This work examines the dynamics of the Ananias and Sapphira episode in Acts and its role in the narrative of Luke-Acts. McCabe locates the passage within its literary context, and emphasizes the manner in which it is embedded in a discourse on the life of the Christian community expressed through shared goods. Utilizing Speech-Act Theory, McCabe argues that Peter's words, divinely sanctioned, directly execute the divine judgment upon the couple. This is argued by appealing to the social processes and conventions of language-use within the context of a 'community-of-goods' discourse aspresent...