Acts 8:9-24 – God’s Power Through God’s People #6: Simon Magus
Today we are continuing our journey through the Book of Acts. We first started in chapter 1, looking at how Jesus promised the Holy Spirit for all of us to live upright lives. That was followed by Judas, a fellow who let sins ruin his life’s potential. Next we looked at Peter, whose life changed drastically, and who changed the world for God. Then we looked at a guy that Peter helped: a crippled beggar who was healed and used by God in Jerusalem. Last week we saw how Barnabas made such a difference for God by standing up for people.
Today’s message involves a fellow who was really interested in power, after seeing God’s power in action, but it was his downfall. His name is Simon, and his story is found in Acts 8:9-24. Let’s read.
Let’s look at a little background into this story. The church had been growing, centred in Jerusalem. Religious leaders, who were Jewish, grew tired of these new Christ-followers telling all the people that the Jewish ways were not enough for salvation: a person had to believe in Jesus. A fellow named Stephen was brought before the Jewish council, and rebuked them. They would not tolerate it anymore, and had Stephen killed for his faith. In a couple of weeks, Stephen will be the focus of the Sunday sermon, on the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.
After Stephen’s death, the Christians scattered from Jerusalem and took the message to others. Jesus said that: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria…” By the time of Acts 8, the disciples were indeed in Samaria, which is where they found Simon.
But what was Samaria? This is a relevant question. It was, and still is, a region north of Israel, north of Jerusalem. As you may be aware, it was populated by a group of people who didn’t get along well with true Israelites.
You see, what had happened: the kingdom of Israel was divided in the reign after Solomon, into the northern tribes and the southern tribes. There were 10 northern tribes, known as the Kingdom of Israel, and 2 southern tribes, known as the Kingdom of Judah. The southern tribes were defeated in 586BC by the Babylonians, were taken away into exile, but were eventually allowed to return. The Jews of the NT trace their origins back to these exiles.
The northern kingdom is a more complicated issue. They were defeated by the Assyrians in 722BC, some 150 years earlier than the southern kingdom. Now, the Assyrians also sent their defeated foes into exile, and these Jews lost their ethnic identity. They were assimilated into the culture of other lands, and became lost in history. They are known today as the Lost Tribes of Israel.
But not all of the northern kingdom peoples became lost. Some were able to flee south to Jerusalem, where they gradually assimilated into the Judahite population. Others, especially in the rural areas of Israel, remained and were assimilated to the incoming people of the Assyrian empire. These were the Samaritans. They were half-Jews, half-foreigners. The result was mixed blood, and mixed beliefs. The people adapted some non-Jewish religious beliefs to become a hodge-podge of worship and tradition.
Several hundred years after the Assyrian exile, that can be seen in this guy named Simon. He is often referred to as Simon Magus – Magus meaning magician. Other times he is Simon the sorcerer. Either name is fine, because what’s important is that you can see the attitude. He is Samaritan, with some traditional Jewish beliefs, but quite willing to mix them with other beliefs as he saw fit. The OT clearly condemns witchcraft, but nonetheless, he practiced it.
And the magic isn’t just sleight-of-hand, like today’s magicians, or rather, illusionists. No, what he practiced was real magic, communicating with demons to make the physically impossible actually happen. He likely spent a lot of money over the course of his life to buy books and spells, and to receive the training necessary, to be able to accomplish his tricks.
He had been fairly well-known in those parts. The locals called him the Great Power. They thought he was divine. They thought he was someone powerful. He had amazed them for so long with what he could do. But that changed when Philip the evangelist showed up in town. He preached the gospel, and people’s lives were changed. Many believed the message that Philip brought, and were baptized.
Even Simon heard the message, believed, and was baptized. Now, in my research, I found preachers who feel that it was a show, or not genuine. They don’t believe that Simon was really saved. I found others who go the other way, as well. Yes, he believed in Jesus, and at the time he meant it.
Pastor Greg Laurie from Harvest, a large church in California, says that over his time as an evangelist, thousands have made professions of faith. Now, he doesn’t say that thousands have been converted. He says there’s no way for him to know that. Only God knows if professions of faith are really conversions. I like the humility that that statement shows. We do our part, we plant or we water, but only God gives the increase. We never really know what goes on in the heart of another person.
So, I’m not sure if Simon made a profession of faith, or was converted. But we do know what the Bible says: he believed. He trusted Jesus, and was baptized as evidence of that belief. I am going to work on the conviction that Simon indeed became a Christian that day.
Unfortunately, he had hang-ups. Peter and John showed up. They were more leaders in the church. They came, and like Philip, laid hands on people and prayed for them, and they received the Holy Spirit. I won’t take the time today to analyze the theology of this event. What is important is that the Holy Spirit showed up in that scene, and signs and wonders took place. Miracles took place because of the Holy Spirit working through God’s people.
And Simon wanted that. He wanted to be able to do it too. And, like his books and spells, he was willing to pay for that power. This offer did not sit well with Peter, who gave him a fairly serious rebuke: v20-23. The idea of buying the power of the Holy Spirit was so repulsive to Peter that he told Simon in no uncertain terms that he, Simon, had some serious heart issues. His heart was not right with God, he needed to turn from his sinful desires, he needed to pray to get it straightened out, he was full of bitterness, and he was a captive to sin. Wow.
You see, Simon still wanted to be in charge. He had been the leader until Philip came along. He was the Great Power, after all. People listened to him, followed him, and trusted him. He figured he could regain that power over people if he had the Holy Spirit. He was resentful that he had lost his position of authority, but with the Holy Spirit, he could be in charge once again.
Power is not bad. It can be used or abused, but by itself, it is neutral. I found these words by Pastor Troy Borst, and I really like them: “The power of the Holy Spirit is not just for salvation, but transformation, a process that might be slow and gradual. The difference might look like this:
You can take ten gallons of gasoline and release a tremendous amount of power and energy by just dropping a lighted match into it. It makes a dramatic onetime impact. But there is another way to release the energy in that gasoline. Place it in the fuel tank of a new Honda, designed to get 30 miles to the gallon. The high tech engine will use that ten gallons of gasoline to take a person 300 miles or more.
Explosions may be spectacular, but the sustained, controlled burn has staying power. You don’t want to be a flash in the pan, you want to make a difference in this world over time. You want to last for the long haul. You don’t want the Holy Spirit to just save you for heaven, you want Him to use His power to transform your life. You want Him to use you in this world for kingdom purposes.”
Simon wanted the explosion, but God is more interested in longevity. It’s not about being in control of others, but being able to control your own actions. 1 Timothy 1:7 says: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” God wants us to have power, but not for the fireworks. God wants us to have power to live upright lives. The power is for praying for others. The power is for resisting the enemy when he tries to lead us away from God.
I think what we see in Simon a believer who had some serious issues he needed to work out. Sin still had a strong hold on him. He was bitter. He wanted to be in control. He was so frustrated that he wasn’t the leader. Simon was a new believer. But what about us older believers? What about those of us who are bitter and resentful? Life has been hard, and people have treated us poorly, and we’ve never gotten over it. What about those who like being able to boss people around? Always get their own way? What about those of us who continually let sin win?
Peter told Simon to pray, and Simon told Peter to pray for him. He didn’t take the responsibility to pray for himself. Folks, getting your life right before God is up to you. I can pray, but you need to act. Ask God to reveal himself to you. What is there in your life that needs repenting or fixing?
