Bible Commentaries
Acts 5

Verses 1-13

30 The timid opposition of the Sanhedrin is in contrast to the boldness of those who proclaimed the evangel. God manifested Himself by miraculous interventions, and the powers of the kingdom abounded.

32 The laws concerning property were so different in Israel from anything with which we are acquainted that it is difficult for us to understand this and similar passages. First of all, each Jew had his allotment, which could not be sold. Even if it was disposed of, it came back to him in the jubilee. This was his means of living. If the kingdom should come, the land would be redistributed according to the prophets ( Eze_47:13 ). The action of the Pentecostal believers is all based on this fact. Whatever they had beyond their allotment would go back to its rightful allottee when the kingdom is set up. In view of this they sold the lands and houses they had acquired besides their allotment, and shared their possessions, or personal property such as money, among themselves.

34 A freehold was a piece of property to which actual title could be acquired, as is the custom among western nations today. The name, which means separated, shows that a freehold was not land held in common, like an allotment, but held by a title unaffected by the jubilee. Gethsemane was such a freehold ( Mat_26:36 ). Judas manifested his unbelief by purchasing a freehold with the price of his Lord, and the chief priest completed the purchase by paying the money. This was evidence that they did not believe in the coming kingdom, for they never would have bought the bloody field, only to find its title invalid when the land is reapportioned to the tribes in that day. The disciples, knowing that freeholds were not in line with the law and that they would be forfeited under the righteous rule of Messiah, put the means obtained from their sale into a common fund.

36 The allotment of the Levites could not be sold ( Lev_25:34 ). But this field was his personal property. Had the kingdom come, he would have had his share in their allotment ( Eze_48:13-14 ).

3 Ananias and Sapphira sold a freehold which they had acquired , over and beyond their own allotment in the land. In this they did well. They brought a part to the apostles. This, too, was a commendable act. Their sin seems to have been, not in withholding a part, but in giving the impression that they had contributed all for the common good. Here we have a practical illustration of the righteous rule which will characterize the kingdom of God. The hidden motive is brought to light. An act appearing most praiseworthy on the surface is declared to be tainted with falsehood. No witnesses are needed. The Lord's apostle can detect evil though most skillfully concealed. Judgment is immediate and summary.

4 Ananias was under no compulsion to sell the freehold. Neither was he obliged to contribute the sum he obtained to the common fund. All this was voluntary. But such a course would have lowered him in the eyes of the disciples and he wished to be well thought of. But his avarice was too strong to allow him to part with the whole sum, so he, in effect, steals a part of the gift, and presents the rest as though it were the whole amount. This was hypocrisy in its most hateful form. In an administration of grace, such as we enjoy today, such sins are not followed by swift judgment. They wait until the tribunal of Christ ( 2Co_5:10 ). But in the administration of the kingdom, righteousness will reign and sin will be suppressed.

11 The result of the sudden and severe judgment of Ananias and Sapphira was great fear, both among the believers and others who hear of it. The resultant conduct was not the free unforced desire to please God which is inspired by His love and grace, which should actuate us in this economy, but restraint from evil through dread of judgment. It is based on power from without rather than an impulse from within. We are not in danger of any judgment, hence have no such motive to mold our behavior. Our lives should be the fruit of love.

13 The awful atmosphere of inflexible righteousness which repelled the unbelieving was an adumbration of the day when a King shall reign In righteousness and through the greatness of His power His enemies shall yield a feigned obedience to Him ( Psa_18:44 ; Psa_18:1-18 ; Psa_6:1-10 ; Psa_7:1-17 ; Psa_8:1-9 ; Psa_9:1-20 ; Psa_10:1-18 ; Psa_11:1-7 ; Psa_12:1-8 ; Psa_13:1-6 ; Psa_14:1-7 ; Psa_15:1-5 ; Psa_16:1-11 ; Psa_17:1-15 ; Psa_18:1-50 ; Psa_19:1-14 ; Psa_20:1-9 ; Psa_21:1-13 ; Psa_22:1-31 ; Psa_23:1-6 ; Psa_24:1-10 ; Psa_25:1-22 ; Psa_26:1-12 ; Psa_27:1-14 ; Psa_28:1-9 ; Psa_29:1-11 ; Psa_30:1-12 ; Psa_31:1-24 ; Psa_32:1-11 ; Psa_33:1-22 ; Psa_34:1-22 ; Psa_35:1-28 ; Psa_36:1-12 ; Psa_37:1-40 ; Psa_38:1-22 ; Psa_39:1-13 ; Psa_40:1-17 ; Psa_41:1-13 ; Psa_42:1-11 ; Psa_43:1-5 ; Psa_44:1-26 ; Psa_45:1-17 ; Psa_46:1-11 ; Psa_47:1-9 ; Psa_48:1-14 ; Psa_49:1-20 ; Psa_50:1-23 ; Psa_51:1-19 ; Psa_52:1-9 ; Psa_53:1-6 ; Psa_54:1-7 ; Psa_55:1-23 ; Psa_56:1-13 ; Psa_57:1-11 ; Psa_58:1-11 ; Psa_59:1-17 ; Psa_60:1-12 ; Psa_61:1-8 ; Psa_62:1-12 ; Psa_63:1-11 ; Psa_64:1-10 ; Psa_65:1-13 ; Psa_66:1-20 ; Psa_67:1-7 ; Psa_68:1-35 ; Psa_69:1-36 ; Psa_70:1-5 ; Psa_71:1-24 ; Psa_72:1-20 ; Psa_73:1-28 ; Psa_74:1-23 ; Psa_75:1-10 ; Psa_76:1-12 ; Psa_77:1-20 ; Psa_78:1-72 ; Psa_79:1-13 ; Psa_80:1-19 ; Psa_81:1-16 ; Psa_82:1-8 ; Psa_83:1-18 ; Psa_84:1-12 ; Psa_85:1-13 ; Psa_86:1-17 ; Psa_87:1-7 ; Psa_88:1-18 ; Psa_89:1-52 ; Psa_90:1-17 ; Psa_91:1-16 ; Psa_92:1-15 ; Psa_93:1-5 ; Psa_94:1-23 ; Psa_95:1-11 ; Psa_96:1-13 ; Psa_97:1-12 ; Psa_98:1-9 ; Psa_99:1-9 ; Psa_100:1-5 ; Psa_101:1-8 ; Psa_102:1-28 ; Psa_103:1-22 ; Psa_104:1-35 ; Psa_105:1-45 ; Psa_106:1-3 )

Verses 14-35

14 The fear of the drawn sword in the King's hand will repress evil and rebellion. The prayer of the disciples, after the threats of the Sanhedrin, seems to have been abundantly answered. Not only was the kingdom proclaimed with power but the word was confirmed by many signs and miracles. Multitudes joined the disciples and they met openly in the sanctuary.

17 As ever, the great point of their proclamation was the resurrection or Christ from the dead. Nothing could be more offensive to the Sadducees than this, for it upheld the Pharisees in the principal point of difference between them. Both, however, united in their common hostility to Christ. The increasing popularity and numbers of the disciples filled them with jealousy. They thought that they must show their authority before the new movement should get beyond their control.

18 As before ( Act_4:3 ), the apostles are confined during the night, that they may appear before the Sanhedrin in the morning. Then they were held until the Sanhedrin sends for them. Now, however, the Lord condescends to give the rebellious rulers a token of His power as well as their impotence. He will give a public exhibition of the futility of opposing Him. No evidence shall be lacking to convince them that God is behind Peter's proclamation.

20 Had the apostles left the city and escaped for their lives, as Peter did on a subsequent occasion, the testimony would have collapsed and the Sanhedrin would have suppressed the further proclamation of the evangel. Their fearless course in resuming their work just where they had left off, was even more impressive than the miraculous deliverance from prison. It gave them a place in the eyes of the people and before the Sanhedrin which demanded respect if not fear. The kingdom which they proclaimed had not only power to set captives free, but to uphold them in their freedom.

21 Once again all of Israel's rulers are gathered together and given an opportunity to hear the evangel. The fate of the nation depends on their action, for they are the responsible heads of the people. Their rejection involves all the rest.

25 The popular favor enjoyed by the apostles reached its culmination at this time. The increasing number of the disciples, the many benefits conferred on the sick, which would enlist friends, as well as the well-known fact that the apostles had been imprisoned without warrant and then delivered without human aid, by the messenger of God-all this would act very powerfully with the impressionable populace and give the apostles a prestige they had never before enjoyed. This, too, accounts for the mild attitude of the chief priest and the bold assurance of the apostles when called to account for their disobedience to the commands of the Sanhedrin. It is significant that the rulers ask no questions, and are silent before the disciples and the multitude as to the manner of their release. They did not wish to elicit further testimony to the supernatural deliverances, both of the Lord from the grave and His servants from the prison.

26 It is evident that, had the apostles wished to do so, they could have started an insurrection even against the Sanhedrin, and this was what the officer of the sanctuary and the chief priest feared.

29 Peter begins by reminding the Sanhedrin that they were going contrary to God and that, in such circumstances, he had no alternative but to ignore their commands. This is exactly what he had told them before ( Act_4:19 ). They cannot but infer that any further charge they may lay on the apostles could not be heeded. Peter does not stop to consider any answer to this ultimatum but goes right on and charges them with the murder of their Messiah, Whom God exalts to His right hand. He offers them a pardon. Instead of standing before them to be judged he brings them into judgment before God. The whole situation is reversed. The judges are pronounced guilty by the prisoner.

33 Having killed the Master, they do not hesitate to assassinate His servants.

34 This is probably the same Gamaliel who was the instructor of Saul of Tarsus ( Act_22:3 ), one of the most celebrated teachers of the law in his day. His grandfather was the famous Hillel, and his grandson, of the same name, also obtained great eminence in Judaism.

Verses 36-42

36 The fact that this Theudas is not mentioned in profane literature is no reason for doubting the truthfulness and accuracy of the narrative. Josephus, in his Antiquities, hints at many disturbances of this character at about the time indicated; He does, indeed, tell of another Theudas, about fifty years later, during the reign of the emperor Claudius, whose career corresponds closely to the one mentioned by Gamaliel, but it was plainly impossible for Gamaliel to speak of an insurrectlon which had not yet occurred. Such a statement would not have gone unchallenged during the early centuries of our era, if it had no foundation in fact.

37 Judas, the Galilean, is often mentioned by Josephus (Antiquities 18, 1, 1; Wars of the Jews 2, 8, 1). He charges him with starting a new sect of Jewish philosophy from which sprang many misfortunes and wars. This sect agreed in the main with the Pharisees, but they had an inviolable attachment to liberty, and said that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord. They did not hesitate to die any kind of death, nor did they heed the death of their relatives and friends, nor could any fear make them call any man lord. In the book on the Wars of the Jews, Josephus characterizes him thus: "a certain Galilean, whose name was Judas, prevailed on his countrymen to revolt, and said that they were cowards if they would endure to pay a tax to the Romans, and would, after God, submit to mortal men as their lords. This man was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own and was not at all like the rest of their leaders." His followers were dispersed: but the love of liberty was spread among the people and later led to many other uprisings.

38 Gamaliel's cowardly evasion suited the Sanhedrin because they were afraid of the people. Though God used this speech for the apostles' salvation, his specious reasoning is not to be trusted. So Job's friends falsely argued. "Truth is mighty and will prevail"-yes, ultimately, but not necessarily here and now. Gamaliel left out faith , an omission which invalidates his conclusions and makes it impossible to accept as witnesses for God such as "the last apostles, as deathdoomed, for we became a theater to the world and to messengers and to men" ( 1Co_4:9 ).

1 It is important to grasp clearly the distinction between the "Hebrews" and "Hellenists." The latter were not gentiles. They were Israelites just as really as the Hebrews. The Hellenists were those in the nation who had renounced the ancient customs and traditions to a large extent and had taken up Greek culture. All classes spoke Greek, but the Hebrews also used an Aramaic vernacular in familiar intercourse. The Hellenists were largely those Jews who had resided in foreign lands and had acquired the customs and manners of the Greeks. In one sense the Hellenists were Hebrews, but this term gradually came to be confined to those who were true to the old traditions. Thus, when Paul speaks of himself as a Hebrew of the Hebrews he means that he was not a Hellenist, but had clung closely to Judaism and had resisted the influence of foreign culture and customs. The usual definition of a Hellenist, "a Greek-speaking Jew," is not adequate, for all Jews spoke Greek. Our Lord and His apostles used it in their public discourses and the most illiterate could understand them. Only occasionally did they use Aramaic expressions. The Hebrews looked down on the Hellenists, hence they formed a separate class of disciples.

5 Though these seven names are all Greek, the fact that one proselyte, Nicholas, was included, seems to indicate that all parties were represented. Only the first two are mentioned again in the Scriptures. They do not seem to have confined themselves to the serving of tables, but took a leading part in the evangel.

9 There were hundreds of synagogues in Jerusalem, some of which were maintained by the various groups of Jews in foreign lands. About B. C. 63 Pompey carried a large number of Jews to Rome. When they were liberated and returned to Judea, they formed the synagogue of the Freedmen, These synagogues seem to have been composed mostly of Hellenists. In all probability Saul of Tarsus belonged to the synagogue of Cilicia.