<p>5:13 <i>None of the rest dared join them, although the people held them in high esteem</i>- Who is this group of people? They are put in contrast with &quot;the people&quot;, who respected the apostles and many of whom now believed (:14). Luke has spoken of such a group in describing how the women told the news of the Lord's resurrection &quot;to the eleven and to all the rest&quot; (Lk. 24:9 s.w.; also in Mk. 16:13 &quot;They went and told it unto the rest, neither did they believe it&quot;). Just recently in Acts, Luke has spoken of &quot;the rest of the apostles&quot; (Acts 2:37). I suggest this may be a technical term for the inner circle of believers who had followed the Lord before His death. Paul speaks of &quot;the rest&quot; as if they were a group which did not include Peter: &quot;The rest of the apostles, the brethren of the Lord and Cephas&quot; (1 Cor. 9:5). It could be that this group were scared by what had happened because they realized that they too had in some senses not been totally honest before the Spirit of God in whatever way; just as any sincere believer will read the account of Ananias and Sapphira and likewise have a sense of fear. This group are painted in distinction from the crowds generally, who respected Peter even more and increasingly believed, as we read in the next verse. This is an essay in the humanity and weakness of the Lord's followers at the time.</p><p>Another possibility is raised by considering the meaning of 'join them'. The implication could be that Ananias and Sapphira were part of a group who wished to attain to the inner circle of leading apostles. But with their death, the rest of those like Ananias and Sapphira no longer pretended to joining with the leading apostles.</p>