The early church was not perfect. It was a lot things and many special things in the story of God’s work, but it was also full of real people with complex stories. Today we see that the church was communal and generous for the most part. With the odd issue here and there…
32 All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. 33 The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. 34 There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them 35 and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.
36 For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means “Son of Encouragement”). He was from the tribe of Levi and came from the island of Cyprus. 37 He sold a field he owned and brought the money to the apostles.
1 But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. 2 He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.
Acts 4:32-5:2 NLT
Everything was amazing. It was hunky dory. Just stay in chapter 4. Don’t turn the page. We have this convenient chapter break after Acts 4:37 which keeps the story nice and pure. Luke isn’t trying to hide anything from us. The chapter numbers and breaks were added much later. No. Luke just told the story. And it included the good, the bad, and the ugly.
We have an image of the early church as being verse 32: all believers being united in heart and mind. This is the beautiful image of the early church that we think can be replicated today. Kumbaya, my lord… And I don’t want to throw too much cold water on the story, because it is true. People fellowshipped in community and communally. There were no needy people. Let’s stop and enjoy that fact of the early church. Lucy and I just watched a show last night in which a fifteen year old boy was trying to be the ‘man of the house’ for him and his Mom. They had slept on the sidewalk and in their car in recent times, all within the USA, one of the wealthiest nations in the world. Imagine a USA in which there were no needy people among them…
The apostles were the ones who distributed support to people who needed it. People would sell land or houses and share the money. Barnabas, our ‘son of encouragement’ was one of those generous souls.
And then there was Ananias and Sapphira. They stand as the exception, we hope, in having a generous heart, but also one of gaming the offering system. They kept part of the money for themselves, claiming they had given the full amount. We’ll look at their story tomorrow, but for today, just know that the early church wasn’t perfect. It was still made up of real people.
And before we through Ananias and Sapphira under a bus, they probably struggled with a lack of faith. Let’s be generous toward them. They wanted to give, but they might not have trusted that their needs would be met. Or they were just cold liars.
The Bible doesn’t paint the church as perfect. It is a reflection of its members, who to different degrees trust and follow their God. Just like now…
Amen.
Marc Kinna
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