ACT 5
5
The Divine Judgment of Ananias and Sapphira
1 But a certain man, Ananias by name, together with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,
2 and he withheld some of the price for himself, and his wife was secretly aware of this deception. Then bringing only a portion of it, he placed it at the feet of the apostles.
3 But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart and mind to lie to and deceive the Holy Spirit and to withhold for yourself some of the price of the piece of land?
4 While it remained unsold and in your possession, did it not remain your own property? And when it was sold, was the money not under your control? Why is it that you have purposed and conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to and deceived men, but to God Himself."
5 While Ananias heard these words, he fell down suddenly and breathed his last and died. And great fear came upon all those who heard about it and learned of this event.
6 Then the young men arose, covered him up with burial cloths, and when he was carried out, they buried him in a grave.
7 Now it occurred there was an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had taken place.
8 Peter asked, "Tell me whether you sold the land for this specific amount." And she said, "Yes, for that exact price."
9 But Peter said to her, "Why is it that you have agreed together to test and challenge the Spirit of the Lord? See, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door even now, and they will carry you out also."
10 Immediately, she fell down at his feet and died. Then when the young men entered, they found her dead, and after they carried her out, they buried her beside her husband.
11 Great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard about and learned of these things.
The Expansion of the Jerusalem Church
12 Now many signs and wonders and miraculous works were being done among the people by the hands and ministry of the apostles. And they were all together in unity in Solomon's Portico.
13 None of the rest of the people dared to join them, and yet the people were holding them in high esteem.
14 More believers were being added to their number, multitudes both of men and women,
15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and placed them on cots and mats, so that when Peter came by and passed through, at least his shadow might fall upon some of them.
16 The people also were coming together from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those tormented by unclean spirits and demons—all of whom were being healed and completely restored.
The Persecution of the Apostles
17 But the high priest rose up and took action, and all those who were with him and sided with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and were filled with jealousy and envy.
18 They laid hands upon the apostles and seized them and put them in the public jail.
19 But during the night, an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison, and when he had brought them out, he commanded,
20 "Go and stand in the outer courts of the temple and speak to the people all the words and message of this life and salvation."
21 When they heard this instruction, they entered the temple courts at dawn and began to teach and instruct the people.
Now when the high priest arrived, and those who were with him, they convened the Sanhedrin council—even all the assembly of the elders of the sons of Israel—and sent officers to the prison to bring them.
22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, and they went back and reported,
23 saying, "We found the prison shut with all security and the guards positioned at the doors, but when we opened them, we found no one inside."
24 Now when both the captain and commander of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were thoroughly perplexed, wondering as to what this could mean.
25 Then someone came and reported to them, "Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple courts, teaching and instructing the people!"
26 Then the captain and commander with the officers departed and brought them back, not with force or violence, for they were afraid of the people, lest they be pelted with stones.
27 When they had brought them in, they made them stand before the Sanhedrin council. And the high priest questioned them,
28 saying, "We strictly ordered you not to teach and instruct in this name, yet see, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you are determined to bring the blood and guilt of this man upon us."
29 But in reply, Peter and the apostles said, "It is necessary to obey and submit to God rather than men.
30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from death, whom you killed by hanging Him upon a tree.
31 This One—God lifted up to His right hand as Prince and Saviour, to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
32 And we are testifiers of these events, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to the ones who obey and submit to Him."
33 When the members of the council heard this declaration, they were enraged and wanted to execute the apostles.
34 However, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a respected teacher of the Law who was highly esteemed by all the people, stood up in the council. He directed that the apostles be taken outside temporarily.
35 Then he addressed the council: "Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.
36 Not long ago, a man named Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important. About four hundred men rallied to his cause. He was killed, and all his followers were scattered and came to nothing.
37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared during the time of the census and led a rebellion, drawing people after him. He also died, and all his followers were dispersed.
38 Therefore, I advise you to leave these men alone and let them go. If their purpose or activity is merely human in origin, it will fail and disappear.
39 But if it comes from God, you will not be able to stop these men. You might even find yourselves fighting against God Himself!" The council was persuaded by his reasoning.
40 They called the apostles back in and had them flogged. They commanded them never again to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.
41 The apostles left the council chamber rejoicing because they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the Name.
42 Day after day, in the temple courts and in private homes, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.
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ACT 5: AFINT
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Copyright © 2026 Michael Adeyemi Adegbola. This Scripture text is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
