John Calvin Commentary Acts 5:8

"And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much. And she said, Yea, for so much." — Acts 5:8 (ASV)

Tell me. We see that God does not immediately punish her, but first He examines the matter thoroughly, lest He should send vengeance upon any except the obstinate and those who will not be pardoned. For although Sapphira knew that the matter was hidden, she ought to have been struck by this question of Peter, just as if she had been summoned to appear before the judgment seat of God. She is granted time to repent; indeed, this is, as it were, a pleasant invitation to repentance. But she, in persisting so carelessly, declares that she was incurable, because she is touched by no fear of God.

And by this we are taught to labor diligently to bring sinners into the way. For the Spirit of God maintains this moderation; but when stubbornness and the stubborn contempt of God are added to the offense, it is then high time to punish. Therefore, those who are displeased with the immoderate severity of God are too arrogant.

It is rather our duty to consider how we will in time to come stand before the judgment seat of God; though it is an extreme contempt for His holy power and majesty if we expect Him to be mocked freely without any punishment. Moreover, the many circumstances I have previously gathered sufficiently prove that Ananias and Sapphira were not worthy of only a single death.

1. For, first of all, hypocrisy is in itself very abominable to God.
2. Secondly, their determination to lie to God arises from great contempt, in that they do not reverence and fear Christ, who is the Chief Governor of those among whom they were. This is ungodliness joined with shamelessness because, so that they can escape shame and reproach among people before whom they were determined to boast and brag, they do not hesitate to deny their manifest wickedness to God.

Their stubborn denial of their offense, as it were, completes the heap and measure. And while innumerable hypocrites no less mock God and the Church daily, who, nevertheless, are not punished with death, I have already shown why this ought not to seem an unfitting thing.

Since God is the only Judge of the world, it belongs to Him to punish every person at His pleasure, when and how it seems good to Him. Therefore, we must not prescribe to Him a certain means and manner of punishment.

But the greatness of the spiritual judgment, which is as yet hidden, has been set before us in the bodily punishment of these two, as in a mirror. For if we consider what it is to be cast into eternal fire, we will not judge that falling down dead before people is the greatest evil and punishment of all. See 1 Corinthians 10:5.