“Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.” Acts 8:13 NLT
Simon the Sorcerer. What a nickname, what a title to carry around. Luke admits that Simon was a big deal in Samaria. He had a big following of people that called him “The great one – the power of God.” Interesting right? Simon was earnestly flamboyant. Then SHOCKER, he becomes a believer and is baptized. He was a formerly a great magician, a crowd pleaser. Now he’s a Christian following Philip around, learning the ropes of this new religion along with signs and wonders. Curiosity must have got the best of him. Simon must have thought, hmmm, Philip was a believer and so was he. Then how or why could Philip perform these feats of great power with miracles. Could he do the same?
The answer would soon arrive with Peter and John’s arrival. When the apostles heard what had been happening in Samaria (of all places), they sent a couple of guys down to see what was happening. Doing a little follow up, they “they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.” I’ll let you sort out the truth of this moment. Luke says that the Holy Spirit had NOT YET come upon them even though the belief in Jesus and Baptism meant the Holy Spirit would take up residence in them just as Jesus had promised. What? How is that possible? Yeah, there’s a second and critical “in filling, outpouring” of the supernatural work of the Spirit. Peter and John were just following the instructions that God had given them.
What were the results for the Samaritan believers being filled? Luke doesn’t say, but clearly Old Simon the Sorcerer saw something! He saw something they had that he did not have. Was it speaking in other tongues? Probably. Was it prophesying, boldly proclaiming the works of God? Sure. It was clearly something Simon had not received. And, he wanted it desperately! But, not for the right reason.
He tells Peter and John, “Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!” Wow! He wanted more “power” than his former theatrical performances could possibly possess. That’s just what the show needed, a new trick to bring in more people, possibly more money! Simon tries to cut a deal with the two apostles and Peter quickly rebuked him, immediately revealing Simon’s motives, “But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought!” Whew. I never thought about people trying to buy the power of God. I’ve heard of people trying to buy salvation. Well there have been long dark seasons in history where the “church” was selling salvation as well!
Peter, who is full of the Holy Spirit and has the gift of discernment because of this, tells Simon far more about himself that we would have ever known, “for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.” Whoa. Wasn’t Simon just some street performer trying to make a little more money? Where did Peter get all that from? From the same Spirit that Simon was trying to bribe! Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, wanted to lovingly and quickly judge this new believer’s heart and motives by exposing his sin and giving him opportunity to repent of his wickedness, this controlling sin of bitter jealousy. The light of Jesus Christ shines in darkness exposing sin to make us or allow us to get rid of it. We don’t know what happened to Simon or his sideshow after that. But all his new friends, who were believers, all knew what Simon was really struggling with.
Prayer
Dad,
As powerful as this scene is, it’s also a little creepy and convicting. Creepy because it is so mystical and outside of our understanding of how Christianity or certainly religion is supposed to work. Convicting, because it really hits home with my own sin and your desire for me to be completely free of things that I hold onto. Thankfully it’s not bitter jealousy or obsession with money, but I’ve got other problems to deal with. I am thankful that when I confess and turn away from my sin that you forgive and clean me up.