Acts 4:36-37 states, “And Joses,…a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”
The Island of Cyprus, where Joses was from, was a rich country, especially in copper mining. The island was fought over by ruling countries for its wealth. The land on Cyprus was of great value.
The way our text places “Cyprus” and “having land” next to each other, causes me to believe that the land Joses sold was on the Island of Cyprus. What would cause a man to sell prime real estate and then give the money away?
Let us look for a moment at Acts 4:31-5:11. We see the early church experiencing a repeat of Pentecost. First, they are assembled together praying until the place where they are is shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost. They speak not in tongues, but speak the word of God with boldness. They are of one heart and soul. They share with each other. People are selling houses and lands, giving the money to the apostles to distribute to those who have need. This extreme liberality is summed up in Acts 4:34, “…and great grace was upon them all.” In other words, they all had a spirit of grace for each other. Often we think of grace as something God gives us, maybe because we have sinned and then are forgiven. I need to ask, and so do you, do I have a spirit of grace in forgiving others? Many that have needs could get to work and take care of it themselves. Doesn’t the Bible say that a man who doesn’t take care of his family is worse than an infidel (1 Timothy 5:8)? Yes, but the spirit of grace forgives and wants to share, not able to bear the sight of the needy.
We see in the year of Jubilee all the land going back to its original owner. Joses, along with the others, had this great grace. Perhaps his land was of the greatest value. His name and his land are recorded. It brought attention to the crowd. We see Ananias and Sapphira getting into the action. They sold land also. They gave part of the money to the apostles pretending it was all. Their spirit of great grace fell short. Outwardly they were givers, inwardly keepers. As a church treasurer, I was amused by one man that had much control in the church and yet gave nothing. We can selfishly not give offerings. The tithe is God’s. Holding it back is robbing God (Malachi 3:8).
To give, or not to give, that is the question. A bigger question is to give or not to give everything. How did selfishness change the lives of Ananias and Sapphira? To put it bluntly, they fell dead. They did have a ministry, so to speak. Their deaths caused great fear to fall on all the church. Many people are selfish and don’t drop dead. They were with the spirit-filled crowd. Peter called them down for tempting the Spirit of the Lord.
Now, for the greatest question: How did the spirit of great grace change the life of Joses? We see that the apostles brought him into their circle. He was highly respected, being used of God to bring the feared Saul into the family of believers. He then was sent by the Holy Spirit, along with Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, to go on a missionary journey. Their first mission field was on the Island of Cyprus. I wonder if Joses saw the land he had sold. Maybe someone even got saved on that land. He had made the right choice in giving all. The apostles named him Barnabas, THIS MAN CALLED JOSES!
