Глава 5

Ananias and Sapphira (1–10). Further successes of the Church of Christ and the Apostles (11–16). New persecution of the Sanhedrin: imprisonment of the Apostles, release by an angel, preaching in the church, answer before the Sanhedrin (17–33). Gamaliel's wise counsel (34–39). The first wounds for the name of Christ (40–42) Acts 5:1. A certain man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira, having sold their property, “Having sold the estate”, Greek. επώλησε κτῆμα, more correctly slav.: “sold the village” - sold the village (according to verse 8 - village - τό χωρίον, i.e. land, town, field). Acts 5:2. He withheld from the price, with the knowledge of his wife, and brought some of it and laid it at the feet of the Apostles. “Hidden from the price,” and in itself, “hiding” the truth constituted an unseemly act. But here it was even more criminal, because Ananias said that he brought everything that he received for the land. This was not only an expression of shameful self-interest, but also a deliberate, conscious lie and hypocrisy. Deceiving the entire Christian society with the Apostles at their head, they wanted to present themselves as selfless for the benefit of the poor as others, but in reality they were not: they served two masters, but wanted to appear to serve one. Thus, instead of truthfulness and sincerity, here two of the most disgusting qualities appear in the holy Christian society - Pharisaic hypocrisy and Judas's love of money. Acts 5:3. But Peter said: Ananias! Why did you allow Satan to put into your heart the idea of ​​lying to the Holy Spirit and hiding from the price of the land? “Peter said”, having learned about this lie and hypocrisy not from anyone else, but from the Holy Spirit who filled him. “Why did you allow Satan?” , Greek διά τί επλήρωσεν ο σατανᾶς τήν καρδίαν σου ψεύσασθαί σε, or rather glorified: “so that Satan fill your heart lie." Thus, it would be more accurate and better to express the beauty of the original like this: “Why has Satan filled your heart (to) lie to the Holy Spirit and hide from the price of the village”? In the act of Ananias, Peter reveals the work of Satan - “the father of lies” (John 8:44) and the original enemy of the Holy Spirit and the cause of the Messiah, which is why he prevents the invasion of this dangerous evil with such decisive and strict measures. It is possible that self-interest, lies and hypocrisy appeared in Ananias and Sapphira not without their prior secret development, as in Judas, that their inner life was not particularly pure before, that the seed of evil took root in them long ago and only now bore its destructive fruits. “Some say that if Satan fulfilled the heart of Ananias, then why was he punished? Because he himself was to blame for the fact that Satan filled his heart, since he himself prepared himself to accept the action of Satan and to fill himself with his power” (Theophilus.). Concealing the price of the village is interpreted here as a lie to the Holy Spirit, because Peter and the other Apostles, as representatives of the Church, were primarily carriers and organs of the Holy Spirit acting in the Church. Acts 5:4. What you owned was not yours, and what was acquired by sale was not in your power? Why have you put this in your heart? You lied not to men, but to God. “Didn’t what was yours remain yours?”, Greek. ουχί μένον, σοί έμενε, slav. “What exists for you, is it not yours”? it would be more accurate to translate - “did not that which is (with you) abide with you?” Ananias could dispose of his estate as he pleased, even if he did not sell it at all. “Was there any need? Do we attract you by force? (Chrysostom)." And if Ananias decided to sell it, then again the money was in his complete possession, and he could do with it as he wished, he could give everything to the poor fund, he could give part of it, he could give nothing. Neither one, nor the other, nor the third matters here as much as the fact that, having brought only part of the money, he represents this part for the entire proceeds. “Do you see,” says Chrysostom, how he is accused of having made his money sacred and then taken it? Couldn’t you, he says, having sold the estate, use them as if they were your own? Who stopped you? Why do you admire them after you promised to give them back? Why did you say you did this? Did you want to keep it? It was necessary to keep it first and not make promises.” “He lied not to men, but to God,” as it is said above, “to the Holy Spirit.” A lie before the “Holy Spirit” is thus a lie before “God” - one of the clearest evidence of the Divinity of the Holy Spirit as a specific Divine personality. Acts 5:5. Hearing these words, Ananias fell lifeless; and great fear seized all who heard it. “Ananias fell lifeless”, Greek. πεσών εζέψυζε, more precisely slav.: “fall from death” - having fallen, given up the ghost, died. This was not a natural nervous blow from Ananias’ strong shock from the revelations made about his act, but a miraculous direct punishment from God on the criminal. “Three miracles in one and the same case: one consisted in the fact that Peter learned what had been done in secret; another is that he determined the mental mood of Ananias, and the third is that Ananias lost his life by just one command” (Theophylact). - The severity of the punishment is commensurate with the severity of the criminal’s guilt against the Holy Spirit, since this is the sin of Judas, a sin that, moreover, threatened the whole society with danger and therefore required exemplary punishment, “so that the execution of two would be a science for many” - (Jerome). “Great fear seized all who heard this” - this happened, apparently, in a general solemn, perhaps liturgical meeting, and the “young men” mentioned further were probably ordinary ministers, carrying out various assignments of a fairly well-organized society, like those who were at the synagogues. Therefore, these young men, as soon as they saw the man who had fallen lifeless, stood up from the meeting and, without any special demand, as they saw it as their duty, proceed to the lifeless man and carry him away for burial. In fear or, perhaps, haste and uncertainty of the wife’s whereabouts, or, better to say, according to Divine dispensation, the latter is not notified of what has happened and appears, as an accomplice in the husband’s sin, to share his punishment. Acts 5:7. About three hours after this, his wife also came, not knowing what had happened. “In three hours” - the accuracy of determining the time indicates the accuracy and complete reliability of the narrative. These three hours passed in the burial of Ananias, with all the preparations for that, especially if the burial place was not close. The speed of burial - three hours after death - does not represent anything strange for the East. “His wife also came,” ειςῆλθεν - more precisely, glory. “inside” – “entered”, i.e. to the house, to the place of meeting, which, apparently, had not yet had time to disperse, so that Peter, asking Sapphira, “for how much” they sold the land, was probably pointing to the money that was still lying at the feet of the Apostle. “Peter did not call for her,” says Chrysostom, but waited for her to come. And none of the others dared to tell (her) what had happened; This is fear of the teacher, this is respect and obedience of the students. Three hours later, the wife did not find out and none of those present said anything about it, although there was enough time for the news to spread. But they were in fear. The writer speaks about this with amazement: “not knowing about what happened.” Acts 5:8. Peter asked her: tell me, how much did you sell the land for? She said: yes, for that much. “For how much?” “Peter,” says Theophylact, “wanted to save her, because her husband was the instigator of sin. That’s why he gives her time to justify herself and repent, saying: tell me, for how much?” “Yes, for that much.” The same lie, the same hypocrisy, the same self-interest as Ananias. Acts 5:9. But Peter said to her: Why did you agree to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, those who buried your husband are entering the door; and they will carry you out. “Try the Spirit of the Lord,” i.e. by deception, as if to tempt him, is He really omniscient? “Here they come,” Greek. ιδού οι πόδες τῶν θαψάντων ... επί τῆ θύρα, more precisely, the glory: “behold the feet of those who buried your husband at the door.” The young men who buried Ananias were returning at this time, and Peter takes this opportunity to pronounce the same execution on his wife as the husband suffered: “They will carry you out too!” , i.e. dead for burial. Whether Peter meant with his words to strike Ananias with death (v. 4), or whether this was a direct action of God independent of Peter’s will and intentions, is not directly evident from the text. But when Ananias was already struck by death, the Apostle, speaking the above words to Sapphira, could already be sure that the same thing would happen to her as with her husband, due to their similarity, and utter the terrible word - “and they will carry you out”! Acts 5:10. Suddenly she fell at his feet and gave up the ghost. And the young men entered and found her dead, and carried her out and buried her next to her husband. “She gave up the ghost” not by the natural effect of the blow, but by a special act of God, like her husband (v. 5). “Pay attention (Theophylact says here) and to the fact that among their own the Apostles are strict, but among strangers they refrain from punishment; both are natural. The latter was necessary so that they would not think that through fear of punishment they were forcing people against their will to turn to the true faith; the first is so that those who have already turned to faith and have been worthy of heavenly teaching and spiritual grace are not allowed to become despicable people and blasphemers, especially at the beginning, because this would serve as a reason for reproaching their preaching.” Acts 5:11. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard it. “And great fear seized the whole Church” - τήν εκκλησίαν. This is the first name of the society of Christians as “Church”. The secondary indication of the feeling of fear indicates its extraordinary nature. From the astonishing effect of God’s punishment, fear, which at first struck only the witnesses of what happened, now spread to “the whole Church,” i.e. on the whole Christian society, and on “all who heard this,” i.e. those outside the Church, whose ears were just hearing this news. Acts 5:12. By the hands of the Apostles many signs and wonders were performed among the people; and they all remained with one accord in Solomon's porch. Intending to move on to the story of the new persecution of the Apostles by the Sanhedrin, the writer makes several general comments about the state of the Church of Christ at this time. And first of all, he mentions the many signs and wonders performed not only by Peter, but by the Apostles in general. These signs and wonders were performed “among the people” who had not yet believed in Christ, and, obviously, to attract them to this faith. Given the numerous miraculous healings performed in general by the hands of the Apostles, the writer notes the particular amazingness of the healings of Peter, for whom even a shadow, overshadowing the sick, granted them healing. True, the writer does not speak about this directly, but he makes it clear enough from the fact that the sick were taken out into the street to be overshadowed by the shadow of the passing Peter. Obviously, the people were convinced of the healing power of Peter’s shadow, and they were convinced only after experiences of healing from this shadow. Just as one touch of Christ’s clothing, even without other actions of Christ, was accompanied by healing of those who touched (Matthew 9:20, etc.), so one overshadowing of Peter’s shadow produced healing. “Great is the faith of those who come,” Chrysostom says on this occasion, even greater than it was under Christ. Under Christ it was not the case that the sick received healing on the haystacks and from the shadow. Why did this happen? From what Christ foretold, saying (John 14:12): “He who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will also do, and greater works than these will he do.” Thus, “surprise at the Apostles increased on all sides: on the part of those who believed, and on the part of those healed, and on the part of those punished, and on the part of their boldness during the sermon, and on the part of their virtuous and impeccable life” (Theophylact). Acts 5:17. The high priest and all with him who belonged to the Sadducean heresy were filled with envy, As can be seen from the previous image of the internal state of Christian society and the attitude of the people towards it, the Church of Christ flourished internally and was glorified by the people. Naturally, the murderers of the Lord, out of envy, among other things, of His glory, were filled with envy of His disciples, so glorified by the people. “High Priest” is probably Caiaphas, who was then ruling, and therefore not named. “And with him all who belonged to the Sadducean heresy...”. Greek καί πάντες οί σύν αυτῶ (η οῦσα αίρεσις τῶν σαδδουκαίων), or rather slav. “and all those like him are pure Sadducee heresy”; this shows that the high priest himself belonged to and was a representative of the heretical sect of the Sadducees. Josephus directly says that one son of Ananus or Anna (Caiaphas' father-in-law) belonged to the Sadducee sect (Archaeol. XX, 9, 1). It was possible that at this time of national disintegration the high priest himself was drifting into heresy, perhaps albeit unspoken and with certain precautions. Acts 5:18. and they laid their hands on the Apostles, and shut them up in the people's prison. “They laid their hands on the Apostles” - they used violence, treating them as criminals. Acts 5:19–20. But the Angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison at night and, bringing them out, said: go and stand in the church, speak to the people all these words of life. “Having stood in the church, you speak”, σταθέντες λαλεῖτε εν τῶ ιερῶ, more correctly glorified: “having stood in the Church.” The more persistent the persecution of enemies becomes, the more clearly the Lord provides His help to the persecuted, partly for the purpose of admonishing and intimidating the persecutors, and in general for the spread and establishment of the newly built Church. The angel commands to speak “in the church” - boldly, fearlessly, without fear of threats and persecution. “All these words of life”, Greek. πάντα τά ρήματα τῆς ζωῆς τάυτης, or rather the glory: “all the verbs of this life” - all the verbs of this life, that is, the true, eternal, grace-filled life in which you yourself abide. Acts 5:21. Having listened, they entered the church in the morning and taught. Meanwhile, the high priest and those with him, having come, called the Sanhedrin and all the elders from the children of Israel and sent them to the prison to bring the Apostles. “All the elders” - in addition to the members of the Sanhedrin. The work of the Apostles seemed so important, or they wanted to carry it out so persistently and decisively, that they gathered not only the Sanhedrin in its entirety, but also all the elders of Israel, so that the definitions of the Sanhedrin would have special force. The only place in the entire New Testament where the “high priest” is for some reason simply called ιερούς, and not αρχιερεύς. Further, especially for this reason, “high priests” are also mentioned. These were probably retired, since, according to the testimony of I. Flavius ​​(Arch. III, 15), the high priests then changed very often, and those replaced continued to be called high priests and remained members of the Sanhedrin. It is also possible that here the first priests of each of the 24 orders are called high priests, into which David divided all the priests (1 Chronicles 23:6, 24; 2 Chronicles 8:14, 29:25; 1 Ezra 8:24). Acts 5:25. But someone came and reported to them, saying: Behold, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the church and teaching the people. Acts 5:26. Then the captain of the guard went with the servants and brought them without coercion, because they were afraid of the people, lest they should stone them. “He brought them without coercion,” that is, obviously, inviting the Apostles to voluntarily, without laying hands on them, to appear at the invitation of the Sanhedrin. Undoubtedly, the sympathy of the people for the Apostles was now such that open violence against them was extremely dangerous. Acts 5:27. Having brought them, they installed them in the Sanhedrin; and the high priest asked them, saying: Acts 5:28. Have we not strictly forbidden you to teach about this name? and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring the blood of that Man upon us. From the circumstances of the whole matter, the miraculousness of the release of the Apostles from prison was clear; It is all the more surprising that this circumstance is completely hushed up in the Sanhedrin, and a formality is brought forward as an accusation against the Apostles, losing all meaning in the overall chain of events. Such are these true formalists and hypocrites, quite familiar to us from the Gospel and the terrible denunciations of the Lord (“straining out a gnat and swallowing up a camel” (Matthew 23:24)). “Do not teach about this name.” What petty contempt for the very name of Jesus: he avoids even naming it, thereby proving, however, that “no one can call on this Most Holy Name except by the Holy Spirit.” “You want to bring the blood of That Man upon us,” i.e. Divine punishment for its innocent spilling. They themselves once shouted: “His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:25). And now they want to blame the Apostles for everything! In what bitter irony are the unfortunate murderers of the Lord entangled in themselves! And how inexorably the wise truth of God brings them to clean water! Acts 5:29. Peter and the Apostles answered and said: We must obey God rather than men. Peter responds to the accusation of the Sanhedrin in the same way as before (Acts 4:19-20), but more decisively and indisputably. “There is great wisdom in their words, and such that from here their enmity against God is revealed (Chrysostom).” Acts 5:30. The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. “They killed”, διεχειρίσασθε - killed with their own hands, a strong expression in order to indicate the guilt of the judges themselves, in order to eliminate the accusation that the apostles want to bring on them, the members of the Sanhedrin, the blood of That Man. “Hung on a tree”, again a strengthened expression, borrowed from the Law of Moses, where the concept of a curse is combined with the concept of hanging on a tree (cf. Gal. 3:13). This again raises to terrifying proportions the guilt of the crucifiers of the Messiah. Acts 5:31. God exalted him with His right hand into the Leader and Savior, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. “God exalted him with His right hand into a Chief and Savior”, Greek: τοῦτον ο Θεός αρχηγόν καί σωτῆρα ύφοσε. The Slavic translation better preserves, so to speak, the “flavor” of the original: “God raise this ruler and Savior with His right hand.” This expression makes us feel that Jesus was previously our “Chief” and “Savior” (His royal and high-priestly dignity and service), but that was, as it were, hidden and humiliated by the state of His voluntary humiliation into the form of a slave. With the resurrection and ascension of Him, Jesus, His dignity as our Leader and Savior was revealed in all its glory, fullness and power. The Russian translation loses this “flavor” of the original, and is expressed as if Jesus was not previously what God later exalted Him into. Acts 5:32. We are His witnesses of this, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him. “We and the Holy Spirit are witnesses to Him in this” (more precisely, glorified: “these verb” - τῶν ρημάτων τούτων - everything that was said about Him). The testimony of the Apostles and the testimony of the Holy Spirit about the said exaltation - the resurrection and ascension of the Lord - is completely identical in content (cf. John 15: 26-27). The comparison and separate indication of them here, as in the Gospel of John, has the meaning that the Apostles were not unconscious instruments of the Spirit acting through them, but, being under His influence, remained together and independent, personally free agents; in particular, as eyewitnesses of His deeds and direct listeners of His teaching from the very beginning of His social activity, they, as if independently of the Spirit, could be reliable witnesses about Him as the Messiah - the Son of God. “To those who obey Him,” i.e. not only to the Apostles, but to all believers. Acts 5:33. Hearing this, they were torn with anger and plotted to kill them. Acts 5:34. Standing up in the Sanhedrin, a certain Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, ordered the Apostles to be brought out for a short time, “Gamaliel”, mentioned here as a member of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee and a teacher of the law respected by the people, is a well-known and famous Jewish rabbi in the Talmud, the son of Rabbi Simeon and the grandson of another famous Rabbi Hillel. He was also Ap's teacher. Paul (Acts 22:3), and later, like his disciple, he also became a Christian and preacher of the Gospel, for which the Holy Church gave him the name of Equal-to-the-Apostles (Reverend Min., Jan. 4 and Aug. 2). Acts 5:35. and he said to them: Men of Israel! Think with yourself about these people, what you should do with them. Acts 5:36. For shortly before this, Theudas appeared, posing as someone great, and about four hundred people stuck to him; but he was killed, and all who obeyed him scattered and disappeared. Acts 5:37. After him, during the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and carried away quite a lot of people with him; but he died, and all who obeyed him scattered. On the advice of Gamaliel, it is best for the Sanhedrin not to interfere in the cause of Christianity, but to leave it to the natural course of things in the confidence that if it is not the work of God, it will collapse on its own. To prove this, Gamaliel cites two recent cases in which two great deceivers of the people perished without any intervention of the Sanhedrin, along with all their work. These are the revolts of Theudas and Judas the Galilean. This mention of the writer, however, raises important bewilderments: firstly, Gamaliel’s speech dates back to the time before the actual speech of the historical Theudas (not earlier than 44 AD): and, secondly, this Theudas seems to appear earlier than Judas the Galilean, who rebelled “in the days of writing,” i.e. “during the census” - “Theudas... therefore Judas.” To reconcile these inaccuracies, many learned interpreters admit two rebels with the name of Theudas; others explain this inaccuracy simply as an error of memory of the writer (like Acts. 12:16) and they believe that under the name of Theudas, some other rebel who actually lived in the time indicated by Luke (before Judas the Galilean) came to his thoughts. “Pretending to be some great one,” obviously a prophet or Messiah. Theudas, mentioned by Josephus, closely resembles the one described in the Acts, although the time of his appearance indicated by the writer does not allow him to be identified in both cases. Flavius ​​also preserved very interesting news about Judas the Galilean, confirming the historical reality of this event. Flavius ​​calls Judas a “Gaulonite” (Arch. XVIII, 1, 1), since he was from Gamala in lower Gaulonitis (on the eastern shore of Lake Galilee), and also calls him a Galilean (Arch. XX, 5, 2; “On the War of Judas.” II, 8, 1). He outraged the people and carried away many people with him on the basis of dissatisfaction with the census carried out in Judea at the command of Augustus (Luke 2:2). Seeing in this census the final enslavement of the “chosen” people to the “pagan”, he convinced the people not to obey Caesar’s decree on the census, crying out: “we have one Lord and Master, God”!... "He died". – Flavius ​​actually talks about the death of only the children of this Judas, while Gamaliel mentions the death of himself - two legends that do not exclude, but rather perhaps complement one another. Acts 5:38. And now, I say to you, get away from these people and leave them; for if this enterprise and this work are from men, then it will collapse, “The work of men” (cf. Matt. 21:25), that is, of human origin and character, with only human goals and aspirations, without the will and blessing of God. Acts 5:39. and if it is from God, then you cannot destroy it; Beware lest you turn out to be enemies of God. “And if from God.” According to Chrysostom’s interpretation: “as if he said: wait! if these also appeared on their own, then without any doubt they will dissipate... If this is a human matter, then there is no need for you to worry. And if it’s God’s, then even with all your efforts you will not be able to overcome them.” We can say with confidence that such advice as Gamaliel gave could only have been given by a person disposed to see in Christianity precisely the power of God; for, although true in general, this position when applied to the activities of people in their attitude to events cannot always be unconditionally true, since with an unconditional application of this position in general it would seem unnecessary to advocate against the development of evil principles in life, sometimes allowed by God, which is contrary to the laws of conscience and the Law of God. In the mouth of a person disposed to see the power of God in Christianity, this position has its full force, suggesting that the power of God here will certainly become clear in further events in a more visual and convincing way. In this case, Gamaliel’s advice also loses the character of indifference and a frivolous attitude to events, for which it does not matter whether it is this way or that. - In any case, the favorable attitude towards Christianity in the council of Gamaliel is undoubtedly (cf. Chrysostom and Theophilus.). This is also evident from Gamaliel’s further threat to the members of the Sanhedrin that they may turn out to be “opponents of God” (Greek and Slavic, stronger - “god-fighters” - θεομάχοι - rebelling against God, fighting against Him). Acts 5:40. They obeyed him; and calling the Apostles, they beat them and, forbidding them to speak about the name of Jesus, sent them away. Gamaliel's strong speech impressed the Sanhedrin and persuaded them to obey good advice - in the sense that the plan to kill the Apostles (v. 33) was left unfulfilled. This did not, however, exclude the possibility of a hostile attitude towards them on the part of those who were not inclined, following Gamaliel, to suspect the power of God in their work. The apostles were subjected to corporal punishment (scourging), probably under the pretext of disobedience to their previous determination of the Sanhedrin, now renewed with the same force. “They could not resist the irrefutable justice of (Gamaliel’s) words; but, despite this, they satisfied their rage, and, in addition, they again hoped to eliminate the Apostles (Chrysostom) in this way... Acts 5:41. They left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that they were worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 5:42. And every day in the church and from house to house they did not stop teaching and preaching the gospel about Jesus Christ. “Rejoicing that for the name of the Lord Jesus you were counted worthy to suffer dishonor.” They considered this dishonor to be a special mercy of their Lord and Teacher towards them; for what could be more gratifying and dearer for a loving heart in relation to the Beloved Lord and Teacher than the readiness and opportunity to lay down even one’s soul for Him! Of course, the preaching of the Gospel, even after that, went on in its own order, without ceasing or weakening at all, but even more intensifying: both “in the church and from house to house,” “every day,” - i.e. incessantly, incessantly, both privately and publicly. You might be interested in: