I love my church family and am proud of what I have seen God do in us to bring together a diverse and committed group of people. The church we read about in today’s passage paints an even more beautiful picture of unity and togetherness: ‘of one heart and soul’ (v 32) is a remarkable description made possible only by Jesus. There was an evident generosity among the believers through the sharing of possessions (vs 34,35) so that people were cared for. The trust the people had in the apostles’ character and leadership is also remarkable (v 35) – no strings, caveats or conditions attached to the money they gave for distribution.

Finances and faith can sometimes be a touchy subject but there’s clearly no pressure or coercion in this fellowship. People willingly and gladly gave in response to what they had come to believe about the risen Jesus (v 33). It’s hard to claim that we know and trust in Jesus if our financial priorities don’t reflect this (1 John 3:16–18). Now that you’ve read this passage, might God be prompting you to give generously and to help someone you know who is in need? 

‘Thou and thou only, first in my heart, / High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.’¹

How much is Luke’s description of the church here an idealised picture? This question is often debated by scholars. Luke does seem to be making a theological point in his presentation of the church. As Tom Wright says, by describing them as having ‘no needy person among them’ (v 34), Luke wanted to demonstrate that these first believers were fulfilling Deuteronomy 15:4 in which God promised Israel that owing to his blessing ‘there need be no poor people among you’. By describing a community in which poverty had been eradicated, Luke was revealing the church to be the means through which God’s long-awaited promises to Israel were fulfilled.²

Wright also points out that even though these believers are described as selling land and houses this does not mean that they all sold their homes. Early Christians met in each other’s houses so they could not have got rid of all their property.³ However, even with these caveats and recognising that such sharing was not always perfectly practised (as tomorrow’s story of Ananias and Sapphira demonstrates), the radical nature of these Christians’ actions cannot be denied. Clearly the early church had not forgotten that Christ’s mission was ‘good news to the poor’.⁴

This first church must have been very different from the society of its day, in which poverty would have been common. The absence of hardship among believers and their practical care for each other would have been a powerful witness. Today poverty is on the increase and the gap between rich and poor has expanded hugely – a very relevant topic which raises many questions for the church today. It was clearly important to these first Christians to show that Jesus was good news to the poor. How can we present this message most effectively? 

Do we differ enough from those who are not Christians in our attitudes to money and possessions? Are we effective witnesses on this? Pray for God’s leading here.

¹ Eleanor Hull, ‘Be Thou my Vision’, 1912  ² Tom Wright, Acts for Everyone pt 1, SPCK, 2008, p75  ³ Wright, 2008, p76  ⁴ Luke 4:18