“Bad Boys (and Girls!) of the Bible: Ananias and Sapphira”
Acts 5:1-2
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus.
Sixty-seven-year-old Frank Abagnale is an American Security Consultant and CEO of Abagnale and Associates of Charleston, South Carolina. He’s married and the father of three sons. He’s even served as a guest lecturer for the FBI.
“’FBI!’, you say? Why the FBI?” Because, as likeable and knowledgeable as Frank Abagnale might be, he’s also the most famous imposter ever. He’s assumed no less than eight different identities, ranging from an airline pilot, to a physician, to a lawyer, to a federal agent. He even wrote a book, which spawned a movie, telling the story of his life. It’s called, Catch Me if You Can.
It all started when he was only fifteen, when his father gave him a credit card to buy gas and supplies for the family car. But Frank didn’t buy gas and supplies for the family car. He got cash instead.
Next came bank fraud. He wrote personal checks, under assumed names, at numerous banks. He even bought a security guard disguise from a local costume shop, and put a sign on the deposit box that read, “Out of service. Place deposits with security guard on duty.” And, just wondering here, how can a box be “out of service”?
Then, when he got tired of “robbing banks,” and since he wanted to see the world for free, he called Pan American Airways and told them he was a pilot and lost his uniform. So they sent him one. Then he forged an FAA pilot’s license and, between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, he flew more than a million miles for free. And, by the way, since he was a “pilot,” he also ate meals and stayed at hotels for free.
Then, when he was afraid he might get caught, he decided to become a physician instead.
Eleven months later, when he was afraid he might actually hurt someone, he faked a Harvard University law degree, somehow managed to pass the Louisiana bar exam, and, at the ripe old age of nineteen, got a job at the State Attorney General’s office. But that’s when authorities finally caught up with him.
But things didn’t go so well for good old Frank Abagnale after that. After all, he was wanted in twelve different countries.
First, he served six months in a French prison, then six months in a Swedish prison. He would have served time in an Italian prison, but the United States managed to get him instead. And so confidence trickster, check forger, imposter and author of Catch Me if You Can, finally got caught.
The Bible introduces us to a wide range of individuals, an amazing cast of characters—many good, some bad, some really, really bad. Jubal, a descendant of Cain, is called the father of music, of all who play the harp and the flute. Naaman, a Syrian commander, got leprosy. Mordecai helped save the life of his cousin, Queen Esther. And Balaam heard a donkey talk. All of them, in their own ways, were amazing and fascinating women and men.
But of all the people in the Bible, there’s really none like these two, a husband and wife named Ananias and Sapphira.
Listen to the words of Acts chapter 5: “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.”
It was an exciting time in the life of the church. Everything was brand new. Just as soon as the Spirit rushed through the streets of Jerusalem in the wind and the fire of Pentecost, God blessed the church to make it grow. The Bible says that, on that first day of Pentecost, three thousand people believed. Even more, the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Then, in Acts chapter 4, Luke writes that those who believed were of one heart and mind. No one kept anything for himself. They shared everything in common. Those who owned land and houses sold them, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. They helped anyone who had need.
And what happened because of their great kindness and generosity? The Bible says, “With great power, the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.”
It was truly one of the most beautiful and amazing times in the life of the church.
There was just one problem—Ananias and Sapphira. Apparently, when they saw so many others bringing in their gifts and laying them at the apostles’ feet, they began to feel a little guilty. And when fellow members began to admire them and praise those who brought such great gifts, they thought that, maybe, they should bring a gift too. But how much should they give? And how much could they give?
That’s when Ananias had an idea, but not a very good idea. It’s not that he was being selfish or greedy, really. He just wanted what was best for him and the church.
So he said, “You know, Sapphira, everyone is giving such good gifts and there are such great needs. And, you know as well as I do that we should give something too. But times are tough and we can only afford so much.
“So, how about if we sell that little patch of land we got from your folks? It’s not doing us much good anyway.
“And, to save face, to look better before our faith community, let’s tell them we’re giving it all to the Lord, even though we’re keeping a little, just a little, for ourselves. There’s no harm in that, is there? Of course, not. In fact, we’ll kill two birds with one stone. We’ll help the church and we’ll help ourselves. And faster than anyone can say, ‘My, Ananias and Sapphira are such good Christian people!’ we’ll have instant acclaim as spiritual, self-sacrificing believers who have surrendered all for Jesus Christ.”
So that’s exactly what they did. They sold the land, kept some for themselves, and laid the rest at the apostles’ feet.
Was it bad? Not really. No one ever told them they had to give it all to the Lord. Anyone was free to own property or to sell property as they chose, and no one would think any less of them for it. It wasn’t their greed, so much, that was the problem. It was their deception, their hypocrisy, that got them into trouble.
And as Ananias and Sapphira brought their gift, or rather, part of their gift, and laid it at the apostles’ feet, what happened? Listen to the words of Acts chapter 5: “Peter said, ‘Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…you have not lied to men, but to God.’” And when both Ananias and Sapphira heard his words, they fell down dead at his feet.
A rather well-built young man saw an advertisement for a job at the zoo. When he went to apply, he was surprised to find that the only job they had available was for someone to play the part of a gorilla.
A lot of children were coming to visit the zoo in the next few days and children love gorillas. And the zoo, having no gorilla, needed someone to act like one. So the next morning, the man arrived before sunrise, slipped on the gorilla suit, and sashayed, knuckles dragging, into his cage.
And sure enough, when day dawned, the children watched him pace the floor, swing between trees, and eat the peanuts and bananas that the keeper fed him.
But after eight or ten hours of it, the nuts and bananas got the best of him. And as he swung from one tree to another, he suddenly got a little sick and slipped and fell into the lion’s den next door. He shouted, “Help! Help!”
To his surprise, the lion leaned over to him and said, “If you don’t keep quiet, we’ll both get fired.”
Just because you look like a gorilla and act like a gorilla, doesn’t make you a gorilla.
Just because you look like a Christian and act like a Christian, doesn’t make you a Christian.
It’s been said that we all wear masks. Some of them were made for us. Some we’ve made for ourselves.
Why do we wear them? We wear them as a barrier or as a wall of defense. We try to hide our true identity.
The Pharisees in Jesus’ day wore masks. They appeared to be good, righteous and upright men of honor. You could tell that just by looking at their long prayer shawls and hearing their loud prayers on the street.
But it wasn’t real. It was just a mask. That’s why Jesus said, “You’re nothing but whitewashed tombs, so beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones.”
There’s a danger in wearing a mask, in pretending to be something we’re not, leading a pretend life, showing people who we want to be, but aren’t. A mask is something a Christian should never wear.
And that’s why God dealt so severely with Ananias and Sapphira. Phony spirituality is contagious. It spreads. And when one Christian sees another Christian who only appears to be Christian, then the church is worth nothing at all.
You think God dealt a little too harshly with Ananias and Sapphira? You think it wasn’t fair?
Let me tell you something that wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair when Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss, or when men bound Him and led Him to Annas and Caiaphas and Herod and Pilate. It wasn’t fair when soldiers scourged Him and the people shouted crucify. And neither was it fair when men drove nails through His hands and feet.
But what may appear to be unfair was truly the single most brilliant demonstration of love ever known.
As William Cowper once put it so well: “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.” And he wrote: “Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace; behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face.”
This story, dear Lord, of Ananias and Sapphira, frightens us to see Your hand of judgment at work. Help us to remove the masks we wear, that our fellow Christians may see us as You see us—redeemed and forgiven children of God. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen