what’s money got to do with it? - Luke has a core conviction that stands at the center of his writings-Easter-and that single event impacts everything and everyday life for the earliest Christians. Here, we suddenly go from proclamations about the death and resurrection of Jesus (which results in 5,000 new converts) to a bold defense of the gospel to real estate and money. All of this is integrally connected to "their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus" (4:33).

early interpreters - "We who once coveted most greedily the wealth and fortune of others, now place in common the goods we possess, dividing them with all the needy." [1] The power which broke the bonds of death on Easter, shattered the divisions of speech at Pentecost, and empowered one who was lame now releases the tight grip of private property. [2]

not a needy one among them - There was not a needy person among them (4:34). Possessions are an important symbol of power. How possessions are used provide important social markers about the nature of human relations within particular groups, whether families or churches . . . The importance of this passage and others like it in Acts is to provide its readers with principles and illustrations that encourage the formation of a community of goods that exemplifies friendship and spiritual maturity by the manner it handles its wealth. [3]

Name a time when you truly gave up something or gave something away in an effort to benefit the group. (Offered not to sing your favorite Karaoke song? donated hard-earned money so a kid could go to camp?)

What would you say in defense to the criticism that the church should talk about spirituality and growth instead of finances and money?

What’s the closest you have come to experiencing the level of Christian fellowship that we read about in our lesson?

A homily on this passage (in conversation with 1st John) appears on DPS for this week.

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[1] Justin the Martyr in 1 Apology 14:2-3.
[2] Interpretation Series: Acts (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988), page 53.
[3] The New Interpreter’s Bible X (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002), page 100.