Ananias was apparently a popular name in the Old Testament. Just as we find names common in our generation or culture, biblical times had the same phenomenon. This can cause confusion for people when reading the Scripture. Even in the Gospels, we have John the Baptist, then Jesus recruits John, the son of Zebedee, as one of his disciples: two major figures we have to keep track of and differentiate. Along with the Johns, we have several Marys and Simons all throughout the New Testament, and these are only the main characters in the story.
The same is true for the people named Ananias in the Bible. While the three men called “Ananias” in Acts aren’t necessarily major characters, they do play important roles. And each teaches us powerful lessons.
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
What Three People are Named Ananias in Acts?
The book of Acts records the growth of the early church after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. Luke had traveled and ministered with the apostle Paul, and he wrote both his Gospel and Acts to pass on important details to other disciples. Within Acts, three different men have the name Ananias. The name Ananias comes from the Greek form of the Old Testament Hebrew name “Hananiah,” which means “The Lord is gracious.”
Acts introduces the first Ananias in 5:1-11 alongside his wife, Sapphira. This couple sell a piece of property but lie about how much of the profit they gave to the church. After Peter confronts them with their sin, God strikes them dead, first Ananias and then Sapphira. This event happened early in the new church and sobered the Christian community.
The next Ananias appears in Acts 9:10-19. Here, Ananias follows Jesus and lives in Damascus. He’s known for his faith and obedience to God. After Saul (who becomes Paul) is blinded on the road, God sends Saul to Ananias, who miraculously restores his sight. Ananias becomes central to Saul’s conversion to Christ and later an incredibly influential leader of the church.
The final Ananias is a high priest mentioned in Acts 23:1-5 during Paul’s trial before the Jewish council. While there, Paul testifies he’s lived in obedience to God to spread the Gospel of Jesus, who the council had put to death not long before. Ananias the high priest orders someone to punch Paul, a testament to the ongoing conflict between the Jewish leaders and followers of Jesus.
Photo credit: ©Sparrowstock
Who Were Ananias and Sapphira?
The account of Ananias and Sapphira happens during a time of unity and amazing growth in the early church. Believers lived as a family of thousands, sharing their possessions, their resources, and giving to others so no one had any need. Many Jews had become disciples of Jesus while visiting Jerusalem at the Feast of Pentecost, and they remained in the city because of this phenomenal revival and community. So they would sell other houses or lands, giving to the apostles for those in need.
It became the cool thing to do, apparently, and Ananias and Sapphira wanted to participate in this generous act. The couple sold a piece of property to contribute. However, they didn’t give it all but said they did. Ananias presented the money to Peter as the full amount. Peter, through spiritual revelation, confronted the man about lying. But Ananias hadn’t simply lied to humans but to God (Acts 5:4). After Peter said this, Ananias fell dead.
About three hours later, Sapphira arrived, not knowing what had happened to her husband. When Peter questioned her, she voiced the same lie. Peter again repeated the same judgment, and the Spirit struck her dead, too. Both were buried that day.
As a result, the whole Christian community sobered to the reality of living by the Spirit. Ananias and Sapphira acted dishonestly for appearance’s sake, not out of love for the Christian community. Peter clearly addresses their freedom to do whatever they wanted with the money (Acts 5:4). They weren’t obligated to sell or give it all. It was their lying and seeking religious pride and reputation that became the sin.
It's also important to note that this was an isolated event. God didn’t continue striking down every person who lied to apostles or pastors. He acted singularly here to send an important message regarding honesty, freedom, and understanding the radical honor of living in a community ruled by the Spirit instead of the world.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/gabrielabertolini
Who Was Ananias of Damascus?
The next Ananias appears within the narrative of Saul’s conversion in becoming a disciple of Jesus. Saul was a young and zealous Pharisee. He became obsessed with stamping out this new Jesus cult, who the Jewish council and leaders considered dangerous heretics, and he imprisoned and killed Christians. On his way to Damascus to arrest believers, Christ knocked him off his horse and struck him blind. In a vision, Jesus personally corrected Saul and instructed him to continue to Damascus. Paul waited for three days, fasting and praying. Then God called Ananias to intervene.
Ananias was a disciple in Damascus, a man of great faith. God spoke to Ananias in a vision to visit Saul and heal his blindness. God also said Saul was chosen to declare the Gospel to the Gentiles, kings, and Israel (Acts 9:15).
As we can imagine, Ananias questioned this. Saul had a dangerous reputation. God reassured Ananias, and the man obeyed, showing his dedication to God. He went to the house where Saul stayed and greeted him as “Brother Saul,” an interesting way to address someone who had been violent to Christians. When Ananias laid hands on him, Saul could see after “something like scales” fell from his eyes. Ananias then baptized Saul.
Saul ends up going to Jerusalem, where the church in that city was naturally skeptical. An elder there, Barnabas, had mercy on Saul and brought him into the community. Throughout the story, we see how the Lord is gracious, delivering an enemy to become a child of God and to be instrumental in the salvation of many.
Photo Credit: Image created using DALL.E 2024 AI technology and subsequently edited and reviewed by our editorial team.
Who Was Ananias the High Priest?
The third Ananias mentioned in Acts is Ananias the high priest during Paul’s trial before the Sanhedrin in Acts 23:1-5.
During Paul’s visit to Jerusalem, he was arrested in the Temple on false accusations of bringing in Gentiles, which by their law had defiled the sacred ground (Acts 21:27-29). Paul faced hearings before the Jewish council to determine his guilt according to the charges. Ananias had been appointed by Roman authorities around AD 47 and had a reputation for greed and corruption.
When Paul addressed the Jewish council, he declared, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day” (Acts 23:1). Since Paul and Christians were viewed as heretics, High Priest Ananias became angry and ordered the men standing near Paul, other priests, to strike him on the mouth, which they did.
Paul reacted to the beating by saying, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!” Paul well knew the Jewish Law and his rights as a rare Jewish Roman citizen, and Ananias had violated Paul’s rights by punishing him without a proper verdict. The “whitewashed wall” comment reminds us of how Jesus dealt with Jewish leaders only a few years before calling them “whitewashed tombs” in Matthew 23:27-28. Perhaps some men remembered those days and Jesus’ words.
However, some informed Paul that Ananias was the high priest, so Paul apologized since the Law instructed honor for leaders (Acts 23:5, Exodus 22:28). Paul’s response demonstrates his respect for the law, however unjust the men had become. At the same time, he likely also wanted to make sure they had nothing evil to say about him other than his dedication to Jesus.
At this point, Paul does something clever. He recognized there are both Sadducees and Pharisees in the Sanhedrin, so he declared that he was being judged on the hope of the resurrection. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the bodily, future resurrection from the dead, and the Pharisees did. This resulted in a theological argument between these two factions, and it brought the Pharisees to his side, dividing the vote.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/gldburger
What Can We Learn from Each of These Men?
For Ananias and Sapphira, we learn the importance of truth and honesty. The New Testament equates lying with the old self, the old life, the opposite of the love we should have in the Christian community (Ephesians 4:5). We love people by telling the truth. In addition, 1 John 3:15 connects lying with spiritual death. Satan is a liar from the beginning, the father (or source) of all lies. He tempted Adam and Eve to disobey with a lie and continues to do the same today. We participate with the source of evil when we lie.
God is truth. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth (John 14:17). The Holy Spirit of God’s truth should rule and reign the family of God, born of the Spirit from the Father. Truth acts with love to bring people into peace and right living, honoring one another in fellowship (Colossians 3), which the first church in Acts enjoyed abundantly.
The event with Ananias and Sapphira mirrors the death of Aaron’s sons when they offered the wrong incense to God, and God struck them down. Again, God didn’t do this every time over the centuries, but upon establishing the new system of worship at the Tabernacle in the Israelite community, the Lord’s grace made the seriousness of relationship with God clear and sobering. In Acts, as God establishes the spiritual tabernacle of the Church, his grace again clearly communicated the New Covenant wasn’t a game or something to be taken lightly or for their own fame or reputation. It may seem harsh to strike people dead, but God’s grace also warns us.
With Ananias of Damascus, we see that God often asks us to do things that seem risky or dangerous. His commandments and leading challenges us. Ananias had every natural reason to fear meeting with a man who was actively looking for believers to imprison or kill them. How foolish did it seem to intentionally introduce himself to Saul? However, God assured this faithful disciple. Like anyone, Ananias in Damascus could have disobeyed God. Instead, he trusted the Spirit and approached Saul with confidence and love, even healing him. His obedience and love resulted in an apostle to the Gentiles, fulfilling Old Testament promises and bringing many to salvation.
God calls us outside our comfort zones to challenge our thinking and love others unreservedly. We may give up on people or be tempted to, but God can save anyone, as Ananias and Barnabas believed and acted upon. We should extend the Lord’s grace to all people, forgiving and reaching out to love individuals into the Kingdom of God. Little did Ananias of Damascus know that when he welcomed Paul into God's family, he was welcoming a powerhouse of an apostle who would write much of the New Testament and help bring salvation to many.
Ananias the high priest serves as another example for us, albeit a negative one. Despite sitting in Aaron’s seat, being a type of mediator between humanity and God, he didn’t act with grace or justice. The encounter between Paul and Ananias only highlights one event but reveals Ananias’ larger reputation. The high priest acted with arrogance and abused his power instead of showing grace.
While we can easily judge Ananias for his corruption, he had personal, religious, and political forces tempting him to be corrupt. We can fall to the same temptations, and we shouldn’t be prideful to think we are immune to such forces. Christian leaders and pastors can become religious hypocrites, corrupt, greedy, and abuse power today as well. Humility and truth should rule our lives, even when tradition or ruling powers try to make us puppets for their regime.
With humility, honesty, and obedience to God through the Spirit, we can become like Ananias of Damascus. Through showing “the Lord is gracious,” we will have impact today and for the future.
Peace.
Photo credit: ©Sparrowstock
Originally published Saturday, 21 December 2024.