Life of hiding (Acts 5:1-11)

 Life of hiding

 

 

 

[Acts 5:1-11]

 

 

Why do stressed women want to talk?  In stressful situations, the spatial intelligence and logical reasoning of men's brains are actively engaged.  In contrast, women's language function becomes more active, leading them to talk more.  Therefore, when women feel stressed or upset, they seek out someone to talk to and pour out their thoughts endlessly in front of them.  Whether it's discussing problems with friends for hours or going over specific details one by one, it's not about finding a solution for women, but the act of speaking itself provides comfort and encouragement.  Why do women feel the need to express everything in order to feel relieved?  Men's brains are highly compartmentalized, allowing them to separate and store information.  As the day comes to an end, even if there are many problems, a man's brain can categorize them.  However, it's different for women.  Information doesn't get stored; it just keeps swirling in their minds.  Therefore, for women, pouring out every thought from their hearts is a way to acknowledge the existence of a problem and remove it from their minds.  So why do men hide their emotions?  Modern men still carry the genes that dictate they must be strong and not show weakness.  Men tend to be skeptical, competitive, and restrained.  They also prefer to handle things on their own, appearing as if they have complete control over their situation and often hiding their emotions in the process.  In short, men consider displaying emotions as a sign of weakness (Internet).

 

If we are a person faithful to the truth, what rules should we follow?  There are at least four rules: (1) Never tell lies.  (2) Keep in mind that hiding the truth can often be equivalent to lying.  Unless there is a significant moral reason to do so, one should not hide the truth. (3) The decision to hide the truth should not be based on personal needs, meaning it should not be done to protect one's own interests out of power, favor, or challenge.  (4) The decision to hide the truth should be made from the perspective of the other person (Internet).

 

I would like to meditate on Acts 5:1-11 under the title "Life of hiding" in contrast to the previously meditated "Life of sharing."  Through this meditation, I hope to receive the grace that God provides.

 

First, life of hiding lies to God.

 

Look at Acts 5:4 - " Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."  How many times do we lie in a day?  In April 1997, a study was conducted at the University of California, revealing that people lie approximately 200 times a day, or once every eight minutes.  The study involved attaching small microphones to 20 individuals, and it found that the most common lie was about being stuck in traffic when running late for an appointment.  The professions that lied the most were found to be salespeople, politicians, journalists, lawyers, and psychologists, in that order (Internet).

 

Today, looking at the background of the passage, we see that in the early Jerusalem church, the believers prayed together with one accord, and they lived a life of sharing, filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:32-37).  Among them, there were exemplary believers like Barnabas (vv. 36-37).  He sold his field and brought the money to the apostles' feet.  However, in today's passage, the author Luke introduces a contrasting couple, Ananias and Sapphira (5:1).  Unlike Barnabas, this couple didn't sell all of their possessions but only a portion (v. 1), and furthermore, they kept back some of the proceeds and brought only a part to the apostles' feet (v. 2).  What is remarkable is that while everyone else lived a life of sharing with one heart and one mind, Ananias and Sapphira chose to live a hidden life with one heart and one mind, thus lying to God.  Here, we need to consider what sin Ananias and Sapphira committed and how significant this sin was.

 

(1)    The sin they committed was the sin of dispossession.

 

In today's passage, Acts 5:2-3, this couple is said to have kept back a portion of the proceeds from the sale, and the word 'kept back' is a verb meaning "to dispossess."  This word appears twice in today's passage and also once in Titus 2:10 ("not pilfering").  In the Septuagint, it was used to describe the act of Achan, when the Israelites took possession of the city of Jericho, who embezzled some of the spoils (Josh. 7:1).  In other words, the embezzlement committed by Ananias and Sapphira can be described as a New Testament version of Achan's crime.  In this world, embezzlement is considered a serious crime.  As an example, on January 10, 2006, there was a news article on Yonhap News, titled ‘Professor Hwang Investigation, Likely to Apply Fraud and Embezzlement Charges.’  It stated, ‘The funds received by Professor Hwang's team from relevant ministries and local governments from 1998 to last year were 4,610,311 dollars in total, including 839.537 dollar in pure research funds and 3,770,378 dollars in research facilities, such as laboratories.  It was revealed that Professor Hwang's team spent 623, 812 dollars on cloning cows for high milk production and 679,998 dollars on research for pig cloning for organ transplantation.   The crime of dispossession under Article 356 of the Criminal Code stipulates that if a person who is responsible for the custody of another person's property violates his or her duty and embezzles the property, they shall be punished with imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 11,089 dollars.  If the embezzled amount exceeds, the Act on Special Economic Crimes applies, and the offender may be sentenced to imprisonment for more than three years, or life imprisonment, for amounts exceeding 3,696,445 dollars’ (Internet).

 

(2)    The sin committed by Ananias and Sapphira was the sin of conspiracy.

 

In Acts 5:2, when Ananias sold his possession and kept back a portion of the proceeds, his wife Sapphira was aware of it.  In English, the NASB version states, "With his wife’s full knowledge."  This means that when Ananias committed embezzlement, his wife was fully aware of it.  For example, from 1978, Robert Kim, who worked for the U.S. Naval Intelligence, informed a Korean intelligence officer about the sinking of a North Korean submarine off Gangneung in September 1996.  He was later arrested by the FBI.  He was charged with 'conspiracy to acquire national defense information' (a type of espionage) under U.S. Criminal Code Title 18, Section 793.  He was sentenced to a maximum of nine years in prison and three years of supervised release.  The Robert Kim Support Committee has released Robert Kim's autobiography, titled 'Coming Home' (published by Han Gilsa), which chronicles his life journey, from being incarcerated in a U.S. federal prison for leaking classified information to being released.  In the book, Robert Kim expressed his honest emotions, saying, ‘I felt depressed about the lukewarm attitude of the Korean government at that time.  It was inevitable to feel betrayed,’ and ‘I had to fight alone with the crime of conspiracy without conspirators’ (Internet).

 

(3)    The sin committed by Ananias and Sapphira can be described as the sin of not keeping one's own heart.

 

In Acts 4:3, we can see that Ananias allowed Satan to fill his heart without taking any action.  Proverbs 4:23 advises us, " Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life."  This is because life's source comes from the heart.  However, despite allowing Satan to fill his heart with the intention of deceiving the Holy Spirit and embezzling a portion of the land's value, Ananias took no action.  While in Acts 4:32-37, Barnabas and the Spirit-filled believers lived a life of communal sharing with one heart, Ananias and Sapphira chose to harbor different intentions and thoughts in their hearts, committing the sin of lying to God.  They sold their hearts to Satan as if they had sold all their possessions.  When filled with the Holy Spirit, Ananias was filled with impure thoughts opposing the thoughts of the Holy Spirit and the communal life of the church (Yoo).

 

(4)    The sin committed by Ananias and Sapphira is the sin of hypocrisy.

 

These two are typical examples of Christians who fabricated (feigned) their spiritual actions to give a good impression to others.  They were among the believers (v. 32) and were involved with the Holy Spirit (v. 3), but they remained hypocrites (MacArthur).

 

(5)    Ananias and Sapphira committed the sin of lying to God.

 

Looking at Acts 4:4, Peter's rebuke indicates that Ananias did not lie to mere humans, but to God.  This cannot be anything other than a Satanic act.  The father of lies, Satan, tempts our hearts, ultimately leading us to lie to God.  Let us not lie to God. Let us strive to live a truthful life before God.

 

Second, life of hiding tests the Holy Spirit.

 

                Look at Acts 5:9 - "Peter said to her, 'How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord?'"  Here, Peter points out that Ananias and Sapphira tested the Spirit of the Lord.  To 'test the Spirit' means to see if He can be escaped before He brings judgment.  In other words, testing the Spirit means using Him.  It is about seeing if He will carry out His word.  It is about pushing Him to His limits (Bible Knowledge).  As an example, in Exodus 17, when the Israelites camped in Rephidim and there was no water to drink, there is a scene where they test the Lord in the wilderness.  Look at verse 7: "...or shall we say, 'Did the Lord bring us up here only to let us and our livestock die of thirst?'"  We often find ourselves testing God, just like the Israelites.  When we are in desperate situations, in times of hardship and suffering, doubting whether God is with us, not believing in God and doubting Him - this is testing God, as the Bible states.  In Acts 5:4, Apostle Peter points out that while Ananias initially acted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit when he sold his possession, he later chose the tempting guidance of Satan, rejecting the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, he lied to the Holy Spirit of God.  What is surprising is that Ananias's wife, Sapphira, also tested the Holy Spirit.  In verse 9, the term "conspire" refers to them acting together in unity to commit evil, as if conspiring as one spirit (Park).  Ananias and Sapphira, in perfect unity, rejected the guidance of the Holy Spirit and instead deceived the Holy Spirit of God with one accord.  Even the Spirit-filled Apostle Peter, who knew they were lying, could not have known that they had conspired together to tempt the Holy Spirit of God.  They tested the Holy Spirit and deceived Him (v. 3).  Testing the Lord's Spirit means that, in their doubt and suspicion of the Spirit's unerring nature, they acted against the will of the Spirit (Park).

 

                When we commit hidden sins and try to conceal them, aren't we also, like Ananias and Sapphira, doubting the unerring nature of the Holy Spirit and going against His will?  Jesus said in Matthew 6:18 that our God sees everything done in secret.  There is no way that the omniscient God would be unaware of us committing sins in secret.  That's why Paul says in Ephesians 5:11-12, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret."  Much of the misery in this world begins with wanting to appear as someone different from who we really are, just like those people (MacDonald).  It seems that everyone faces such temptations.  The temptation to want to appear as a better person, and among Christians, there are even those who, with wrong motives, try to create acts of faith that are only possible when the Holy Spirit is present, without relying on the Spirit, doing so artificially.  This is an act of resisting the Holy Spirit.  Even though it is foolish to artificially create something without relying on the Holy Spirit, we commit this act countless times.  We must live according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  We should not commit the sin of deceiving and testing Him.  When the Holy Spirit makes us aware through God's word, we must believe that word and live a life of obedience.

 

Third and last, in life of hiding, there is the discipline of God.

 

Look at Acts 5:5, 10-11: "When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last.  And great fear came upon all who heard of it.  ...  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.”  The punishment that Ananias and Sapphira received was death.  Upon hearing Peter's rebuke (vv. 3-4), Ananias died instantly.  This demonstrates God's immediate judgment. Dr. Park stated, ‘Ananias' death was the result of God's supernatural power.  This power was brought about through God's word spoken by Peter.  This fact is evidenced by the statement “When Ananias heard these words, he fell down ....”  God's word brings death to the perishing (Isa. 11:4; 2 Cor. 2:16)."  In Acts 5:6, the Bible says that when Ananias died, the young men of the church wrapped him up and carried him out for burial.  This swift burial was due to the Jewish custom of burying the deceased within 24 hours.  In cases where death was attributed to suicide, treason against the state, apostasy, desertion, rebellion, or criminal behavior, the deceased was considered judged by God, and if the evidence was clear, the appropriate burial procedures were bypassed, and the body was promptly interred (Yoo).  Ultimately, the immediate burial of Ananias illustrates that the Jerusalem church understood his death as God's swift judgment.  About three hours later, Ananias' wife, Sapphira, came to the place where the apostles were.  She was unaware that her husband had died as a result of God's immediate judgment (v. 7).  Like her husband, she also fell down and died immediately, as she had conspired with him to test the Holy Spirit (v. 10).

 

In the end, the initial reaction of the early church saints to the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira can be summed up in one word: fear.  Look at Acts 5:5 and 11: "When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.  ...  And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things."  Professor Yoo stated, ‘Being struck down by immediate divine judgment for the same sin within a span of three hours was indeed an event that could bring about great fear.  The entire church, having witnessed this solemn event of God's judgment, would have gained a deep awareness of the church as a community of the Holy Spirit.  Additionally, they would have ingrained in their hearts the understanding that deceiving the apostles within this community is equivalent to deceiving the Holy Spirit.  Thus, the authority of the apostles was confirmed by God, and no one would lightly disregard them’ (Yoo).  Dr. Park mentioned several insights that can be gleaned from the incident involving Ananias and Sapphira: (1) It is more appropriate to stand before God as an honest individual without seeking popularity and honor through deceiving others.  (2) The wickedness of those who receive swift punishment is extremely severe.  (3) Anyone who disrespects the church when it is filled with the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.  (4) It is dangerous to disregard leaders who have been established by God to carry out righteous deeds in the church.  (5) The Holy Spirit does not infringe upon the freedom of believers. Coercing individuals is not an operation of the Spirit; the decision to give or not to give was entirely voluntary (Acts 5:4).

 

Life of hiding tells lies to God.  Life of hiding tests the Holy Spirit.   And in life of hiding, there is God's punishment (discipline).  We should not live life of hiding.  Instead, we should live life of sharing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Desiring life of sharing rather than life of hiding,

 

 

 

 

James Kim

(While hating lies)