Acts 8:14–25
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for He had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the Gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” so what then, are we to learn from the story of Simon the Sorcerer?
Firstly, if you’re thinking about trying to buy the power to dispense the Holy Spirit as you wish, then don’t.
Simon liked being the centre of attention. As a sorcerer, people oohed and aahed at his magic. We can be sure that whatever power he had, it did not come from God, but it was impressive nonetheless. Simon had the reputation for having a direct link to some sort of supernatural power, but the Bible is not neutral about sorcery. It is not of God. When Moses was giving the Israelites instructions before they entered the Promised Land, he taught them to stay away from sorcery, child sacrifice and other activities involving manipulation of supernatural forces. He wrote in Deuteronomy 18:9-12, “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.”
But being a man who had access to this kind of thing, Simon was attracted to any power he could wield through sorcery. He liked being able to draw a crowd of appreciative onlookers who hung on his every move.
When Philip came to Samaria, he too demonstrated power. Philip wasn’t doing magic tricks, though. The Holy Spirit was with him. As he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, as he cast out demons and healed the sick, the powerful love of God was made real to the people. Philip drew even more attention from the crowds than Simon did. Many believed, both men and women, and were baptised.
Verse 13 even tells us that Simon himself believed and was baptised.
Then he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
There are two interesting points here:
First, the fact that Simon was a sorcerer did not exclude him from faith. Jesus came, after all, to save sinners. Nobody is beyond the grace of God. Simon, like everyone else who heard Philip’s message, was invited to turn away from his old ways and turn to Jesus. When he professed faith in Jesus, Simon was welcomed. He was baptised with all the other sinners who turned to Jesus.
Second, already there is a hint that Simon turned to Jesus for the very same reason he had turned to sorcery earlier. Simon was attracted to the power that he saw manifested in Philip’s ministry. He was fascinated by the signs and miracles. No doubt he was also quite aware of the attention that came Philip’s way.
The mistake Simon made was when he turned to Jesus, he did not reject the power he had from his past. He merely wanted to add to it. He wanted from Jesus the same thing he wanted from sorcery - the power to amaze and manipulate the crowds.
Hearing about Philip’s evangelistic ministry in Samaria, Peter and John travelled up from Jerusalem. They came to see for themselves how even Samaritans were flocking to Jesus. They came to inspect Philip’s missionary endeavour and to help. They came to encourage and teach the new believers.
When they arrived in Samaria, Peter and John prayed for the new believers, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon them.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Simon was accustomed to a world where he could get anything he wanted if he just had enough money.
Peter did not hesitate. Immediately he rebuked Simon. “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!”
Simon thought wrong.
Firstly, Simon had a wrong understanding of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not a force, like electricity, that can be conducted from one body to another through the laying on of hands. Nor is the Holy Spirit a commodity to be purchased or acquired in trade.
The Holy Spirit is a person. Those who are in Christ are, by the grace of God, gifted with an intimate relationship with this person of the Trinity. As the Spirit chooses, the laying on of hands by those in spiritual authority may be a visible sign of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The laying on of hands is not a mechanical or magical manipulation of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit blows where He will. When He dwells in a believer’s heart, He dwells there as a friend, teacher, and master, not as a slave or a tool to be used. The health and wealth prosperity false teachers who are infiltrating churches all over the world should read Acts chapter 8. They might learn something. They teach that it is God’s will that we should all be healthy and wealthy, and that by speaking words of faith we are invoking the power of the Spirit, and we leave God no choice but to heal. These people are charlatans and they are leading many people astray with their false doctrines.
Secondly, Simon also had a wrong understanding of money. In the world, money is good to those who have it and bad for those who don’t. In the world, money buys power - power to buy what you want, power to direct other people, power to advance one’s own agenda. In the world, those who have more money are in a position to look down on those who have less.
In the church, money has a whole different purpose. In the church, money is not to be used to further our own position. In the church, money is to be used to meet needs - everybody’s needs. In the church, those who have money are privileged to use it to lift up those who do not, so that all would have enough.
Simon thought wrong, but that was not the only problem. In fact, from Peter’s response to Simon it is clear that this was not even the most important problem. Simon’s ignorance could be remedied quickly enough by some good teaching by a Christian more mature than he was.
The deeper problem was that Simon had a problem of the heart. Simon was full of bitterness and captive to sin. His heart was not right before God. He had a corrupt attitude.
Simon used to amaze the crowds with his magic. Now he wanted to amaze them with his command of the Holy Spirit. He wanted what he saw as the power that comes with faith. He was not pursuing the relationship that is the heart of faith. He was motivated by self-interest, not by love. He was seeking to display the evidence of the Spirit, without being obedient to the Spirit.
In short, Simon’s heart was still oriented towards sin. Simon was seeking power over others, not transformation of his own heart. To use Paul’s words, Simon was still offering himself “in slavery to impurity and ever-increasing wickedness.”
Peter discerned the underlying problem right away. “Your heart is not right before God, and I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Simon wanted to incorporate Jesus into his old way of being and thinking. But it doesn’t work that way, ever. Turning to Jesus means turning away from our old, corrupt ways. Our birthright in this fallen world is slavery to sin. Through Jesus Christ we are set free so that we might be slaves to righteousness.
“Simon, repent and pray for forgiveness.”
Repent. Change your mind. Turn.
Turn from slavery to sin to slavery to righteousness. Turn from corrupt, self-centred ways to the way of grace and love. Turn from the desire to be the centre of attention to the desire to see other people as better than ourselves. Turn from the habit of using money to advance our own position to the stewardship of using money to provide for those in need. Turn from a focus on power to a focus on relationship.
Peter told Simon something else too: “ You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.”
We will never be effective witnesses for God and workers in the Kingdom unless we humble ourselves before God and each other. In the world it’s dog eat dog and every man for himself. There needs to be a complete change of heart and attitude as we obey God, but by His grace all of this is possible. Serving others does not come naturally to sinners, but just look at the history of the church and at the church today – by His grace and to His glory there are servants in the church. We need to decide if we will be one of them.
14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for He had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”
25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the Gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” so what then, are we to learn from the story of Simon the Sorcerer?
Firstly, if you’re thinking about trying to buy the power to dispense the Holy Spirit as you wish, then don’t.
Simon liked being the centre of attention. As a sorcerer, people oohed and aahed at his magic. We can be sure that whatever power he had, it did not come from God, but it was impressive nonetheless. Simon had the reputation for having a direct link to some sort of supernatural power, but the Bible is not neutral about sorcery. It is not of God. When Moses was giving the Israelites instructions before they entered the Promised Land, he taught them to stay away from sorcery, child sacrifice and other activities involving manipulation of supernatural forces. He wrote in Deuteronomy 18:9-12, “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.”
But being a man who had access to this kind of thing, Simon was attracted to any power he could wield through sorcery. He liked being able to draw a crowd of appreciative onlookers who hung on his every move.
When Philip came to Samaria, he too demonstrated power. Philip wasn’t doing magic tricks, though. The Holy Spirit was with him. As he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, as he cast out demons and healed the sick, the powerful love of God was made real to the people. Philip drew even more attention from the crowds than Simon did. Many believed, both men and women, and were baptised.
Verse 13 even tells us that Simon himself believed and was baptised.
Then he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
There are two interesting points here:
First, the fact that Simon was a sorcerer did not exclude him from faith. Jesus came, after all, to save sinners. Nobody is beyond the grace of God. Simon, like everyone else who heard Philip’s message, was invited to turn away from his old ways and turn to Jesus. When he professed faith in Jesus, Simon was welcomed. He was baptised with all the other sinners who turned to Jesus.
Second, already there is a hint that Simon turned to Jesus for the very same reason he had turned to sorcery earlier. Simon was attracted to the power that he saw manifested in Philip’s ministry. He was fascinated by the signs and miracles. No doubt he was also quite aware of the attention that came Philip’s way.
The mistake Simon made was when he turned to Jesus, he did not reject the power he had from his past. He merely wanted to add to it. He wanted from Jesus the same thing he wanted from sorcery - the power to amaze and manipulate the crowds.
Hearing about Philip’s evangelistic ministry in Samaria, Peter and John travelled up from Jerusalem. They came to see for themselves how even Samaritans were flocking to Jesus. They came to inspect Philip’s missionary endeavour and to help. They came to encourage and teach the new believers.
When they arrived in Samaria, Peter and John prayed for the new believers, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon them.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Simon was accustomed to a world where he could get anything he wanted if he just had enough money.
Peter did not hesitate. Immediately he rebuked Simon. “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!”
Simon thought wrong.
Firstly, Simon had a wrong understanding of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not a force, like electricity, that can be conducted from one body to another through the laying on of hands. Nor is the Holy Spirit a commodity to be purchased or acquired in trade.
The Holy Spirit is a person. Those who are in Christ are, by the grace of God, gifted with an intimate relationship with this person of the Trinity. As the Spirit chooses, the laying on of hands by those in spiritual authority may be a visible sign of the gift of the Holy Spirit. The laying on of hands is not a mechanical or magical manipulation of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit blows where He will. When He dwells in a believer’s heart, He dwells there as a friend, teacher, and master, not as a slave or a tool to be used. The health and wealth prosperity false teachers who are infiltrating churches all over the world should read Acts chapter 8. They might learn something. They teach that it is God’s will that we should all be healthy and wealthy, and that by speaking words of faith we are invoking the power of the Spirit, and we leave God no choice but to heal. These people are charlatans and they are leading many people astray with their false doctrines.
Secondly, Simon also had a wrong understanding of money. In the world, money is good to those who have it and bad for those who don’t. In the world, money buys power - power to buy what you want, power to direct other people, power to advance one’s own agenda. In the world, those who have more money are in a position to look down on those who have less.
In the church, money has a whole different purpose. In the church, money is not to be used to further our own position. In the church, money is to be used to meet needs - everybody’s needs. In the church, those who have money are privileged to use it to lift up those who do not, so that all would have enough.
Simon thought wrong, but that was not the only problem. In fact, from Peter’s response to Simon it is clear that this was not even the most important problem. Simon’s ignorance could be remedied quickly enough by some good teaching by a Christian more mature than he was.
The deeper problem was that Simon had a problem of the heart. Simon was full of bitterness and captive to sin. His heart was not right before God. He had a corrupt attitude.
Simon used to amaze the crowds with his magic. Now he wanted to amaze them with his command of the Holy Spirit. He wanted what he saw as the power that comes with faith. He was not pursuing the relationship that is the heart of faith. He was motivated by self-interest, not by love. He was seeking to display the evidence of the Spirit, without being obedient to the Spirit.
In short, Simon’s heart was still oriented towards sin. Simon was seeking power over others, not transformation of his own heart. To use Paul’s words, Simon was still offering himself “in slavery to impurity and ever-increasing wickedness.”
Peter discerned the underlying problem right away. “Your heart is not right before God, and I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Simon wanted to incorporate Jesus into his old way of being and thinking. But it doesn’t work that way, ever. Turning to Jesus means turning away from our old, corrupt ways. Our birthright in this fallen world is slavery to sin. Through Jesus Christ we are set free so that we might be slaves to righteousness.
“Simon, repent and pray for forgiveness.”
Repent. Change your mind. Turn.
Turn from slavery to sin to slavery to righteousness. Turn from corrupt, self-centred ways to the way of grace and love. Turn from the desire to be the centre of attention to the desire to see other people as better than ourselves. Turn from the habit of using money to advance our own position to the stewardship of using money to provide for those in need. Turn from a focus on power to a focus on relationship.
Peter told Simon something else too: “ You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God.”
We will never be effective witnesses for God and workers in the Kingdom unless we humble ourselves before God and each other. In the world it’s dog eat dog and every man for himself. There needs to be a complete change of heart and attitude as we obey God, but by His grace all of this is possible. Serving others does not come naturally to sinners, but just look at the history of the church and at the church today – by His grace and to His glory there are servants in the church. We need to decide if we will be one of them.