyed God so often that God fired him as king.  So God tells Samuel to anoint someone else to be king.

1 Samuel 16:1-13   Yehovah said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?  Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And Yehovah said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yehovah.’ And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.

Samuel did what Yehovah commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to Yehovah. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely Yehovah’s anointed is before him.” But Yehovah said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For Yehovah sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but Yehovah looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has Yehovah chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has Yehovah chosen this one.” And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “Yehovah has not chosen these.”

Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And Yehovah said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of Yehovah rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

In both stories, God chooses one of his followers to anoint someone who will become a great leader.  He chose the prophet Samuel to anoint David and an ordinary man, Ananias, to anoint Saul.  Notice that both of these choices for future leaders are people who would not have been chosen by popular vote at the time.  David was the youngest son of an unremarkable family in a tiny town.  He had no political experience, no political connections, and no political aspirations.  His family was not wealthy.  Anyone alive then would tell you there was no good reason to choose this shepherd boy as king.  Yet he was God’s choice.  David had the one requirement God seeks – obedience. 

Because anything else, God can provide.  You don’t have the wealth?  God can take care of that.  You have no experience?  God has already supplied you in ways you don’t even realize, and he will continue to give you what you need.  You don’t have the right connections?  God knows everyone you need to know.  Rest assured that the creator and sustainer of this universe is quite capable of supplying all your needs.

Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

But as we discussed several weeks ago, there is one thing God can not supply — your obedience.  God’s plan for our lives will fail if we are not obedient.  Notice I said his plan for your life will fail if you fail him.  But God will see to it that His plan is carried out.  He will give you another chance, or he will find someone else who is willing to work with him.   

Over and over in the Bible, God chooses people to do a task for which they are not fully equipped.   David does not have the prerequisites to become a king.  At the burning bush, Moses gives God all the reasons he is a poor choice.  Moses provides all his excuses, and God answers him, “I will be with you, and I will empower you.”  None of the young men Jesus chose to be disciples would have been selected by any other rabbi of the day.   Poor untrained fishermen, rash impetuous Peter, a tax collector hated by everyone, a zealot?

As with Ananias, God isn’t looking for anyone exceptional.  He doesn’t choose the wisest or the richest or the smartest.   And Saul of Tarsus … he was the one in charge of hunting down and punishing any followers of Jesus.  If you were choosing someone to be the greatest missionary of the first century and the writer of 1/4 of the New Testament, he would have been the unanimous last choice.  What do we learn from this?  Don’t judge people as you see them.  What did God tell Samuel when Samuel thought he had found the best choice for king among Jesse’s boys? 

1 Samuel 16:7   Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For Yehovah sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but Yehovah looks on the heart.

We have to learn not to trust our own perception of people, because we tend to see only the surface, while God looks at the heart.  In the same way, we are not to trust our own judgment of right and wrong, because our vision is limited.

The first sin in the Bible was when Adam and Eve decided that the fruit looked okay to them.   They said, “I don’t see anything wrong with this fruit.”  But the sin was that they were not to decide what is right or wrong.  Only God can determine what is good and what is evil.  The minute we begin asking ourselves if something is good or bad, we have sinned.  The correct question to ask is, “Does God say this is good or bad?”  And it is the same with judging people.  It is not up to Samuel to decide which of Jesse’s sons would make a great king.  That is for God to choose, because he is God and we are not.  Isaiah said it this way:

Isaiah 55:8-9  “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares Yehovah.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God is brighter than any of us.  And the level that he thinks about things is as much higher than our level of thinking as the sky is higher than the ground.  We are stuck thinking earthly, while God thinks heavenly.  So we should not be surprised when God does things very differently from the way we would.

This was a problem for the religious leaders in Jerusalem with Jesus.  No one would choose a country boy from the podunk town of Nazareth to be the Messiah.  He was not from the right family.  He had no formal rabbinic training. He did not follow all of their traditions.  He didn’t even spend much time in Jerusalem, but mainly stayed in the sticks up in Galilee.  He was nobody’s choice.  But God chose to send him specifically this way.  And part of the reason is that God wanted to show us what really matters.  

Search the Scriptures.  You will see God using unconventional methods and people no one would choose to get the job done over and over.   Say it is 1400 BC, and you want to take the most heavily defended fortified city in the world?  Not a single General in the Pentagon would come up with this strategy:   Take no weapons but trumpets and walk around the city seven times, and shout.   But that was how God had the Israelites take Jericho.

God wants Israel to defeat the army of Midian. How does he accomplish that?  First, He chose this unknown guy as a leader for the people.  A person you would have never selected because he is so scared of the Midianites that he’s hiding underground to thresh his wheat.  And then God looks at the Midianite army with over 130,000 soldiers, and then at Gideon’s army with his 32,000 soldiers, and He says, “Okay, Gideon, they outnumber you 4 to 1.  You clearly have too many soldiers, so send most of them home.”  “Okay, now you have 300 soldiers against their 130,000; they outnumber us over 400 to 1. That is much better, God says, I like those odds.

The children of Israel escape from Egypt, but Pharaoh decides to pursue them.   The Israelites are trapped by a body of water behind them, and the Egyptian army is charging at them with hundreds of chariots and the finest weapons of the day, while they have no weapons at all.  And God says, “Now we have the Egyptians right where we want them.”  Why does God consistently want to accomplish his mission with the odds stacked so high against his people? Paul answered this question in one of his letters to the Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 1:26-2:1 (NIV)   Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that….

“So that…”  Wait a minute.  Slow down here.  We don’t often get explanations of why God does things.  (That is probably because we are not able to understand the explanations, much like my parents telling 3-year-old me why I shouldn’t cross the street by myself.)  So here comes the why:

…so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

God does this so that no one can boast, saying, “Look what I did.”  Do you think any of Gideon’s 300 soldiers went home after that battle and bragged to their wives about how they fought so well and defeated the 130,000 Midianites?  Nobody would believe them.  God fixed it so everyone would know He won the battle.  He defeated the Egyptians in the Sea of Reeds.  Everyone left those situations praising God and boasting of God’s power and his victory.  Salvation – whether it is deliverance from the enemies of this world or deliverance from the enemy of sin and death, salvation has always been about what God does; it is not of our works, lest any man should boast.  Paul repeats it:

Ephesians 2:8-9   For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

See, soldiers of Gideon, it was by God’s grace you were saved.  Hey Israelites strolling through dry ground between walls of water, guess what?   God did this, and you didn’t do anything to deserve it; he did it out of his chesed (his loyal covenant love and grace).  Hey church member, you can’t earn your salvation either.  Your obedience is your way of telling God you love Him.

I sat in a deacon’s meeting one day and listened to a discussion about whether our church should join with other local churches to form a mission to the poor and marginalized of our county.  And the debate went as you would expect, with men raising reasonable questions, such as: “Do we have the financial resources to participate in this?”  “Do we have the people who will volunteer to fill the roles needed?”  “Is this something we are capable of doing?”  “How long a commitment would we be making?”  There were 20 minutes spent analyzing the situation as a CEO would consider the pros and cons of opening a new business location, or as a general would consider the options for fighting a battle.  I asked the question that I thought was the only important one: “But does God want this to be done?”

But the discussion soon returned to the logistics. Someone actually said, “Well, if God wanted us to do it, He would have already given us the resources to do it.”   And in the end, it was decided that we would not participate in the project.  Without this large church’s support, the plan for that mission fell apart. And I believe that day, God’s plan was temporarily delayed by our disobedience.  But God wanted this mission to happen, so he found another church that would do it.   And it became a very successful outreach to many poor and marginalized in our community for many years.  The idea that was missed in that meeting was that God calls and then, as you go about being obedient, He equips you for the task, supplying your every need.  

If we only attempt to do the things we currently have the resources for, we have no faith.  If we only attempt tasks we are capable of doing, there is no need for God to join us.  We complete the task, but there is no growth in our faith, no growth in our relationship with God.  If we are called to attempt impossible tasks, then we leave room for God to join with us.  We do the task under his power, not our own. With resources He supplies from His riches.  That experience deepens our faith in God and strengthens our relationship with God.  Of course, God could do all these things without us.  He could have rescued the Israelites without Moses; He didn’t need Moses’s staff to part the sea or win a battle.  But he chooses to call us alongside him to do the work because he wants our relationship with him to grow.  

We looked at two stories of two different Sauls.  Acts 9 of Saul and Ananias, and 1 Samuel 16, of King Saul and Samuel.  The Hebrew word Shaul is a verb meaning ‘to ask’. As a name, it means ‘one who is asked’.  Saul in the Old Testament was asked to be king of Israel.  He was asked to be a king who was obedient to God, who would lead the people in the way God directed.  Saul in the New Testament, was asked by God to be a leader, a missionary to Jews, Gentiles, and kings.  Two Sauls, one a colossal failure and the other recorded in the Bible as one of God’s best servants, and the difference is obedience.

And these two stories illustrate the unlikely people God chooses to do his work.  We see them as unlikely because we don’t see them as God sees them.  The people in Acts 9, including Ananias, looked at Saul and saw a threat.  A man who could cause them harm.  What did God see when he looked at Saul?   A man who wanted to fight for God.  A man who was not comfortable just complaining about a problem but was willing to give 100% to solve a problem. A man of high commitment and zeal.  Sure, Saul was wrong, but in God’s thinking, what a fantastic missionary a man like this could be if he turned toward the truth.  We need to see people with God’s eyes. 

Where we see threats and danger, God sees purpose and commitment.  Where we see Insignificance, God sees potential.  Where we see impossibility, God sees opportunity to grow our faith.  And where we see broken pasts, God sees redeemed futures.

Let us seek to see the world through God’s eyes, not our own.  Let us see people as God sees them, looking for the potential within them.  And let us always be open to respond obediently to God’s call on us to do things that are beyond our ability, for then we partner with Him and grow in Him. 

September 16, 2025 –  A Tale of Two Thieves (or 3)— Acts #13

David Chupp Acts , , , , , ,

September 16, 2025 –  A Tale of Two Thieves (or 3)— Acts #13
Acts 5:1-31

I was only a boy back at the oasis at Kadesh, barely old enough to carry water.  We were at the border of the long-awaited promised land.  Moses had sent 12 men to spy out the land before we entered.  I was there when our fathers stood trembling and listened to the report of the spies, how the enemies were giants and the cities had massive walls.  I can still hear their cries of fear that night, even after all we had seen.  I watched as my parents and the other adults decided not to enter the land and refused to trust the Lord.  And so that day God turned us back to wander, and for forty years I grew up beneath desert skies.

Now I am fifty years old. Almost all those who were adults then—my own father among them—lie buried in the wilderness. Only we who were children then remain, and now we are the “elders”, once again standing on the edge of the promised land.

I have seen God’s power again and again. I gathered manna in the morning from the desert floor. I drank water that gushed from a rock. I saw the earth open and swallow Korah’s rebellion whole (Numbers 16:31–33). I saw people suffer from the sting of fiery serpents in the camp and then be healed because they looked on the bronze serpent. And when Moses died, we all wept bitterly on the plains of Moab until our tears dried in the hot wind.

Through all those years, Achan and Eli were my friends. As children, we played together, racing between tents, chasing goats, all while looking forward to the land God had promised. We watched our fathers die and buried them in the sand, and we swore to God to do better.  The three of us were brothers at heart, and we dreamed together of a house to live in with vineyards and olive groves.  Just a month ago, we stood together and saw the Jordan River halt its flow as the priests stepped into it.  We saw the waters rise up in a wall, and then we all crossed that river on dry land, just as we had crossed the sea back in Egypt when we were little kids.  And just a few days later, we celebrated Passover in our new land together.

That was just over a month ago.  Much has happened in the past week.   For 6 days, we marched with the priests around the great city of Jericho, carrying the ark of Yehovah.  They constantly blew their shofars as we circled the town, but we marched in silence, Eli and Achan alongside me, and then we returned to our camp.  But on the seventh day, we circled the city seven times.  Then the priests blew a long note on their shofars.  Joshua repeated the instructions he had given us all week.  It was time to shout and then rush in and take the city.  But first, he repeated the warning that everything in the town was cherem, it was devoted to God.  This was God’s battle, and all the spoils went to God. Only Rahab and her household were to be spared. 

Achan, Eli, and I stood shoulder to shoulder, shouting until our voices were raw, and watched as those massive walls of the city crumbled like dried mud.  It all happened just as God told Joshua it would happen.  When the dust settled, we stood for a second in awe of the power of God.  And the three of us looked at each other and smiled, rejoicing in the strength and power of Yehovah.  And as we rushed toward the city of Jericho, Joshua’s words rang again in our ears:

“Keep away from the devoted things… All silver, gold, bronze, and iron belong to the Lord’s treasury” (Joshua 6:18–19).

As we moved through the city, I saw Achan pause near a shimmering robe. He caught my eye, and for a heartbeat, something unspoken passed between us. I dismissed it—we had been through too much to doubt one another.  We gathered all of the gold, silver, and bronze for God’s treasury.   And then we burned everything else in the city.  

That night was quite the celebration.  Having seen God take down this huge city made us feel invincible.  Nothing could stop us now.  But Joshua was not one to rest.  The next day, he set his sights on the next city, Ai.  He sent some scouts, and they returned and let Joshua know it was not nearly the size of Jericho.  So they decided they only needed to take about 3000 troops.   The troops were chosen by lot, and the three of us all hoped we would be selected so that we could see the power of God on display again.  Eli was chosen, but Achan and I were not.   So we prayed Yehovah’s blessing on Eli and sent our friend out with the small army.

They returned two days later.  But they came back not in victory, but in shame.  What should have been an easy battle ended in defeat and the death of 36 of our brothers.  And one of the 36 who died was Eli, our friend since childhood.  The news of his death struck me harder than any sword ever could. Achan and I sat in silence that night, staring into the fire, the weight of loss heavy between us.

That evening, Joshua lay face down before the Ark, and he asked the elders to join him.  In mourning before God, we tore our clothes and put dust on our heads.  But then God’s voice thundered:

“Get up.  This is not the time to mourn a loss in battle, but a time to mourn the sin of Israel.  You have sinned.  You have taken what is mine.  I will be with you no longer until you destroy the items that you stole from me.”  (Joshua 7:11).

Someone had taken some of the treasure from Jericho.  Someone had broken the cherem.

At dawn, we all assembled and divided into our tribes, awaiting God’s revelation of the guilty party.  And the lot fell on my tribe, Judah.  I looked at my friend Achan in shock, that someone from our tribe would have disobeyed God and brought shame on us.  And then the lot fell on Zerah, our clan.  This was hard to believe.  So then our clan was divided again. I stood with my family, next to Achan with his family.  And then the lot fell on my friend, Achan. 

I was speechless.  Joshua approached my friend and gently said,  “My son, give glory to Yehovah and confess” (Joshua 7:19).

Achan’s voice trembled:
“It is true… I saw a beautiful robe, silver, and gold. I coveted them. I took them. They are buried beneath my tent” (Joshua 7:20–21).

Messengers returned with the treasures, the dirt still clinging to them. My heart broke. This was the boy who once shared my dried figs in the wilderness, who sang the songs of Moses beside me at the campfires, who mourned with me for Eli only yesterday.

In that valley, we stood together—Achan, his family, his possessions, and all Israel.   We were all flooded with tears as the stones rose over my friend; the sound echoed off the valley walls like thunder.  The pile of stones still stands in the valley that we call Achor, the valley of trouble. The stones stand as a monument to the God who sees all, even the secrets we bury deep.

That night, I could not sleep. I thought of the Red Sea’s walls of water, of manna’s sweetness, of serpents and mercy, of Jordan’s parted waters—all the times God had shown His power. And I thought of Achan buried beneath those stones and Eli, whose blood stained the ground at Ai. My friend’s hidden greed had cost us so much.

Now, as an elder of Israel, I tell you this: nothing—no robe, no silver, no secret sin—can be hidden from the Lord. As Adam and Eve could not hide in the garden, we cannot hide from His watchful eye.  I have seen over and over his mercy and grace towards us.  Growing up in Egypt, I would never have been anything but a slave.  But he delivered me from slavery.  He redeemed me.  And through the long desert journey, he gave us grace after grace.  A cloud covered us during the day to shield us from the scorching desert sun.  A pillar of fire warmed us on the cold nights.  He provided all our needs and delivered us from harm so many times.  But His holiness is not to be taken lightly.  His commandments are not to be broken.  He is merciful, but he is just.  He is full of grace, but a flagrant sin will not go unpunished.  May we all seek to be obedient servants of you, Yehovah, our God most high.

Acts 4:36-37  Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Acts 5:1-6  But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife’s knowledge, he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

Acts 5:7-11  After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately, she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

The stories of Achan in Joshua 7 and Ananias with Sapphira in Acts 5 are separated by centuries, cultural contexts, and covenantal eras, yet they share striking similarities in their portrayal of sin, community holiness, and divine judgment. Today, I want to look at these two accounts side by side to illuminate how serious God is about obedience, how He treats hypocrisy, and to demonstrate how he consistently deals with people in both the Old and New Testament times.  

Achan’s sin occurred after Israel’s miraculous victory at Jericho. God had clearly commanded that all the devoted things—gold, silver, and valuables—belonged to Him alone (Joshua 6:17–19).   This is the law of cherem.  God would win the battle with Jericho, so everything that resulted from the battle belongs to Him.   Everything that could be burned would be burned, given to God, much like a whole burnt offering is given to God by being consumed by fire.  The precious metals would be given to the priests for use in the tabernacle and later the Temple.  

Achan secretly kept some of the spoils for himself, burying them under his tent. His theft was an act of disobedience against a direct divine command and a breach of Israel’s covenant with God.  They were God’s possessions.  He stole them from God.

Similarly, Ananias and Sapphira’s sin was rooted in deceit. In the early church, believers were selling possessions to share with those in need.  As we discussed last week, they understood the Biblical view of ownership.  Everything belongs to God, and He entrusts some of His property to us to manage as stewards.  Ananias and his wife sold a piece of property but secretly kept part of the proceeds while pretending to give the full amount.  When Ananias came to Peter, he told Peter he had devoted the sale of the land to God.  At that point, the proceeds from the sale belonged to God. Peter asks him:

Acts 5:4  While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal?

It would have been perfectly okay if Ananias and his wife had sold the land and decided to give God 20% or even 5% of the proceeds.  They could have come and presented it to Peter, saying, “Here is a portion of the money from the sale of our land, use it for the poor.”  

Instead, they wanted to look as righteous as Barnabus, giving 100% of the sale, even though they were keeping some.  But the minute they said it all belonged to God, then it all belonged to God.  Words are important.  But they decided that no one would realize their deceit — they would appear righteous despite their deceit.

Like Achan, Ananias acted as though he could hide his actions from God and the faith community. In both cases, the sin was not merely the material act—stealing or withholding—but the spiritual betrayal: a failure to trust God’s provision and a deliberate choice to misrepresent the truth.

We see this same thing happening 1000 years after the defeat of Jericho and the sin of Achan, and 400 years before the events in Acts.  Listen to the prophet Malachi speaking in 430 BC.

Malachi 3:8-12   Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says Yehovah Sabbaoth, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says Yehovah Sabbaoth. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says Yehovah Sabbaoth.

Malachi said they were stealing from God.  The Torah required a tenth of their money, crops, or herds that they accumulated to be presented at the temple.  They were His.  But they were neglecting the temple offerings.  They were keeping for themselves what belonged to God.  This is precisely what happened with Achan and with Ananius and Saphira.  This is not an Old Testament concept, not a New Testament concept, but a forever concept.  

The sin of Achan caused God’s anger to “burn against Israel” (Joshua 7:1).  Achan’s private disobedience led to Israel’s humiliating defeat at Ai. It was a battle they should have easily won.  They thought the enemy was small.  They had just easily taken down the most fortified city in the land.  They did not count on God being against them instead of for them in the battle at Ai.  As a result, 36 Israelites died.  The entire community suffered because of one man’s hidden transgression.  

Sin affects the community, not just the individual.   There is a collective responsibility to keep the covenant.  If one member breaks the covenant, all are affected.  In the same way, Ananias and Sapphira’s sin threatened the whole community of believers in Acts 5.  Left unchecked, their hypocrisy could have seriously undermined the Spirit’s work.   Achan was stoned to death.  Ananias and Sapphira fell dead immediately.   Acts 5:11 notes that “great fear seized the whole church,” indicating that God’s swift judgment preserved the integrity of the Christian community. Both episodes emphasize that individual sin can have communal consequences.

In both accounts, God’s judgment was immediate and severe.   For those who seek to draw a clear distinction between God’s actions in the Old Testament and the New Testament, this should serve as a wake-up call.  God has not changed.  

These punishments may seem harsh by modern standards, but in their contexts, they served as dramatic warnings.  It was the grace of God displayed in His dealing quickly with these sins before they caused worse problems.  God’s holiness cannot be mocked, and covenant-breaking jeopardizes the mission of God’s people.  We see in Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth a similar concern:

1 Corinthians 5:1-2  It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.

Everyone in town knew this man was flagrantly committing a sexual sin in their midst.  Even the pagans disapproved of his actions.  Yet the group of believers in Corinth chose to ignore it.  Paul was very clear that he should be removed from the fellowship.  Paul continues:

1 Corinthians 5:5-6 … you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.  Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole lump? …

Paul hopes that by removing him, he might come to his senses, repent, and find salvation.  Yet the congregation in Corinth is boasting instead of mourning this man’s sin.  We see this in too many congregations today.  They ignore flagrant sin in their fellowship when they should be mourning over those who refuse to repent.  Paul warned that just as it only takes a pinch of yeast to cause the entire loaf to rise, it only takes a little sin to affect the whole church.

1 Corinthians 5:9-10  I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people, not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

They are not to associate with sexually immoral people in their Christian fellowship.  He clarifies that he does not mean the people outside the church.  There is no such rule for avoiding sinners who are not in your fellowship.  In fact, Jesus demonstrated that this is precisely who you should seek out.  We should go out of our way to show love to and befriend those outside our fellowship who are flagrant sinners, remembering that we, too, were once the same.  But for the grace of God, we would still be in that situation.  How can we not want to share that grace with everyone?  But for those in the church, there are different rules:

1 Corinthians 5:11  But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 

For those who have joined your fellowship and persist in flagrant sins, you are not even to eat with them.  By doing so, you are pretending that sin doesn’t matter and that God is not God.  By ignoring the problem, you are making light of Jesus’ death on the cross.  

1 Corinthians 5:12-13  For what do I have to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.

And let me tell you, the church has done this wrong for so many years, assuming the position of judge of the world, telling the world they are sinners.  It is not our job to judge the world. That is God’s job, and we are not God.  We need to stay in our lane.  However, for those who are part of our fellowship, it is not only our right but also our responsibility to judge them.  The hope is that correction will lead to repentance and restoration.  We have had this backwards.

Paul’s rebuke of the Corinthian church echoes the lessons of Achan and Ananias: sin, even when committed by one person, is never a private matter in God’s community.  That was true 3400 years ago in the Old Testament.  It was true 2000 years ago in the New Testament believers, and it is true today.  

Israel would never defeat Ai until Achan’s sin was dealt with.  The followers in Acts 5 could not continue to grow healthy if they tolerated hypocrisy.  The followers in Corinth could not preach the gospel while tolerating open scandal. 

Whether under the Old Covenant, at the birth of the church, or in the life of a New Testament congregation, God calls His people to holiness for the sake of His mission. Confronting sin—with grief, humility, and the hope of redemption—preserves the purity of the church and displays the character of a holy God.

When we answer God’s call to accept his gift of salvation, we enter into a covenant with God.  He promises to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  We promise to make Him our Lord, to turn over our lives to Him. We say, “Here, God, I give you 100% of my life.”

We lay our lives down at his feet, but are we really giving it all, or are we, like Ananias and Sapphira, holding something back?  Once you say, “I give my life to you, God,” then it is His. If you try to take some of it back, then you are stealing from God.

Following Jesus is serious business.  If we treat our obedience, or the obedience of others in our fellowship, lightly, the whole community suffers.  Let us pledge anew our commitment to follow Jesus with 100% of all we have, mind, body, and spirit.