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Acts 8:1-25
With the stoning of Stephen, Israel had given its final, emphatic response to the grace that God had
extended to His nation through Jesus, their Messiah. And what was that response? No - we will not submit
to Him.

Jesus has prophesied of the nation=s response in a parable He told shortly before His death. Turn to Luke
chapter 19. Jesus was passing through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem. He sought to dispel the notion the
Jews had that the Messiah was coming soon to set up His kingdom on the earth. Jesus wanted the Jews to
see that the kingdom would only come - when its subjects were ready to receive their King.

[Luke 19:11-14, 27]

v. 11-12 This was a customary practice in that day, for princes or noblemen to go to Rome to receive
kingdoms from Caesar. They would then return to govern their kingdoms. Herod had done this. The
nobleman in this parable would be Jesus. And to what Afar country@ would he go, to receive His
kingdom? To heaven, where His Father would give Him the dominion over all the earth (Ps 2:8).

v. 13 The servants in this parable are those who are in the position of submission to the noblemen; these
would be believers in Jesus, both true believers as well as those who merely professed belief. We are not
focusing on these this morning in the parable; but you should read it later, to see how their works reveal
their hearts.

v. 14 The servants in the parable were believers, both true and professed. But now we read of citizens;
these would be the subjects of the nobleman, those over whom he will be appointed to rule. Who would
that be, for Jesus? That would be the nation of Israel; the Jews. In the parable, the citizens hated the
nobleman. They sent a message after Him - after He had left to receive His kingdom.

Jesus had left this world by way of the cross. He had be exalted out of death, to the right hand of the Father
in heaven. The slaughter of Jesus= disciple, Stephen, was the message that the nation sent after Jesus - that
was their way of saying that they would not have Jesus to reign over them.

The parable continues with the return of the nobleman, having received his kingdom. He called his
servants to him, and judged their works, which reflect their hearts. The nobleman then rewarded them
according to their work, while condemning the one who was proven to be no true servant.

Skip down to verse 27.

v. 27 Notice that Jesus no longer called the ones over whom He was to reign Acitizens@. What does He
call them now? Enemies. When they refused to have Athis man@ reign over them, the nobleman no
longer regards them as His citizens, for they have put themselves at enmity with Him. He condemns them
to death.

And such was the judgment that this wicked generation of Israel chose for themselves when they made
themselves the enemies of God, in rejecting the King that He had appointed for them. That judgment
would come in 70 AD, by the hand of the Romans.
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Their temple, that they so revered, would be destroyed. Many of the Jews would be slain; the rest would be
dispersed out of Jerusalem and Judea, and strictly forbidden on pain of death by the Romans from returning
to the land that God had promised them. Having refused their King, they were not ready to be a kingdom.
They would be strangers, in strange lands, for generations to come.

But the Lord is not finished with Israel. Paul clarified this to the assembly at Rome, under the metaphor of
an olive tree. You can find this in Romans chapter 11.

The olive tree represents Christ. The natural branches are the nation of Israel, which were broken off from
the olive tree, because of their unbelief. Wild branches had been grafted in to the olive tree - these are the
Gentiles, who have believed.

Paul=s point was that, when Israel believes, they can be grafted back in, by the grace of God - which the
remnant will be, in the end times (Rm 11:13-27). But for now, the Lord had to set Israel aside, while He
sows and reaps a harvest among the Gentiles.

The death of Stephen was that point of transition - as the Lord turns from His nation, who had rejected
Him, to those who would willingly call on Him - among the other nations.

But how would they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how would they believe in Him of
whom they had not heard? And how would they hear, without a preacher? And how could anyone preach
to them, unless they were sent? (Rm 10:14-15). And so the Lord purposed to send those who had believed
into Him to preach the gospel to those who had never heard of Him.

Meanwhile, the enemy of the Lord was pursuing his purposes, as well. Satan came to realize that the Body
of Christ, with its ministry of reconciling men to God, posed a dire threat to his world system, which
depended on keeping men in the dark to God.

Having met with no success in attempting to corrupt the Body of Christ from within, Satan escalated the
persecution of the church from without, which he had begun against the apostles through Jewish authorities
in Jerusalem. With both rulers and people united in the persecution of Stephen, Satan was able to elicit an
unrestrained, vehement response against this follower of Jesus. Having finally tasted blood in the
martyrdom of Stephen, Satan then began to rage against the other followers of the Lord.

v. 1 As they had led Stephen out to his execution, the false witnesses who would actually conduct the
stoning laid their outer garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. We know this man best by his
Roman name - Paul.

Saul was originally from Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, which is in Asia Minor. So he was born a Hellenist Jew,
even born a citizen of Rome (Acts 22:25-28) . But Saul studied under the renowned rabbi Gamaliel in
Jerusalem, and profited so much in the Jews= religion above many of his equals that he regarded himself as
a Hebrew of Hebrews (Gal 1:14, Phil 3:5).

By Saul=s own account, he was more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of his fathers than many of
those in his own nation (Gal 1:14) - perhaps even more than his teacher Gamaliel, who had adapted a Atime
will tell@ approach to those who believed in Jesus. But in his zeal, Saul viewed things quite differently -
for this sect was clearly a threat to the traditions of the fathers, and the Law of Moses - so Saul would have
seen it, especially after listening to Stephen.
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Saul would have seen it as his duty to God to persecute the disciples of Jesus. In his mind, Jesus was an
imposter, who had been exposed and then put to death for His blasphemy in declaring Himself to be the
Messiah. The method of execution - crucifixion - would have seemed most fitting to Saul, as according to
Jewish law, it showed Jesus to be accursed (Deut 21:23).

And now, how could those who exalted the name of this crucified imposter, proclaiming Him as the
Messiah, be allowed to live? In the mind of Saul, this movement must be exterminated.

So Saul displayed his agreement over the execution of Stephen in as public a manner as possible - by
guarding the robes of Stephen=s executioners. In this, we see that Saul was not merely a passive spectator -
he was in hearty accord with this unrighteous slaughter, this mob lynching. It had his complete approval.

The stoning of Stephen ignited persecution against the entire community of believers in Jerusalem. The
persecution became so fierce that it caused many of the disciples to flee the city, into the surrounding areas
- first into Judea, the region in which the city of Jerusalem lies, and then into Samaria, the region to the
north of Judea (see map).

Meanwhile, despite the persecution, the apostles remained in Jerusalem. Now, why did they stay? I=m
sure they stayed because the Holy Spirit indicated for them to remain. And why would that be? First, not
all the believers would have left Jerusalem due to the persecution; some of the community would have
remained, and would need to continue steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles.

Also, religious pilgrims were always coming to Jerusalem, some of whom would be won to Christ through
the preaching of the gospel and the eye-witness account of the apostles.

Finally, as the church continued to be built up, and before the writing of the NT Scriptures with its
instruction in doctrine, the apostles would need to remain in a centralized location to provide a foundation
for the growth and development of the church - with Jesus Christ Himself the chief cornerstone (Eph 2:20).
So the leadership, ever under Jesus, would remain at this time in Jerusalem.

It is also likely that the principle targets of the persecution were not believers who were former Hebrew
Jews, such as the apostles, but the Hellenists - the foreign Jews. Why? Because Stephen was a Hellenist -
and most likely, a leader of that community. Having so raised the ire of the Jews in Jerusalem, Stephen=s
people would most certainly have been the specific focus of the attack.

Remember there was also the natural hostility that existed between the native and foreign-born Jews, which
would have fanned the flames of this persecution. So the community of believers which remained in
Jerusalem was composed predominantly of native-born, Hebrew Jews.

v. 2 ADevout men@ are those who have a rightly directed reverence toward God. The term is generally
used for pious Jews; here we can presume that these were Jewish believers. These men rightly perceived
that Stephen, their fellow believer, had unjustly been put to death, and they likely had heard that he had met
that death proclaiming the truth to the Jews: that Jesus was their Messiah.

Now, dying unburied was considered the greatest dishonor possible in that day. But Stephen had been
condemned by both the rulers and the people as a blasphemer. If anyone buried his body, they would be
sure to incur the wrath of the rulers.
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Yet these devout men fear God rather than men, and so they take Stephen=s body, prepare it, and then bury
it. And they went even further - they made great lamentation him, wailing, in accordance with the
traditions of mourning in that day.

Now, Jewish law forbade public mourning for a condemned criminal, but here we see these devout men,
ignoring the unrighteous condemnation Stephen received at the hands of the Jews, and honoring their
fellow believer, well knowing that God did not condemn him, but was well-pleased with His servant
Stephen.

So Stephen was buried - entombed - his body, planted in the ground, to be raised one day in the
resurrection of Life - a body of glory - his crown, his stephanos. And in the meantime, Stephen is even
now present with the Lord, in his heavenly home.

Stephen entered into the joy of His Lord in heaven - but on earth, Saul was bent on destruction.

v. 3-4 To Amake havoc@ means to ravage as a wild animal that attacks and tears the body of its victim.
Such was the ferocity with which Saul persecuted the church, born of his religious zeal (Phil 3:6). He went
from house to house, taking the disciples of Jesus he found, and dragging them off to prison - both men
and, surprisingly in that day, even women, which indicates just how zealous Saul was.

As we read the detail Luke provides later in the book of Acts, we learn that Saul by his own account gave
his voice against them as they were put to death - most likely meaning he testified against them - and he
even compelled them to blaspheme (Acts 26:10-11).

So did this fierce persecution of Saul cause the disciples of Jesus to recant their faith? No - this initial wave
of persecution just caused them to be driven out of Jerusalem, and to be scattered throughout Judea,
Samaria, and as we learn later in Acts, even as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch (see map) (Acts
11:19). And everywhere they went, what did they do? They preached the gospel. They shared the good
news of Jesus Christ.

So the persecution of the church, which was instigated by Satan, and carried out by Saul and the rulers in
Jerusalem, was used by God to further His own plans - to spread the gospel. Jesus had told His disciples,
AYou shall be witnesses unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth@ (Acts 1:8); and that was exactly how the gospel was spreading. So the
persecution resulted in advancing the very cause which it was intended to destroy; and we see Saul, helping
to scatter the seed which, in a very short time, he will be foremost in sowing.

Now we can see further into the wisdom of God, in having chosen Stephen to proclaim His final message
to that wicked generation of Israel. God chose a former Hellenist Jew, knowing that the persecution that
would result would be specifically targeted against other former Hellenist Jews, because this group would
be the ideal vehicle for carrying the gospel into the surrounding cultures, with their Hellenist language and
culture. The Hellenists would provide for the transition of the gospel being proclaimed to a predominantly
Jewish audience, to the many Gentiles who would be hearing it.

An overview of the book of Acts shows that this is exactly how the gospel spread. The first people who are
seen to carry the gospel into a new area mentioned are almost always former Hellenist Jews (Philip, Acts 8;
Paul; Barnabas, 11:22-30; also likely Silas (Roman name: Silvanus), 15:40, 16-18; Timothy (Timotheus),
16-20; also likely John Mark (Marcus), 13:2-5, 15:39, 2 Tim 4:11 ).
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v. 5-8 The Philip that is mentioned was not the apostle Philip, for the apostles remained in Jerusalem at
this time. This is the Philip who was one of the seven Hellenist Jewish believers that were chosen by the
people to administer alms in Jerusalem.

Due to the severe persecution of the Hellenists, Philip apparently was one of those who was compelled to
leave Jerusalem. Philip=s journey took him to Samaria, the region to the north of Judea.

We cannot be certain which city Philip went to, but Athe city@ could refer to Neapolis, near the site of
ancient Shechem. This was the religious center of the Samaritans, near their sacred site of worship, Mount
Gezarim. Neapolis also lay in close proximity to Sychar, where the Samaritan woman met Jesus at the
well, and where many Samaritans subsequently came to believe into Jesus (Jn 4:1-42).

Another possibility is the city of Sebaste, which was the ancient city of Samaria that had been refounded by
Herod the Great and renamed in honor of the Roman Emperor. But Sebaste was a Hellenistic city, and
Philip appears to be in a city occupied by native Samaritans.

Philip=s name means Alover of the race@, and it would certainly seem that Philip was the adventurous
type. It wasn=t every Jew, Hellenist or no, who would venture into Samaria, and preach to the people
there, for the Samaritans and the Jews were ancient enemies. This stems back hundreds of years, to the
origin of the Samaritan people.

When the kingdom of Israel became divided, ten tribes occupied the northern portion of the promised land -
they were called Israel - while Judah and Benjamin occupied the southern portion - called Judah. Israel
also became known as Samaria, after the name of the city which became its capital.

When the Assyrians took Israel into captivity in 722 BC, they left some of the Jews scattered throughout
the land, and repopulated the rest of it with peoples of many conquered nations. Eventually, the Jews
intermarried with these peoples - something the LORD had warned against doing - and this resulted in an
ethnically mixed population.

Once the people became mixed racially, their thinking became mixed, as well. Israel had already been
practicing idolatry, and so they continued to assimilate the gods of these other cultures, while still retaining
a form of worship to the LORD.

Eventually, they became persuaded to follow the LORD only, but by then, their knowledge of Him was
darkened - they only acknowledged the Pentateuch, the first five books of the OT, and they had introduced
some changes into their Scriptures.

The Samaritans had a form of worship - circumcising, keeping the Law, the Sabbath, and the feasts - but
they had lost the meaning of what it was they practiced. And they insisted the place to worship the LORD
was Mount Gezarim - a real bone of contention with the Jews, who maintained that it was Jerusalem. That
part of the feud alone had been raging for centuries.

The hostility that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans even to the day of Philip is hard for the
Western mind to grasp. The Jews regarded the Samaritans as half-breed heretics, and the Samaritans had
never forgiven the Jews for the invasion of Samaria, and the destruction of their temple by John Hyrcanus
during the period of the Macabees (128 BC).
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Now Philip, no doubt at the Spirit=s leading, made his way north to Samaria, and he, a Jew, began to
preach to the Samaritans about Jesus - also a Jew, laying Him out before them as the Christ - the Messiah.

This would have strong significance to the Samaritans, for, just like the Jews, the Samaritans has a
Messianic hope. The Messiah was known to them as the Taheb, the Restorer. They looked for Him to be
the Prophet like unto Moses, who would speak the truth to them; and to Him, they would hearken (Deut
18:15-19). When the Taheb came, they expected Him to restore proper worship; to restore them to God.

Now, would not the Spirit have had Philip build on this hope as he began to preach Christ to them? Of
course; and so the Samaritans found themselves receptive to what this Jew had to say to them, concerning
Jesus.

And the preaching of Philip was accompanied by signs and wonders, those supernatural acts of God which
served to authenticate the words that Philip was speaking - that they were the words of God, just as the
miracles were the works of God.

So as those who were physically sick, and demon-possessed, were being healed, the Samaritans in this city
began to open their hearts to the Lord, receiving the good news from Philip concerning Jesus. This is how
the Spirit prepared the way for the Lord to heal these Samaritans of their sin-sickness. And as all were
being healed, the whole city was filled with rejoicing.

v. 9-11 Luke introduced this segment on Simon with the word Abut@, indicating a contrast with what was
written before: Simon is being contrasted with the other Samaritans of this city, who heeded the preaching
of Christ. This is a contrast between Light and darkness.

There is much speculation about who this Simon might be among the commentators. Some believe him to
be Simon Magus, who was a celebrated magician. He studied philosophy in Alexandria, Egypt, then lived
in Samaria. According to the writings of several early church fathers, Simon Magus was one of the
founders of Gnosticism; his followers became known as simonians. But whether this is the same Simon
cannot be ascertained. As the biblical account of this Simon is the only reliable one, we will stick to that.

This Simon was a sorcerer; one who practices the magic arts. Sorcerers claimed to have supernatural
powers and knowledge; the ability to foretell the future and to summon evil spirits through charms and
magic spells. In the Law, sorcery was forbidden; it was punishable by death (Lev 20:6, Deut 18:10-12).
The Samaritans would have had that in their Scriptures, as it is in the Pentateuch.

But magicians usually drew large followings in ancient times, and both the Jews and the Samaritans had
been known to get caught up by the astonishing nature of their wonder working (the word for Abewitch@
in verses 9 and 11 actually means to amaze or astonish).

Was there any reality to the magic? Certainly much of what magicians did was by trickery and deceit; but
there could also be some supernatural power involved. However, unlike what the Samaritans thought - that
this was Athe great power of God@ - this power had a different source. The power of magic is sourced in
the evil one, for he uses it as a means of keeping one blind to the truth.

Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Paul spoke of preaching the gospel openly, clearly, honestly. Yet even
with this, the gospel could be hidden.
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[2 Corinthians 4:3-4] The god of this world - Satan - blinds the minds of unbelievers; they are born with
their foolish hearts darkened, and he keeps them in the dark. How? By keeping the gospel of Christ hidden
from them. Instead, Satan gives them darkness - that appears to be light.

Religion - work your way to God. Knowledge - be like God, to decide good and evil for yourself. Power,
prestige - have the control, make things happen - you can be a god unto yourself. Satan even keeps men in
the dark by simply keeping them occupied - busy minding the things of the world - so that they have no
time, or mind, to consider God. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness - how great that darkness!
(Mt 6:23).

[Return to Acts 8] So what we see is that this city in Samaria had been kept in the dark by the enemy, who
was using Simon the sorcerer to distract them with his magic; to keep them occupied with darkness, so that
they would not come to the Light. But what happened? The Light came - to them.

The Samaritans had all given heed to Simon, believing his boasting that he was someone great; the wonders
that he worked were so amazing that they even attributed his power to God Himself; but once Philip
brought the true Light to that city of Samaria, the people began to follow it - until they finally came to the
Source.

v. 12 The Samaritans of this city believed what Philip preached, concerning the kingdom that the Father is
preparing for the Son. The kingdom of God would have a physical manifestation in the future, but in the
day of these Samaritans, its rule is still manifest - in the hearts of those who would submit to the Son of
God, Jesus Christ.

The Samaritans rightly recognized that Jesus is their Taheb, the one who would restore them to God, so that
they could worship God in Spirit and in truth (Jn 4:23-24). And in recognizing Him as their Messiah, they
believed into Jesus, and received His Life; each that genuinely believed was indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

Having believed, Philip then baptized the new converts in water, as the Lord had ordained to be done (Mt
28:19). What an incredible scene: Samaritans, being baptized by a Jew, who had revealed the One who
was their Messiah to them. Now, did that water baptism give them spiritual Life? No - they received that
Life the moment they believed.

Water baptism was a public testimony by which these converts were showing that they were identifying
themselves with Jesus - with His death, burial and resurrection - and their belief that He had loosed them
from their sins, and set them free. It was an outer demonstration that symbolically showed the inward
change that repentance and regeneration had wrought in their hearts. All that saw them now knew that they
belonged to Christ.

There was yet another who was baptized.

v. 13 Simon - whom the Samaritans called Athe power of God who is called great@ - had now
encountered a power that far surpassed his own. Clearly, Simon=s power was not of the healing kind, for
there to be so many who were sick and possessed in this city. The wonder-working powers of Simon paled
before the mighty power of God.
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The people, who had been drawn to Simon through his magic, were now drawn away from him by this
greater power. In the case of the people, the power caused them to see the One who was its source - to see
and believe. But Simon could not get past the power - he was drawn to the power, and the power alone, for
that was the desire of his heart.

Yet it tells us that ASimon himself believed@; and that he was baptized with water, as the others had been.
What kind of belief was this? A superficial belief. It was not as it was for the other Samaritans - a genuine
belief of the heart.

Turn to John chapter 2. Jesus also encountered this kind of faith.

[John 2:23-25] Jesus did not commit Himself - give Himself - to these people, because they would not
give themselves to Him. They believed superficially - they believed in the miracles that Jesus did, and so
believed He was a miracle-worker.

The miraculous works were meant to be a witness to Jesus, that He was the Sent One of God (Jn 5:36). But
the people were unwilling to see that. They did not believe that Jesus was their Messiah, their Lord - to
whom they must submit themselves. And Jesus knew that; He knew their hearts. Theirs was not a faith of
the heart.

[Return to Acts] Jesus is the heart-knower; He knew that many of the Jews in His day did not truly believe
in Him. But Philip was not the heart-knower; and unless the Holy Spirit revealed Simon=s heart to him,
Philip would know only what the external evidence would suggest - that Simon believed, as everyone else
had. After all, Simon professed to believe. But soon, the Spirit would reveal the true state of Simon=s
heart, by testing it.

Meanwhile, Simon adhered himself to Philip, for he was amazed with the power that Philip wielded, just as
the people had been amazed by Simon=s power. From the outside, Simon would have looked like the most
zealous of converts - professing belief, being baptized, continuing steadfastly with the community of
believers. But on the inside, Simon was dead and in the dark to God. Simon=s fraudulent belief would
have been a danger to this new community of Samaritan believers; it needed to be exposed.

v. 14-17 Eventually, word got back to Jerusalem with the remarkable news - that the Samaritans had
received the word of God spoken to them. The predominantly Jewish church in Jerusalem would have
found this to be a startling development, considering the deep-seated hostility between Jews and
Samaritans, and their many religious differences in the past. So the church in Jerusalem delegated two of
the apostles to confirm the reports of Philip=s ministry in Samaria.

The two apostles sent were Peter and John. It=s amusing to recollect that John had once suggested that fire
should be called down from heaven on a Samaritan community for its inhospitable reception of their
Master (Lk 9:52-56). I believe John must have had quite a different attitude by now, as he set out for
Samaria with Peter.

When Peter and John arrived, they apparently were able to discern that these Samaritans had indeed placed
their faith in Jesus as their Messiah and Lord; and although there would have been evidence, through
conversation, that they had received the Life of the Spirit, the power of the Spirit was not manifest among
these new converts.
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Just as the disciples of Jesus had to wait for the Holy Spirit to be poured out upon them, so they were
clothed with power from on high (Lk 24:49), so the power of the Holy Spirit had not yet descended upon
these Samaritans. Why?

The Lord did this most purposefully. He withheld the anointing of the Spirit until the apostles had arrived -
so that they would be eye-witnesses to the fact that the Samaritans had been given the gift of the Holy
Spirit, just as they had been given Him, at Pentecost. In this way, the Lord would make it clear that the
Samaritans were not lesser members of the assembly, as proselytes were to the Jews; they would be full
members of the Body of Christ.

Likely at the Spirit=s prompting, the apostles prayed for the Samaritans, that they might receive the Holy
Spirit, then laid their hands on them; and they collectively received the Holy Spirit. Remember that the
laying on of hands was an ancient custom that signified the transfer of something from one to another; it
was symbolic. Here, the transfer being symbolized was of the Holy Spirit from Jesus to the Samaritan
believers.

Peter and John surely laid their hands on just a token few individuals, as there was a city-full of people who
had believed. Then Jesus poured out His Spirit upon this new group, adding them to His Body on earth, by
which they were baptized in the Holy Spirit, and clothed with power from on high. There is just one
baptism (1 Cor 12:13), and that is the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in which the Lord baptized His Body on
earth on the day of Pentecost. That is the baptism which the Lord gave to the Samaritans, in adding them to
His Body.

The anointing of the Holy Spirit was manifest by some outward sign of His power. It is likely that this was
demonstrated by the speaking in tongues - known foreign languages - and prophesying, just as on the day
of Pentecost. The speaking in tongues is recorded by Luke as being the sign of the pouring out of the Spirit
upon the Gentiles (Acts 10:44-48), and then upon some followers of John the Baptist(Acts 19:1-6).

The Lord used this sign of the Spirit to show that these different groups, which were often at enmity with
one another in the past, were all being added to the Body of Christ, establishing the unity of the church. To
demonstrate the unity and equality among them, it was imperative that there be some replication in each
instance of what had occurred on Pentecost with the believing Jews.

Later, seeing this manifestation of the Spirit among the Gentiles would cause Peter to say, AGod, who
knows the hearts, bore the Gentiles witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as unto us, and put no
difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith@ (Acts 15:8-9). You can see that the Lord
knew how to make His point. As the church began to recognize all believers as equal members of the
Body of Christ, the indwelling and anointing of the Spirit became simultaneous events.

Receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit would also have been an assurance to the Samaritans, who were so
accustomed to being despised as outsiders by the community of Jews. Now they could see that they were
equals in this new community of the people of God. And the apostles could see that the Lord was blessing
and confirming this work of the Spirit done through Philip.
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v. 18-19 What was it that Simon saw? He saw Peter and John lay hands on the Samaritan believers, and
them acquiring the power of the Holy Spirit - because His power was manifest in some way, likely through
the speaking in tongues and prophesying. What Simon saw was an incredible display of power, throughout
an entire community of people - and he lusted for that power. Notice that Simon himself did not receive
this power, a witness to the fact that he had never truly believed into Jesus.

Consistent with his belief in the power of magic, Simon imagined that the power he witnessed was
communicated through the laying on of the apostles= hands; and so, he craved that power for himself.
Essentially, he regarded Peter and John as extraordinarily gifted practitioners of religious magic, and
offered to buy from them a share in their secret power.

You can see that Simon was consumed with lust for power itself, and had no real interest in the One who
wielded such power. He coveted for himself the ability to bestow the Holy Spirit; he would make
merchandise of the divine gift.

v.20-23 Peter=s words reflect his horror - and indignation - at the depraved offer of Simon. That the Holy
Spirit, the gift of God, so graciously bestowed by the Lord upon all who believed, could be bought - with
money? Perish the thought! Such a thought could only be conceived by the mind of one who had never
been cleansed and regenerated by the Holy Spirit - and so was slated for destruction. Let that money perish
with him!

By his reaction, Simon was exposed as a fraud; his faith had failed the test, for it was not a true faith. Peter
laid out in no uncertain terms where Simon stood with God - his eternal standing. He was not a partaker of
gift of the Holy Spirit, for that must be received by faith. His heart was not right with God, because he had
never had a change of heart. Simon was in the gall of bitterness - that is, extreme wickedness which is an
abomination to God, and ruinous to men. And Simon was still bound up in his iniquities - he was still a
slave to sin.

There was only one recourse for Simon, in order to be forgiven his wickedness, and that was to REPENT!
Simon needed to turn from his sin, and turn to God; to cast himself upon the mercy of the Judge of all the
earth, as a sinner without hope in this world, pleading the shed blood of the Son of God, Jesus, on his
behalf - of whom Simon had already heard, through Philip.

Nothing more was said to Simon; there was nothing else to say. Unless Simon repented, he would remain
lost to God, and would be condemned after death to eternal separation from God, in the Lake of Fire.

So what was Simon=s response?

v. 24 At least at this time, Simon did not repent. Instead, he asked Peter and John to pray for him - again,
identifying them as in possession of some power with God. Notice he did not ask to be saved, nor did he
ask them to pray for his salvation. Instead, he asked them to pray that none of these things that they had
spoken come upon him. What things? Actually, Peter had not mentioned anything that would come upon
Simon.

Peter wished to impress on Simon a sense of his sin. Simon did not regard this at all, but looked only to the
punishment. You can see that Simon was alarmed, but there was not yet any repentance in him. Like the
demons, he Abelieved@ - and trembled - but he still would not turn to God.
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# 24: 3-16-07

Simon reminds us of Ananias and Sapphira, who also aligned themselves with the community of believers,
and incurred divine judgment when they tried to deceive the Holy Spirit. But we see in the case of Simon
that judgment is withheld - for the time. This would indicate that there was still a hope that Simon would
choose to repent, and be saved.

v. 25 So Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, possibly in the company of Philip. Having seen the
favorable reception of the gospel in the first city of Samaria, they continued to preach in other Samaritan
cities along the way. The fields were white for harvest in Samaria; and the disciples continued in the work
of the Lord, reaping what had been sown there so long ago, through the word of God.