Acts 5:1(NLT)—“But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.” Hmmm…
Just try to imagine for a second this otherwise unimaginable scenario, as related in this PODCAST:
A highly-respected individual walks into the cozy confines of Safe Haven, only to drop dead on the spot.
Some time later, his unsuspecting wife walks in, and she too keels over, stone-cold dead.
That is exactly what happened here in Acts 5, one of the most mysterious and misunderstood narratives in all of the Bible.
For starters: That word “But,” δέ—as in “But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property”—is ominous in the extreme.
In the technical grammar of the passage, δέ is an adversative particle, signaling something that could be translated: “On the other hand”; or, “Contrary to what you just read”; or, “By way of a startling, scandalous, and jaw-dropping contrast”…
Alerted by that pesky particle, I can tell you that we are about to hear a strange story, a sobering saga, a troubling tale that sounds totally out of character as far as God is concerned.
Or is it?
A head-turning happening that prompts us to ask three questions:
1. Why did this happen?
2. Could this happen today?
3. What does it all mean for us?
Since context is everything, let me begin by first giving you the backstory.
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God bless you richly as you listen.
Dewey Bertolini 