Acts 5:11

Act_5:11-16

And great fear came upon all the Church.

After judgment, revival

The case of Ananias served several important ends.

I. It bore a very emphatic testimony to truth. Falsehood in the world was a great barrier in the way of the Church. It was difficult to build even that Divine edifice without a foundation, without something in humanity of which it might take hold. Unless the Church find or generate truth it will not overcome the world; it will sink as in a mire. And so at the outset a miracle was employed to set truth as on a rock for ever. The death of Ananias and Sapphira is the arm of the Lord revealed to deliver the body of the Church in her youth from a consumption which, if not so checked, might have brought her down to an early grave, although no breath of persecution had ever blown upon her. We learn here the work of God to cast out of the body the poison that would undermine life is as stupendous as His work to shield the Church from the power of her foes.

II. Great fear came upon the Church. It is a healthful symptom, a needed discipline. Lord, is it I? Let him that thinketh he standeth, etc. It was Christ who said, Remember Lots wife. Many centuries after the event, He directed that it should be kept in memory. These dark monuments have obtained a place in the Word that liveth and abideth for ever, that their warning may be available in all nations and times. Fear also came on as many as heard. As a natural consequence, of the rest durst no man join himself to them, i.e., those who were not of them dared not pretend to be of them. The stroke of judgment scared the hypocrites.

III. Believers were the more added. The judgment on false professors hastened instead of hindering conversions. The terror of the Lord effectually persuaded men to take refuge in His mercy.

1. Believers were added to the Lord; not merely to the communicants roll. Your life is hid with Christ in God. The life of the branch depends on being in the vine; although its fairness may depend on its being interlaced in bonds of love with other branches.

2. Multitudes were added. This is the common experience still. A great number came at one time with a rush: and a period of comparative barrenness supervenes. Again there is a revival, and again a time of coldness. Ask yourself, Has the tide risen in my time and carried in many on its wave, and am I left behind? But even when the heaving of the spiritual tide in our neighbourhood has ceased, the door is not shut. We are as welcome when we come one by one as when we press in with a crowd.

3. Both men and women. There was a reason for specifying this. The gospel enfranchises and elevates woman. She owes to Christ not only her home in heaven, but her rightful place in the world. Nor women exclusively; for when the Word comes in power it makes quick work with that lordly pride in which men wrap themselves when they select philosophy or politics as their sphere, and leave religion to women. (W. Arnot, D. D.)

And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought.--

Contrasts

The wrath of God by the mouth of the apostles had consumed two hypocrites; but relief by the hands of the apostles happened to a great number of miserable people. The Lord proved thereby that judgment is His strange work, but that He delights in mercy. And as He shows His zeal against the wicked, so He does not turn His heart away from the wretched. (Apostolic Pastor.)

Phases of the young Church

The text presents the young Church as--

I. An organ of restorative power. The works were miraculous and material, but they may be regarded as specimens and symbols of those spiritual works which the true Church is constantly performing for the benefit of mankind. This restorative power was--

1. Manifestly Divine. So little did the people regard the works as the effects of the natural powers of the apostles, that they considered the very shadow of Peter sufficient. The moral power of the Church to restore souls is also incontrovertibly Divine. No man, however exalted his piety, extensive his attainments, or brilliant his talents, can restore one lost soul.

2. Very extensive. Great were the crowds of sick folk, and various their diseases; but they were healed every one. So the healing power in the Church is equal to every case.

II. An institution differently affecting different men.

1. In some it produced a revulsion. And of the rest, the class to which Ananias had belonged, durst no man join himself to them. A church whose discipline is so severely pure, which will not tolerate untruthfulness, dishonesty, or selfishness, is sure to keep aloof the carnal, mercenary, and false.

2. In some it awakened admiration. But the people magnified them. Incorruptible sincerity and high spiritual purity will always command the honour and respect of the unsophisticated multitudes. The common people heard Christ gladly, because He spoke the true thing in the true spirit. And so the people will always honour the Church for what is pure and noble in her members.

3. In some it effected a conversion (Act_5:14). (D. Thomas, D. D.)

The power of God with the apostles

1. As when the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and Abiram and their company, the people fled at the cry of them, and said, Lest the earth swallow us also; so the fate of Ananias and Sapphira operated as a warning to all who were of a like spirit, and made them afraid of tempting God by a false profession, lest they should be struck dead in like manner. But though the false hearted were thus restrained, those whose consciences bore them witness that they were upright before God were not discouraged, nay, they were even induced the more to unite themselves with the company of disciples.

2. The peculiar words, Added to the Lord, do not stand in the text without a strictly appropriate meaning. Ananias and Sapphira had been added to the Church, but not to the Lord. The judgment executed upon them guarded the growing society from being corrupted in spirit as it increased in numbers. Alas! how often is this the case. The visible Church increases in numbers but decays in piety. The real prosperity of the Church, then, consists in two things--in its being enlarged, and in its being edified; in multitudes being added to the community, and believers added to the Lord. And there seem to have been two causes of this happy state of things. The apostles had prayed that the Lord would give them boldness to speak the Word by stretching forth His hand to heal, etc. In the text we find that the prayer was answered. And as the support which they asked was given, no doubt it was given for the end for which they asked it, namely, to embolden them in speaking the Word. We have then three things for consideration.

I. The Word preached. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Men cannot call on that only name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved unless they know it; and they cannot know it unless it be revealed to them. And though it is in the power of God to reveal it without the instrumentality of men, yet such is not His ordinary method. Of His own will begat He us by the Word of truth. If we are begotten again, it is not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever. Though he that planteth is nothing, and he that watereth nothing; though God alone giveth the increase; yet there must be the planter and the waterer. To expect the fruit from man without the blessing of God would be vain confidence; to expect it from God without the human means which He has appointed would be presumption. The true path of wisdom--the golden mean--in this case is, not to neglect the means of grace, and not to rest in them; to use them diligently, yet to look beyond them. There is a regard to instruments which is faulty, and when men glory in one above another, so as to say, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, etc., this is to ascribe to man what is the work of God; nevertheless, the preaching of the Word is a Divine ordinance, and ought to be attended to.

II. The Word accompanied with signs confirming it. Though it has pleased God to withdraw the miraculous confirmation, is therefore all Divine confirmation of the Word withheld? Though gifts of healing have ceased, is there no way by which the Lord bears witness to His truth? Yes: there surely is, and that the most important of all. The body might be healed, but that healing would be only for a time; it must at length die, and the soul might be lost. The blind eye might be opened, and the natural light poured in upon its before insensible organs; but in a little while it must be closed again in death: and the soul might be consigned to the blackness of darkness for ever. The most important confirmation, and what is equally above the power of man, is that which quickens the soul that was dead in trespasses and sins; which opens the blind eyes, so that he who was spiritually blind may say, I see. He who is brought out of darkness into light, has the witness in himself; and while he lets his light shine before men, he may be a witness to ethers also; proving to them that there is a power of Divine grace working mightily in them that believe, and enabling them to do what in the strength of nature they could not perform.

III. The benefits of healing conferred in answer to faith. These signs and wonders were an evidence to all men of the power of God with them, a proof of their commission from Him, who thus set His seal to their preaching, and confirmed the truth of the doctrine which they taught. And the doctrine thus delivered and confirmed was variously received. Some believed, and some believed not. But multitudes believed: and these showed their faith by acting as men always do when they are fully persuaded of the truth of any report. They hasted to make their sick friends and relations partakers of the benefit. And we should go ourselves to Christ for the healing of our own souls in the first place; and then do what we can to carry our friends to Him. (J. Fawcett, M. A.)

Of the rest durst no man join himself to them.--

The ungodly repelled

I. That a living and spiritual Christianity repels the ungodly from the communion of the Church.

1. It does so by awakening a feeling of hatred--

(1) Of God (Rom_1:30).

(2) Of Christ (Joh_15:24).

(3) Of Christs disciples (Joh_17:14).

(4) The Church is hated by the world in proportion to its purity (Joh_15:19).

(a) The sinfulness of seeking to make religion pleasing to the world.

(b) The condition of the Church, or believer, loved by the world.

2. It does so by producing feelings of fear and reverence.

(1) When God comes forth in the more visible displays of His majesty in nature--in providence--in the judgment, the wicked tremble.

(2) When the image of God is visibly on the character of man, reverence is thereby extorted from the wicked.

(3) In like manner, when God is in the visible Church--when He makes it His pavilion, the world regards it with a constrained reverence (Psa_14:5).

(4) This feeling is not inconsistent with persecution.

(5) Such a feeling will keep the world out of the Church.

3. It does so by acting upon the conscience.

(1) Church membership, combined with practical irreligion, shows a conscience asleep.

(2) This is encouraged by a low general standard among believers.

(3) A living Christianity would be a check.

II. That a living and spiritual Christianity is not easily imitated.

1. It is by feigning Christianity that ungodly men enter the communion of the Church.

2. Human nature has a wonderful power in counterfeiting religion--assisted by the devil.

3. But the more spiritual that religion in, the less easily is it counterfeited--detection is more likely.

4. And the self-denial being generally greater, is not likely to be practised.

5. Hence, a spiritual Church will not be joined by worldly men.

III. That being in a spiritual state, the Church possessed much of the spirit of judgment

1. The Spirit is promised to the Church as a spirit of judgment (Isa_28:6).

2. The statement of the text is connected with its exercise (verses 1-11).

3. This spirit is still needed--should be asked.

4. The ground of admission into the Church is a credible, profession; when it is declared credible, there is a judgment.

5. When the Church is spiritual, the possession of this Spirit of judgment will be moreapparent.

(1) The grounds of each judgment will be more ample (Mat_18:15-18).

(2) The rule of judgment will be more Scriptural.

(3) The application more enlightened.

(4) The decision given, more free from the influence of worldly consideration.

6. This matter rests with the members of the Church. A languid body will not cast off disease.

IV. That persecution was a test of discipleship.

1. The world applies a test as well as the Church--sometimes a severer and more searching one.

2. But only when the Church is living. 3, The Church is not diminished (verse 14). (James Stewart.)

Authority and faith

This beautiful picture of the apostles ruling the infant Christian community and bearing a never-ceasing testimony to their Risen Lord, displays to us the great principles on which the Christian Church is founded. We find here the principle of authority and the existence of office in the Church--office and authority cheerfully recognised and submitted to. Of the rest of the Christian body none durst join himself to the apostles. Their office was of Divine appointment. There was nothing in this exceeding reverence with which the apostolic office was viewed inconsistent with the personal belief of every Christian in the Saviour as his Saviour, and in the gift of the Holy Spirit as given directly to him. How different would the Church of the present day be from that of those primitive times if there were now, as some suppose, an inconsistency between authority and faith, and a man must needs believe the less in Christ his Saviour the more he believes in the Church of Christ as a Divinely ordered system of authority and government I Rightly regarded by those who use it, and by those for whose benefit it is used, there is no earthly means which ought to help men so much to faith in the Lord as the Christian Church, set before mens eyes, witnessing to His story by its very existence, which began with the apostles, whom He chose and educated through all their weakness to carry on His work on earth when He had entered heaven, to help them from thence by His unfailing grace, end to fit them for an office and a work which, without Him, they could never have fulfilled. (Dean Travers Smith.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 5:11. And great fear came upon all the church — All that had joined themselves to it were struck with a holy awe of God and his judgments, and with a great veneration of this dispensation of the Spirit, which they were now under. It did not damp or check their holy joy, but it taught them to be serious in the midst of it, and to rejoice with trembling. And all that laid their money at the apostles’ feet, after this, were afraid of keeping back any part of the price. And upon as many as heard these things — Who could not but acknowledge that it was the immediate hand of God by which both these persons died, and that he was just in this awful dispensation. Many, no doubt, were put into a consternation by it, and were ready to say, Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God and his Spirit in these his servants! As the word church (εκκλησια) now occurs a second time in this history, it may be proper to observe, that we have here a native specimen of a New Testament church; which is a company of persons called by the gospel, grafted into Christ by faith and the Holy Spirit, admitted into the society of Christians by baptism, animated by love, united by every kind of fellowship, and disciplined by the execution of a divine judgment on two unworthy members.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Third Repose Period of the Church, Act_5:11-16.

In the former two periods of Church repose Luke describes an internal state pervaded by love alone; but here a solemn awe chastens the spirit of all, and yet increases the moral and converting power of the Church.

11. Great fear—A solemn consciousness how awful in judgment is even the Spirit of love was the feeling of the Church.

Heard—Without but near the Church.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Acts

THE WHEAT AND THE TARES

Act 4:32. - Act 5:11.

Once more Luke pauses and gives a general survey of the Church’s condition. It comes in appropriately at the end of the account of the triumph over the first assault of civil authority, which assault was itself not only baffled, but turned to good. Just because persecution had driven them closer to God and to one another, were the disciples so full of brotherly love and of grace as Luke delights to paint them.

I. We note the fair picture of what the Church once was.

The recent large accessions to it might have weakened the first feelings of brotherhood, so that it is by no means superfluous to repeat substantially the features of the earlier description {Act 2:44 - Act 2:45}. ‘The multitude’ is used with great meaning, for it was a triumph of the Spirit’s influence that the warm stream of brotherly love ran through so many hearts, knit together only by common submission to Jesus. That oneness of thought and feeling was the direct issue of the influx of the Spirit mentioned as the blessed result of the disciples’ dauntless devotion {Act 4:31}. If our Churches were ‘filled with the Holy Ghost,’ we too should be fused into oneness of heart and mind, though our organisations as separate communities continued, just as all the little pools below high-water mark are made one when the tide comes up.

The first result and marvellous proof of that oneness was the so-called ‘community of goods,’ the account of which is remarkable both because it all but fills this picture, and because it is broken into two by Act 4:33, rapidly summarising other characteristics. The two halves may be considered together, and it may be noted that the former presents the sharing of property as the result of brotherly unity, while the latter traces it {‘for,’ Act 4:34} to the abundant divine grace resting on the whole community. The terms of the description should be noted, as completely negativing the notion that the fact in question was anything like compulsory abolition of the right of individual ownership. ‘Not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own.’ That implies that the right of possession was not abolished. It implies, too, that the common feeling of brotherhood was stronger than the self-centred regard which looks on possessions as to be used for self. Thus they possessed as though they possessed not, and each held his property as a trust from God for his brethren.

We must observe, further, that the act of selling was the owners’, as was the act of handing the proceeds to the Apostles. The community had nothing to do with the money till it had been given to them. Further, the distribution was not determined by the rule of equality, but by the ‘need’ of the recipients; and its result was not that all had share and share alike, but that ‘none lacked.’

There is nothing of modern communism in all this, but there is a lesson to the modern Church as to the obligations of wealth and the claims of brotherhood, which is all but universally disregarded. The spectre of communism is troubling every nation, and it will become more and more formidable, unless the Church learns that the only way to lay it is to live by the precepts of Jesus and to repeat in new forms the spirit of the primitive Church. The Christian sense of stewardship, not the abolition of the right of property, is the cure for the hideous facts which drive men to shriek ‘Property is theft.’

Luke adds two more points to his survey,-the power of the Apostolic testimony, and the great grace which lay like a bright cloud on the whole Church. The Apostles’ special office was to bear witness to the Resurrection. They held a position of prominence in the Church by virtue of having been chosen by Jesus and having been His companions, but the Book of Acts is silent about any of the other mysterious powers which later ages have ascribed to them. The only Apostles who appear in it are Peter, John, and James, the last only in a parenthesis recording His martyrdom. Their peculiar work was to say, ‘Behold! we saw, and know that He died and rose again.’

II. The general description is followed by one example of the surrender of wealth, which is noteworthy as being done by one afterwards to play a great part in the book, and also as leading on to an example of hypocritical pretence. Side by side stand Barnabas and the wretched couple, Ananias and Sapphira.

Luke introduces the new personage with some particularity, and, as He does not go into detail without good reason, we must note his description. First, the man’s character is given, as expressed in the name bestowed by the Apostles, in imitation of Christ’s frequent custom. He must have been for some time a disciple, in order that his special gift should have been recognised. He was a ‘son of exhortation’; that is, he had the power of rousing and encouraging the faith and stirring the believing energy of the brethren. An example of this was given in Antioch, where he ‘exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.’ So much the more beautiful was his self-effacement when with Paul, for it was the latter who was ‘the chief speaker.’ Barnabas felt that his gift was less than his brother’s, and so, without jealousy, took the second place. He, being silent, yet speaketh, and bids us learn our limits, and be content to be surpassed.

We are next told his rank. He was a Levite. The tribe to which a disciple belongs is seldom mentioned, but probably the reason for specifying Barnabas’ was the same as led Luke, in another place, to record that ‘a great company of the priests was obedient to the faith.’ The connection of the tribe of Levi with the Temple worship made accessions from it significant, as showing how surely the new faith was creeping into the very heart of the old system, and winning converts from the very classes most interested in opposing it. Barnabas’ significance is further indicated by the notice that he was ‘a man of Cyprus,’ and as such, the earliest mentioned of the Hellenists or foreign-born and Greek-speaking Jews, who were to play so important a part in the expansion of the Church.

His first appearance witnessed to the depth and simple genuineness of his character and faith. The old law forbidding Levites to hold land had gradually become inoperative, and perhaps Barnabas’ estate was in Cyprus, though more probably it was, like that of his relative Mary, the mother of Mark, in Jerusalem. He did as many others were doing, and brought the proceeds to the assembly of the brethren, and there publicly laid them at the Apostles’ feet, in token of their authority to administer them as they thought well.

III. Why was Barnabas’ act singled out for mention, since there was nothing peculiar about it?

Most likely because it stimulated Ananias and his wife to imitation. Wherever there are signal instances of Christian self-sacrifice, there will spring up a crop of base copies. Ananias follows Barnabas as surely as the shadow the substance. It was very likely a pure impulse which led him and his wife to agree to sell their land; and it was only when they had the money in their hands, and had to take the decisive step of parting with it, and reducing themselves to pennilessness, that they found the surrender harder than they could carry out. Satan spoils many a well-begun work, and we often break down half-way through a piece of Christian unselfishness. Well begun is half-but only half-ended.

Be that as it may, Peter’s stern words to Ananias put all the stress of the sin on its being an acted lie. The motives of the trick are not disclosed. They may have been avarice, want of faith, greed of applause, reluctance to hang back when others were doing like Barnabas. It is hard to read the mingled motives which lead ourselves wrong, and harder to separate them in the case of another. How much Ananias kept back is of no moment; indeed, the less he retained the greater the sin; for it is baser, as well as more foolish, to do wrong for a little advantage than for a great one.

Peter’s two questions bring out very strikingly the double source of the sin. ‘Why hath Satan filled thy heart?’-an awful antithesis to being filled with the Spirit. Then there is a real, malign Tempter, who can pour evil affections and purposes into men’s hearts. But he cannot do it unless the man opens his heart, as that ‘why?’ implies. The same thought of our co-operation and concurrence, so that, however Satan suggests, it is we who are guilty, comes out in the second question, ‘How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart?’ Reverently we may venture to say that not only Christ stands at the door and knocks, but that the enemy of Him and His stands there too, and he too enters ‘if any man opens the door.’ Neither heaven nor hell can come in unless we will.

The death of Ananias was not inflicted by Peter, ‘Hearing these words’ he ‘fell down and’ died. Surely that expression suggests that the stern words had struck at his life, and that his death was the result of the agitation of shame and guilt which they excited. That does not at all conflict with regarding his death as a punitive divine act.

One can fancy the awed silence that fell on the congregation, and the restrained, mournful movement that ran through it when Sapphira entered. Why the two had not come in company can only be conjectured. Perhaps the husband had gone straight to the Apostles after completing the sale, and had left the wife to follow at her convenience. Perhaps she had not intended to come at all, but had grown alarmed at the delay in Ananias’ return. She may have come in fear that something had gone wrong, and that fear would be increased by her not seeing her husband in her quick glance round the company.

If she came expecting to receive applause, the silence and constraint that hung over the assembly must have stirred a fear that something terrible had happened, which would be increased by Peter’s question. It was a merciful opportunity given her to separate herself from the sin and the punishment; but her lie was glib, and indicated determination to stick to the fraud. That moment was heavy with her fate, and she knew it not; but she knew that she had the opportunity of telling the truth, and she did not take it. She had to make the hard choice which we have sometimes to make, to be true to some sinful bargain or be true to God, and she chose the worse part. Which of the two was tempter and which was tempted matters little. Like many a wife, she thought that it was better to be loyal to her husband than to God, and so her honour was ‘rooted in dishonour,’ and she was falsely true and truly false.

The judgment on Sapphira was not inflicted by Peter. He foretold it by his prophetic power, but it was the hand of God which vindicated the purity of the infant Church. The terrible severity of the punishment can only be understood by remembering the importance of preserving the young community from corruption at the very beginning. Unless the vermin are cleared from the springing plant, it will not grow. As Achan’s death warned Israel at the beginning of their entrance into the promised land, so Ananias and Sapphira perished, that all generations of the Church might fear to pretend to self-surrender while cherishing its opposite, and might feel that they have to give account to One who knows the secrets of the heart, and counts nothing as given if anything is surreptitiously kept back.

Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

5:11 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). 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). Yet it also made outsiders wary of joining a movement with such high standards (5:13). This divine “pruning” (see John 15:1-11) helped new growth to follow (Acts 5:14; cp. 6:5-7; 11:24; 21:20).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act 5:11. Ἐκκλησίαν, the church) Here for the first time (with which comp. note on ch. Act 2:47) mention is made, and therefore a genuine specimen afforded, of the Church, as constituted in the New Testament, called forth by the Gospel, separated from Judaism, grafted on Christ by baptism, cemented together by fellowship of every kind, and disciplined by the death inflicted on (by the excision of) Ananias and Sapphira. In the meantime Luke used the designations, disciples and the number of names (ch. Act 1:15); all that believed (ch. Act 2:44); the number of the men (ch. Act 4:4): the multitude of them that believed (ch. Act 4:32).—πάντας, all) Even we ought to fear.—τοὺς ἀκούοντας, them that heard) “Without doubt the rulers of the Jews also heard of these things: and yet they did not institute proceedings on that account against Peter. The sin (delinquency) of Ananias was now palpable, and the punishment evidently miraculous.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_5:11. Φόβος] quite as in Act_5:5, fear and dread at this miraculous, destroying punitive power of the apostles.

ἐφ ̓ ὅλην τ. ἐκκλ. καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας κ.τ.λ.] upon the whole church (in Jerusalem), and (generally) on all (and so also on those who had not yet come over to the church, Act_5:13) to whose ears this occurrence came.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 5:11 . φόβος μέγας : evidently one purpose in the infliction of this stern penalty was at once obtained, see above on Act 5:5 . ἐφʼ ὅλην τὴν ἐκκλησίαν : St. Luke, as it seems, uses the word ἐκκλησία here for the first time. Dr. Hort thinks that he may employ it by anticipation, and that we cannot be sure that it was actually in use at this early date ( Ecclesia , p. 49), but, as the same writer reminds us, our Lord’s saying to St. Peter, Mat 16:18 , must have had its influence upon the minds and teaching of the Apostles. Moreover, we can see a special fitness in the employment here, after the preceding description, not only of the growth, but of the organisation of the Christian community, Act 4:32 ff., and of the judgment which followed upon the attempt to challenge its powers and to violate its harmony, cf. Bengel’s note, in loco . The context too probably marks a distinction between the members of the ἐκκλησία and those without (Weiss, Hort, Blass).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Lord by his marvelous virtue bridleth some, that they may not hurt the Church: other some he awe and fear: and other some he allureth unto him.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

And great fear came upon all the church, &c.--This effect on the Christian community itself was the chief design of so startling a judgment; which had its counterpart, as the sin itself had, in Achan (Jos. 7:1-26), while the time--at the commencement of a new career--was similar.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 11. Great fear came upon all the Church] This judgment answered the end for which it was inflicted; a deeply religious fear occupied every mind, and hypocrisy and deception were banished from this holy assembly. On the word Church, see the observations at the end of Matt. 16. See Clarke on Mt 16:28 It has been properly observed that we have in this place a native specimen of a New Testament Church:

1. Called by the Gospel;

2. grafted into Christ by baptism;

3. animated by love;

4. united by all kinds of fellowship;

5. and disciplined by the exemplary punishment of hypocrites.

See Dodd.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. And there came fear. He saith, again, that the punishment of one was a lesson to all. But he plainly expresseth in this place a double fear. He saith that the Church feared, because the faithful do never so perfectly fear God, but that they profit yet more, being admonished by his judgments. Therefore, by all those punishments which we read have been laid upon men in times past, and do daily see to be laid upon them, doth God call us back from the enticements and liberty of sinning. For our flesh must be bridled every now and then after this sort, because one bridle will scarce serve the turn. There was another manner [of] fear in the strangers, yet no such fear as brought them unto the sincere worship of God; yet, notwithstanding, it was such as caused them to give the glory to God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(11) And great fear came upon all the church.—With the exception of the doubtful reading in Act_2:47, this is the first occurrence of the word ecclesia since the two instances in which our Lord had used it, as it were, by anticipation. (See Notes on Mat_16:18; Mat_18:17.) Its frequent use in the LXX. version for the “assembly,” or “congregation,” of Israel (Deu_18:16; Deu_23:1; Psa_26:12; Psa_68:26), its associations with the political life of Greece as applied to the assemblies, every member of which was a full citizen, made it a natural and fitting word for the new society; and the use by our Lord either of the actual Greek word or of the corresponding Aramaic term stamped it with His sanction. Its occurrence here is, perhaps, an indication of the increase of the Hellenistic element among the disciples. The sudden startling death of Ananias and his wife naturally tended to give a new prominence to the society, the rulers of which were seen to be clothed with supernatural powers; and the fear that fell upon all who heard of these things led them in part to draw near with reverence, in part to shrink back in awe.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things] Lit. upon the whole church and upon all that heard, &c. To produce such a fear as should deter others from a like offence was God’s intention in this miracle of punishment. And St Luke seems to have pointed to the reason by making here for the first time any mention of “the church” (see note on Act_2:47). The true ecclesia must be free from such hypocritical professors, or its work could not advance. The lesson was to be stamped into the hearts of all who were fit to be of “the church,” though at the same time it would strike deep into the minds of all others who learnt how the Spirit of God had punished the lying lips of those who sought the praise of men rather than that of God.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And great fear came upon all the church,.... Which was still more increased by this instance of Sapphira's death:

and upon as many as heard these things; who were not of the church; See Gill on Act 5:5.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.

Ver. 11. And great fear] {See Trapp on "Act 5:5"} Laudo Venetos, apud quos unicum publicae pecuniae intervertisse denarium, non infame solum est, sed et capitale. Among the Venetians, it is death to diminish a penny of the public stock. {a}

{a} Zenecat. in Observat. Politic. i.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thus upon the smiting of so many men in and about Bethshemesh, 1Sa 6:20, they wisely demand,

Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God? And upon the slaying of Uzzah, 2Sa 6:9, David was afraid of the Lord. Discite justitiam moniti. As many as heard these things, out of the pale of the church: God’s judgments do restain in a great measure wicked men.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The whole Church for all the Church, A.V.; all that heard for as many as heard, A.V. The awful death of the two liars to God not only struck a salutary fear into the minds of the whole Church, but filled with awe all outside the Church who heard of it; and doubtless gave a temporary check to the persecutions, while it disposed many to hearken to the apostles" preaching.

Vers. 11-16. Elements of influence.

Instead of the sin and death of Ananias and Sapphira proving disastrous to the infant Church, the melancholy event was followed by a period of extraordinary success: There was a high tide of prosperity; the gospel showed itself a great power in the community (ver. 14). Here are some of the elements of that power.

I THE TERRIBLE. "Great fear came upon as many as heard these things" (ver. 11). "By terrible things in righteousness" God sometimes answers us and impresses us. The fearful has a work to do in inspiring awe and leading to conviction and conversion. There are awful truths in connection with the gospel, (Mat_21:44 Mat_24:51 Mat_25:46, etc.) as well as terrible facts happening in the providence of God, which do their work in the mind, solemnizing, subduing, preparing for thought, devotion, consecration.

II THE BENEFICENT. (Vers. 15, 16.) In apostolic times Christian beneficence took the form of miraculous healing, and it was most efficacious in attracting and winning men. Now it takes other forms hardly less effective. The hospitals of the missionary in India and China, and the philanthropic institutions of England, initiated and sustained by Christian sympathy and self-sacrifice, are great elements of power. Christian kindness, taking a thousand shapes, flowing in a thousand channels, is an untold, incalculable influence for good.

III THE SACRED. "The people magnified them" (ver. 13). To whomsoever this applied, whether to the apostles only or to the band of believing disciples, it is clear that a certain reverence was paid to those who bore about them such marks of close association with the Divine. To those who walk with God, who are men of prayer and of real devoutness of spirit as well as blamelessness of life, there will attach a certain sacredness which will cause them to be "magnified by the people," and their word will be with power.

IV THE SUCCESSFUL. It is clear, from the fifteenth and sixteenth verses, that the publicity gained by the "many signs and wonders of one day brought together a still larger congregation of the sick and the expectant the following day. Success in Jerusalem begat success in "the cities round about." The moral and spiritual triumphs of the truth have been elements of influence of signal worth. What God has wrought in opening blind eyes of the mind and cleansing leprous souls has been the means of extending the healing and renewing power of Christ on every hand. What stronger argument have we than this What Christ has done for such sad and sinful souls he can and will do for you?

V THE SUPERNATURAL. "Signs and wonders are not now wrought by the hand of the ministers of Christ." But the supernatural is with us still, though the miraculous is gone. In connection with the preached Word, and in answer to believing prayer, the iron will is bent and the rocky heart is broken, the blind eyes are opened, and from the grave of sin dead souls come forth to newness of life. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

11. The failure of the plot proved as propitious to the cause of truth as its success would have been disastrous. (11) " And great fear came upon all the Church, and upon all who had heard these things. " This fear was excited, not only by the sudden and awful fate of the guilty pair, but also by the fearful nature of that spirit-searching knowledge imparted to the apostles. The disciples were now filled with more just conceptions than before of the nature of inspiration, and the unbelieving masses who heard of the event were awed into respect and reverence.

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

11. Great fear came upon all the church. Not of outward enemies, but of so sinning as to invoke the punishment of God. It was a salutary fear.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

11. καὶ ἐγένετο κ.τ.λ., and great fear came upon the whole Church, and upon all that heard these things.

To produce such a fear as should deter others from a like offence was God’s intention in this miracle of punishment. And St Luke seems to have pointed to the reason by making here for the first time any mention of ‘the Church’ (see note on Act 2:47). The true ἐκκλησία must be free from such hypocritical professors, or its work could not advance. The lesson was to be stamped into the hearts of all who were fit to be of ‘the Church,’ though at the same time it would strike deep into the minds of all others who learnt how the Spirit of God had punished the lying lips of those who sought the praise of men rather than that of God.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.