“Fan or Follower” – Acts 8:9-25

September 12, 2021
Acts 8:9-25
“Fan or Follower”

Service Overview: Believe it or not, but people exist who show interest in Jesus, not because they think they need to be saved, but because of what they believe Jesus has to offer them in giving them a better life. Simon was such a person. He was far more interested in the power of Jesus than the person of Jesus. He was a fan of Jesus, but only so far as he thought he might glean power from him.

Memory Verse for the Week: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (NIV)

Background Information:

• The news that Samaria had “accepted [welcomed and was continuing to welcome] the word of God [the gospel]” soon reached the apostles in Jerusalem. The gospel had gotten beyond its first ethnic and geographic hurdle. So the apostles sent Peter and John to Samaria (with a message and a purpose) to find out the facts and encourage the new believers. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 3750-3753)
• In those days, the Jews and Samaritans had no dealings with each Other. The Holy Spirit came to break down that partition and form a single, unified body of believers. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 115)
• Simon’s magic was not for entertainment or to trick people. He was a charlatan whose goal was to get money. Later, there was a legendary figure called Simon Magus who may have been this Simon. Justin Martyr, who was a Samaritan Christian, said Simon lived in Samaria and later moved to Rome. In Samaria, Antiochus Epiphanes built a temple to Zeus on Mount Gerazim, so there was pagan worship in Samaria. Later a sect of Gnostic Christians claimed Simon as a founder. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 137)
• The laying on of the hands of the apostles was not a mystical rite through which the Holy Spirit must be given, although this has been taught by a part of Christendom. The hands would be laid on a few to symbolize the whole. It was rather the sign of fellowship, of acceptance, of solidarity between the leaders of the Church who represented Jerusalem and the new Samaritan believers. It was the sign that the Church is one in Christ and in the Spirit. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 95)
• It is important to note that the Samaritans did not receive the gift of the Holy Spirit when they believed. It was necessary for two of the apostles, Peter and John, to come from Jerusalem, put their hands on the converts, and impart to them the gift of the Spirit. Why? Because God wanted to unite the Samaritan believers with the original Jewish church in Jerusalem. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 348)
• Because of the natural propensity of division between Jews and Samaritans it was essential for Peter and John to welcome the Samaritan believers officially into the church. (Walvoord, New Testament, 373)
• The term simony, which is the buying or selling of things considered religious or sacred such as an ecclesiastical office, comes from Simon’s desire to purchase the ability to impart the Holy Spirit to others. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 373)

The question to be answered is…
How is it Simon could go through the “motions” of belief and baptism and still be so far from the kingdom?

Answer…
Simon’s faith was conditional, and conditional faith often erodes when the expectations imposed on it aren’t met, or the false assumptions it’s founded upon are directly challenged.

The word of the day is… Faith

What facets of Simon’s character and “faith” should serve to warn us?

1. His pride-fueled desire for power over piety.
   (vv. 9-10 | Pro. 11:2; 16:5; 29:23; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; Galatians 6:8; James 4:6; 2 Peter 2:19)

Simon’s intentions were to use spiritual privileges, indeed, to use the Spirit himself, for his own self-seeking, materialistic ends. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 97)

2. His drift as the limelight shifts.
   (vv. 12-13 | Prov. 13:20; 29:25; Mat. 12:13; Luke 6:26; 9:25; Galatians 1:10; 1 John 2:16)

Simon may have found it easy to believe when it was exciting and everyone else was caught up in the excitement. There is some question, however, about the sincerity of his profession of faith and the genuineness of his conversion. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 138)

3. His sketchy bid to buy his way in.
   (vv. 18-19 | Exodus 23:8; Deuteronomy 16:19 ; 2 Chronicles 19:7; Revelation 22:15)

Simon’s idea that God’s free gift could be bought and sold showed that he had no appreciation at all of the inward character of the gospel or the operation of the Spirit. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 194)

Just as it is possible to have belief in Christ as Lord and Savior and not be filled with His Spirit, it is also possible to want His Spirit’s power for our own self-controlled lives without repentance and total commitment to the Lord. Neither works. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 158)

4. His lack of genuine repentance.
   (vv. 22-24 | Prov. 28:13; Mat. 3:8; Acts 17:30; Rom. 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 1:9)

The historic problem of communicating the Gospel is that people have a capacity to let down the moat bridge of their carefully castled minds and hearts and want to take Christ into their lives as one more trophy, but not as the Lord of the castle. He is given a side room as an honored guest, but they are still running the castle! (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 156)

 

 

Conclusion… How does this account serve to impact and challenge our faith? 

A. As it calls us to examine our own motives.
(1 Sam. 16:7; Prov. 16:2; 21:2; Matt. 6:1-18; Gal. 1:10; Col. 3:23; 1 Thes. 2:4)

In our impatient culture, we want to experience biblical awe without biblical devotion. (Francis Chan, Letters to the Church, 56)

I can’t love God just for the experience of worship any more than I would want my husband to love me just for the feelings he got when we made love. (Lacy Sturm, The Reason: How I Discovered a Life Worth Living, 134)

I cannot, by direct moral effort, give myself new motives. After the first few steps in the Christian life, we realize that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God. (C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 193)

 

B. As it calls us to examine who or what controls our lives.
(Mark 8:34; Luke 22:42; Acts 5:29; Rom. 7:4; 8:7; Gal. 5:16-17; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:6)

In every Christian’s heart there is a cross and a throne, and the Christian is on the throne till he puts himself on the cross; if he refuses the cross he remains on the throne. (A. W. Tozer, The Radical Cross, 100)

If you worship a little god of your own creation or a god who always says yes to your prayers, always blesses your agenda, and always makes you healthy, wealthy, and wise, then you have a serious problem. Throngs of Christians live with discouragement, bitterness, and anger simply because they worship a God who never existed. (Steve Brown, A Scandalous Freedom, 30-31)

If you seek to control God through your obedience, then all your morality is just a way to use God to make him give you the things in life you really want. (Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God, 45)

 

C. As it calls us to examine the substance of our faith and the nature of our repentance.
(Matthew 3:8; 4:17; Acts 3:19; Romans 2:4; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 11:6; 2 Peter 3:9)

Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship, and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship, 59)

There is a distinction in repentance between contrition and attrition. Contrition is true repentance that comes from a heart broken for having offended God. Attrition occurs when one repents only because there is a sword at one’s neck, which is the kind of repentance we find in the Old Testament with Esau. He went with tears, but it was of no avail. No one can repent just to get a ticket out of hell. A true act of contrition, true repentance, does give you a ticket out of hell, but if what motivates you is simply the escape of punishment, that is not saving faith. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 116)

 

 

Gospel Application…
Jesus came to save sinners and call people into a life of following him. So are you a follower of Jesus, or merely a fan? What motivates your faith? Jesus or something else?
(Matthew 7:21; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5)

The reason Jesus is so adamant about followers surrendering everything is because the reality is this: the one thing we are most reluctant to give up is the one thing that has the most potential to become a substitute for him. (Kyle Idleman, Not A Fan, 205)

Those who believe the gospel the deepest are most acutely aware of their own sin and increasingly gracious toward others when they sin. They act on their belief. (Noel Jesse Heikkinen, Wretched Saints, 68)

Spiritual Challenge Questions…

Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.

• How was Simon the Sorcerer’s life affected by the gospel (vv. 9-13)?
• How might this have impacted his decision-making?
• Have you ever known someone to have walked away from the faith because of false assumptions and/or expectations they had?
• What did Peter teach Simon about following Jesus (vv. 18-24)?
• How was it Simon was able to “believe and be baptized” and yet miss the kingdom entirely?

 

Quotes to note…

Was Simon saved? Luke did not specify this clearly, so it is difficult to be dogmatic. But seven facts suggest that Simon probably was not born again: (1) The verb “believe” (pisteuo) does not always refer to saving faith. Simon’s faith could have been like that of the demons in James 2:19, merely intellectual assent. (2) Furthermore, faith based on signs is not a trustworthy faith (cf. John 2:23-25; 4:48). (3) In addition, Luke never stated that Simon received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17-18). (4) Simon continued to have a self-centered interest in the display of miraculous power (vv. 18-19). (5) The verb “repent” (metanoeo) used in verse 22 is normally addressed to lost people. (6) The word “perish” (eis apoleian) employed in verse 20 is strong. It is related to the word “perish” in John 3:16. (7) The description of Simon in Acts 8:23 is a better description of a lost man than of one who is saved (cf. Deut. 29:18). Still one cannot be dogmatic on this point. The Lord knows those who are His (2 Tim. 2:19). (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 373)

What does it mean that “Simon himself believed” (Acts 8:13)? We can answer that question best by asking another one: What was the basis of his “faith”? His faith was not in the Word of God, but in the miracles he saw Philip perform, and there is no indication that Simon repented of his sins. He certainly did not believe with all his heart (Acts 8:37). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 348)

Just as it is possible to have belief in Christ as Lord and Savior and not be filled with His Spirit, it is also possible to want His Spirit’s power for our own self-controlled lives without repentance and total commitment to the Lord. Neither works. Peter used a very potent word in confronting Simon with his spiritual imperiousness and desire to get and control the Spirit—”wickedness,” poneria in Greek, meaning compulsive determination to continue in a direction we know is wrong. It is sin which becomes so much the focus of the will that we no longer desire to change it and want God to approve it and bless us anyway. Another way of saying that is: we want the Lord on our own terms without surrender of our volitional determination to run our own lives. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 158)

Counterfeit faith exalts personalities and inflates egos. Counterfeit believers may use religious jargon and feign humility, but by their clever words and staged actions, they always draw attention to themselves. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 112)

God doesn’t give us abilities to enhance our own lives. He grants us gifts so that we may bring him glory by building up others. When you find yourself wishing for an ability that would put you into the limelight or somehow enrich you personally, check your motives. And instead of sitting around wishing for talents you don’t have, spend your time serving God and others with the gifts you do possess. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 142)

Only those who seek after God for His own sake with humble reverence and truthfulness have any part or lot in spiritual things. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 97)

Here we see a contrast between authentic Christianity and Counterfeit Christianity. At first glance, it seems that Simon Magus (Simon the Magician) has sincerely converted to faith in Christ, for Luke writes, “Simon himself believed and was baptized.” In reality, however, Simon is another satanic attempt to attack the church from within. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 112)

 

We read of the magi from antiquity, those we call “wise men,” who came to adore the Christ child. We do not know whether they were astronomers or astrologers, but we do know that in the ancient world, science and magic were often put together and confused. Those who were involved in the occult and in the trickery of magic often used some of their esoteric knowledge of science in tandem with their tricks to make it seem like they had real power. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 115)

 

We find here a biblical euphemism. What Peter said was this: “You and your money go to hell.” (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 115)

 

When we give, we are to give generously from our hearts, not because we expect some kind of power or salvation in return. The grace of God cannot be earned or merited or begged or borrowed or stolen. It certainly cannot be bought. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 116)

 

There is a kind of faith that is merely cognitive, which is likely what happened to Simon. Simon could not deny the reality of what he had seen with his own eyes, but he did not have saving faith. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 116)

 

(v. 24). Notice that he does not say, “Pray to the Lord for me, that I may be converted and have true faith and be redeemed.” Simon was concerned with escaping punishment, which is also not saving faith. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 116)

 

Simon may have gone home to study his manuals. How could he keep up with this new competition? When Simon the magician saw Peter and John giving the Holy Spirit through the laying on of their hands, manifesting a power that healed people’s bodies and their inner selves, Simon knew he had met his match. “I can’t beat them; I will join them” (see 8:13). (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition)

 

Once a person has come to faith, he needs to remember that wealth offers no aid to spiritual power. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition)

 

Disputes between Jews and Samaritans went back as far as Nehemiah’s time. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition)

 

The gap between Jews and Samaritans widened during the intertestamental period. During that time, the Samaritans had built their own temple. They had also been more open to the process of Hellenization (see commentary on Acts 6:1-7). Thus, by the time of Jesus, common thought said, “Jews do not associate with Samaritans” (John 4:9c). (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition)

 

Who were the Samaritans? They were a people of mixed blood, descendants of Jews (those who had lived there since the days of Joshua) and people of other nationalities. When the Assyrians had ruled the region, they had purposely moved groups of people far from their homes in an attempt to break down ethnic loyalties. Groups which the Assyrians moved into Samaria intermarried with Jews from the area. The Samaritans were the result. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition)

 

Simon’s “magic” was the practice of his sorcery. In the days of the early church, sorcerers and magicians were numerous and influential. They worked wonders, performed healings and exorcisms, and practiced astrology. The “wonders” included magic tricks, but the sorcerers utilized the power of Satan or other evil spirits (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9). (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 137)

 

The wording of these verses makes it sound as though Simon’s belief focused on the miraculous power (which he desired) more than on Christ. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 138)

 

The Jews looked down on the Samaritans for not being pure Jews; the Samaritans resented the Jews for their arrogance. However, Samaritans were coming to faith in Christ through Philip’s preaching, and there could be no denying that they should be included among the believers. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 139)

 

Never let us think evil of men who do not see as we do. From the bottom of our hearts let us pity them, and let us take them by the hand and spend time and thought over them, and try to lead them to the true light. Henry Drummond (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 139)

 

Normally, the Holy Spirit enters a person’s life at conversion; it is then that the Spirit baptizes, seals, and indwells that person. But this was a special event. The pouring out of the Spirit would happen again with Cornelius and his family (10:44-47), a sign that the uncircumcised Gentiles could receive the gospel. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 139-140)

 

Don’t discount how Christ can change your attitudes about people. Let his love transform your mind. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 140)

 

One of the most significant changes in God’s relationship to people was the nature of the Spirit’s work in the life of a person of faith. Rather than a temporary visitor to individuals, the Spirit became a permanent resident of the community of believers (see the comments in 2:4-10). (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 141)

 

Money is an instrument that can buy you everything but happiness and can pay your fare to every place but heaven. Unknown (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 141)

 

Simon was used to deceiving people by his magic arts; he also knew astonishing things could be done by trickery. He had watched Philip with the professional eye of a magician and had concluded that these miracles were real. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 3737-3739)

 

The two latter expressions indicate an exposition of the rule of God in the hearts of men and the way to realize it, as well as the final revelation of God and of His salvation in the person of Jesus Christ. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 94)

 

This strange person was from a not uncommon class for that day of soothsayers, wizards, astrologers, and pseudo-scientific practitioners of the occult. Many of these were charlatans; some saw themselves as Messiahs (some of the many false Christs); each had his following. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 95)

 

Simon illustrates the failure of an inadequate faith. Whether he believed sincerely at the first or was only a pretender, might be debated. In any case his faith appears to have been no more than an intellectual assent rather than a true, trustful commitment of the whole person. Simon believed, but his faith was in the miracles which he saw performed by the hands of Philip. It was an enthusiasm for signs and wonders, a shallow, emotional response, without the deep moral surrender of the self which is the essence of saving faith. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 96)

 

Those who expect God’s grace to continue to operate in their lives in the absence of a continuing obedient relationship through the Spirit are also trying to practice a form of pious magic . (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 96)

 

Those whose primary quest is for power, and who can substitute that for a deep hunger for God and righteousness, come perilously close to Simon’s sin. The gift of God, Peter suggests, is God himself through the Spirit. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 97)

 

8:9-10. Many traditions revolve around Simon the sorcerer. It is alleged: (a) that he was the founder of the Gnostic heresies, (b) that he went to Rome and perverted Christian doctrine there, and (c) that he became involved in a miracle contest with Peter and lost. At any rate, this Simon of Samaria did practice sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 372)

 

The contrasts and comparisons between Simon and Philip are striking. Both performed miracles, Simon by demonic power and Philip by divine power. Simon boasted and welcomed acclaim to himself, but Philip proclaimed Christ. People were amazed at Simon’s magic, but people were converted to Christ by Philip’s ministry. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 373)

 

8:20. Peter’s response to Simon’s request was one of outrage. May your money perish with you! The reason for such strong language was Simon’s failure to understand grace, the free nature of God’s salvation and blessings. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 373)

 

Historically, the movement of the gospel into Samaria following directly on the heels of the persecution of Hellenistic Jewish Christians in Jerusalem makes a great deal of sense. Doubtless a feeling of kinship was established between the formerly dispossessed Samaritans and the recently dispossessed Christian Hellenists because of Stephen’s opposition to the mentality of mainstream Judaism and its veneration of the Jerusalem temple-an opposition that would have facilitated a favorable response to Philip and his message in Samaria (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 355)

 

9-13 Simon the sorcerer, or Simon Magus as he is called in postapostolic Christian writings, was a leading heretic in the early church. Justin Martyr (died c.165), who was himself a Samaritan, says that nearly all his countrymen revered Simon as the highest god (Apology 1.26; Dialogue 120). Irenaeus (c.180) speaks of him as the father of Gnosticism and identifies the sect of the Simonians as being derived from him (Contra Haereses 1.23) (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 358)

 

Just exactly how Simon of Acts 8 is related to Simon Magus of later legend is not clear. They may have been different men, though the church fathers regularly equated them. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 358)

 

The Jerusalem Jews considered the Samaritans to be second-class residents of Palestine and kept them at arm’s length religiously. And on their part, the Samaritans returned the compliment (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 359)

 

18-24 Simon’s response to the presence of God’s Spirit and the evidences of God’s power is one of those tragic stories that accompany every advance of the gospel. Whenever and wherever God is at work among people, there are not only genuine responses but also counterfeit ones. Simon “believed” and “was baptized,” Luke has reported. Evidently Simon was included among those Peter and John laid their hands on. But the NT frequently reports incidents and events from a phenomenal perspective without always giving the divine or heavenly perspective (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 360)

 

Simon’s offer to pay for the ability to confer the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands evoked Peter’s consignment of Simon and his money to hell. Simon regarded the bestowal of the Spirit as a specially effective bit of magic, and he had no idea of the spiritual issues at stake. Peter’s analysis of the situation, however, is that Simon’s heart was “not right before God” because it was still “full of bitterness and captive to sin.” So Peter urges him, “Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.” But Simon, preoccupied with external consequences and physical effects, asks only and rather lamely, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 360)

 

9–11 This Simon is depicted in postapostolic writings as the father of all Gnostic heresies. Justin Martyr tells how he secured a following of devotees not only in Samaria but in Rome, to which he went in the time of Claudius. In the apocryphal Acts of Peter (4–32) he is said to have corrupted the Christians in Rome by his false teaching and made the authorities ill-disposed toward them, but to have been worsted at last in a magical contest with Peter. But it is in the pseudo-Clementine Recognitions and Homilies that the Simon legend is most curiously elaborated: in them he not only appears as the untiring adversary of Peter but seems, to some extent at least, to serve as a camouflage for Paul, reflecting anti-Pauline sentiments among some of the Ebionites and similar Jewish-Christian groups. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 191)

 

Simon Magus himself was impressed by the actions and words of Philip. Like the magicians of Egypt in the presence of Moses, he recognized that the messenger of the true God had access to a source of power that out-stripped his own. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 191)

 

Whether the external signs which accompanied the reception of the Spirit on this occasion were identical with the Pentecostal signs or not, they were at any rate of so impressive a nature that Simon Magus craved the power to reproduce them at will. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 194)

 

Simon was quite unprepared for the stern words which his simpleminded request evoked. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 194)

 

It was doubtful, in Peter’s eyes, if Simon had experienced the grace of God in any real sense. Simon interpreted all that he saw and heard in terms of his own standards, but the gospel belonged to a completely new dimension, to which he remained a stranger. In this realm he clearly had “neither part nor share.” (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 194)

 

Canonical literature bids farewell to Simon with this entreaty on his lips that by the apostles’ intercession he may escape the judgment pronounced on his crooked heart. Later records of his activity give the impression that either they did not intercede for him or else their intercession was ineffective. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 195)

 

Wherever God sows His true believers, Satan will eventually sow his counterfeits (Matt. 13:24–30, 36–43). (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 348)

 

The first ten chapters of Acts record a period of transition, from the Jew to the Samaritan to the Gentile. God’s pattern for today is given in Acts 10: the sinner hears the gospel, believes, receives the gift of the Spirit, and then is baptized. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 348)

 

Peter’s words to Simon give every indication that the sorcerer was not a converted man. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 349)

 

This episode only shows how close a person can come to salvation and still not be converted. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 349)

 

The people of Samaria were entangled in magic and sorcery, not unlike people today who are seeking shortcuts for meeting their needs. We all want a quick trip to wonderland. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 152)

 

It is important, though, whatever our doctrinal position may be, that we not assume our particular experience to be the norm and then solidify that into an irrevocable tenet of our theology. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 154)

 

It is not to be thought that Simon and his fellow practitioners were all conscious frauds. Many of them had deluded themselves before they deluded others and believed in their own powers. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 66)

 

We cannot at one and the same time show that we are clever and that Christ is wonderful. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 67)

 

Remember that in Matthew 13:24—30, Jesus said that the enemy would sneak in and sow weeds among the wheat, and the weeds and wheat would grow up together, indistinguishable until the time of harvest. The Story of Simon the Magician marks the third time in Acts that we see the devil’s weeds sprouting in the wheat field of the church. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 112)

 

False Christianity always attempts to insert a human mediator between a believer and his God. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 112)

 

In the original Greek, Peter’s words are much more forceful than “May your money perish with you!” Peter literally says, “To hell with you and your money!” (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 116)

 

It’s no wonder that Simon became one of the earliest and greatest opponents of the gospel. There are accounts of Simon in an apocryphal book, The Acts of Peter, and in the writings of several early church fathers, including Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, and Hippolytus of Rome. The early church fathers called him “the first heretic” and “the father of heresies.” He is said to have hindered the gospel wherever he went, and he is reputed to have founded an immoral Gnostic cult called the Simonians. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 116)

 

Now for the first time in his life Simon saw a power that really did what it seemed to do. He had been doing tricks. He had been fooling people and knew that he had only been fooling them. Suddenly Philip was doing the real thing, not operating at all the way Simon was operating, not trying to draw attention to himself but rather pointing to Jesus Christ, and it was through the power of this Christ that real miracles were being done. It was in a sort of a professional capacity that Simon thought to himself, If I am going to advance in my profession or even just recapture the following that I have had until now, I had better get the power that the Christian has. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 135)

 

This is a puzzling story, however, and what makes it so puzzling is verse 13, which says, “Simon himself believed and was baptized.” WasSimon actually a believer? Was his baptism a true baptism? Or was he just carried along by his enthusiasm for Philip, professing something that had not really happened in his heart? The easiest answer is that Simon was not a true believer. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 135)

 

When God really blesses his church, when revival sweeps over God’s people, it is generally in unexpected ways and never linked to how much money they have. God just chooses to do it. His Spirit moves. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 136)

 

When Simon the sorcerer offered Simon Peter money to get the gift of the Spirit, his conception of the Holy Spirit was not different from that of many Christians today. They think of the Holy Spirit as a power, and they reflect that if you want to have power in your life, the thing to do is to get more of the Holy Spirit. They are not thinking of buying the Holy Spirit, of course. But they are thinking of ways to get more of this power. If we have it, then we can use it to integrate our lives, overcome our problems, live victoriously, or whatever. The Holy Spirit is not an “it.” The Holy Spirit is a Person. He is God. When we get that clearly in mind, then we can see that the object of our relationship to the Holy Spirit is not that we might have more of him so that we can use him, but rather that he might have more of us and use us. Simon did not understand this, and neither do many believers today. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 137)