I have been reading the book of Acts recently and I was struck by the story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira. I couldn’t help but compare them to Adam and Eve because I recently wrote an article on the creation story. Both couples act together to disobey God and are judged for it.
It is the beginning of the Apostles’ mission to bring the Gospel to the four corners of the earth. The Holy Spirit had filled them to perform wonders, miracles, and healings. People were converting in huge numbers; thousands were added to the family of God. They were filled with great fervor and were of “one heart and mind”; sharing all they had with each other. Some landowners even sold all their possessions to give the money to the apostles to be distributed (Acts 4:34-35).
This brings us to Ananias and his wife Sapphira. They also sold their property, but instead of giving all the money to the apostles, they kept some and lied about it.
“Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.”
(Acts 5:1-2)
They did not need to do this. People were voluntarily giving all that they had. They could have kept the land, or have only given a part of its worth to the apostles honestly. Perhaps they wanted to look more pious and generous than they actually were. This is not done in “one heart and mind” with the other believers. This was a lie, a deception.
As with Adam and Eve, this sin was done together. It was with his wife (σὺν) that he did this. With his wife’s full knowledge (συνειδυίης). However, instead of the woman leading the man into temptation and sin, it is the man leading the woman into sin (it is he carrying out the action). And, just like with Adam and Eve, they are both addressed separately for their sin. Peter, prophesying, said to Ananias:
“Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
(Acts 5:3-4)
And, just as Adam eventually died for disobeying God, Ananias was struck down and died on the spot in judgment.
A few hours later, his wife Sapphira, not knowing her husband had died, was asked by Peter, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” She also lied and said, “Yes, that is the price” (Acts 5:8). Peter replied, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord?” And then she was also struck down and died.
I find it interesting that they are both described as conspiring together but are then judged separately for their sin. It is not necessarily something we would expect in a patriarchal society. In patriarchal societies women are expected to submit in all to their husband, they are to obey him and do as he says. To not do so would be a disgrace. But here, Sapphira, in going along with the plans of her husband, in submitting to him, is incurring judgment upon herself. We can easily deduce from this story that the Lord was expecting her to stand up to her husband and not go along with his plan.
This brings up the question of what to do when the patriarchal or complementarian idea of unilateral submission of the wife to her husband goes against what is right in the eyes of the Lord. I think that God, here, did not want Sapphira to submit to her husband; he would have wanted her to lead him into being truthful. This story also shows her to be equal to her husband in responsibility. This seems to go against the idea of a husband, as “head” or leader, being responsible for the actions of the couple. Just as Adam and Eve were both held responsible for their respective actions, Ananias and Sapphira were both held responsible for their own deception.
What do we say, then, to a woman whose husband is not doing what is right? Do we say to her, “submit to him”? Of course not! As Peter said, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” What do we say to a woman whose husband beats her or her children? Do we tell her to submit to him? Of course not, that would cause great harm. If unilateral wifely submission to her husband is not for everyone is it really from God?
I have often heard woman praise their submission to their husband’s loving servant leadership as God’s goodwill for men and women. But what if the husband is not a loving servant leader (as they say)? What do we say to those women? So much harm has been done to families because of this ideology. This alone should at least make us question if it really is God’s plan.
If women are not to submit to their husbands in their wrongful actions it is because a wife’s submission is not ultimately to her husband. It is to God. We are always to submit to God. And men, as all are called to submit to one another, submit to their wives only to the measure that it is in line with their submission to God.
Adam was held culpable because he listened to his wife instead of God. Here, Sapphira was held culpable for listening to her husband instead of God. It is sometimes said that Eve sinned because she assumed authority over Adam instead of submitting to him. But here we have a wife who submitted to her husband but was still in the wrong. There is great symmetry in this narrative. Men and women are held to the same standards. In marriage husbands and wives are to submit to one another, but this is always done in reverence for Christ (Ep 5:20). Wives and husbands are both to but themselves below their spouse. The man uplifts his wife, and the wife uplifts her husband. We help each other to follow God, to do what is right, to accomplish good things. This is always done in obedience to God.
Excellent reflection! Love it!