Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 4:34

"For neither was there among them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold," — Acts 4:34 (ASV)

The acts Luke alludes to here were extraordinary and voluntary acts of Christian concern that were done “from time to time” in response to special needs among the believers, and they involved both sharing possessions and selling real estate. By separating these actions from those described in v.32, Luke suggests that they were exceptional and were not meant to be normative for the church. The church at Jerusalem—even in its earliest days—was neither a monastic nor semimonastic community. Nevertheless, such acts were highly regarded as expressions of a common social concern, though as with any noble deed they could be done either sincerely or hypocritically.