Acts 5:1-11; 9:10-19

Read Acts 5:1-11; 9:10-19 

Helpful Background Information: 

• In Acts 5:1–11, we meet Ananias, the husband of Sapphira. During the early days of the church, believers were voluntarily selling property and giving the proceeds to help meet the needs of others. Ananias and Sapphira also sold a piece of property, but they secretly kept back part of the money while pretending to give the full amount. Their sin was not that they failed to give everything, since Peter makes it clear the money was theirs to use as they wished. Their sin was hypocrisy and deception. They wanted the appearance of radical generosity without the honesty and surrender that should have come with it. 

• In Acts 9:10–19, we meet a different man named Ananias. This Ananias was a faithful Christian living in Damascus. After Saul encountered the risen Jesus on the road and was left blind, the Lord appeared to Ananias in a vision and told him to go to Saul. This would have been a frightening assignment because Saul was known for persecuting Christians. Still, Ananias obeyed. He went to Saul, called him “Brother Saul,” laid hands on him, and helped him receive his sight. Through this second Ananias, we see a picture of faithful obedience and grace toward someone who had once been an enemy of the church. This really is a tale of two Ananiases: one tried to appear faithful while hiding sin, while the other quietly obeyed God even when obedience was costly.
  

Reflection Questions: 

• What is the biggest difference between the two men named Ananias in these passages?

• Acts 5:11 says “great fear” came upon the whole church. What kind of fear is healthy for Christians to have?

• Why do you think God chose to send Ananias to Saul instead of simply healing Saul directly?

• How do the stories of these two Ananiases call you to live differently today?