Acts 8:9-25 New International Version (NIV)
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
In verses 9-11, There was a man named Simon, who lived in Samaria and did magic. People thought that he had God’s power. But Simon’s power did not come from God, because God does not allow people to do magic (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Simon used magic to make people follow him. He wanted them to think that he was an important person.
But Philip did miracles by God’s power. Philip did not want people to follow him (Philip). And he did not want them to think that he was special. Instead, he wanted people to believe in Jesus.
Many people did believe in Jesus when Philip preached. They all received baptism. Even Simon believed and he received baptism too. We do not know whether Simon really believed in Jesus. Perhaps he was jealous because the people did not follow him now or maybe he pretended to believe in Jesus because he wanted to be close to Philip. The power to do miracles comes from God. It does not come from people.
Peter and John go to Samaria, 8:14-17
John came to Samaria with Peter. That is interesting because, once before, John had wanted God to destroy a village in Samaria (Luke 9:51-56). But now he wanted God to save the Samaritans.
These verses can be difficult to understand. This is because all Christians have the Holy Spirit. They receive the Holy Spirit when they first believe.
We may have different opinions about what Luke meant. But this must not cause bad feelings towards other Christians. We agree that all believers have the Holy Spirit in them. But believers can have different experiences from the Holy Spirit.
The writer mentions ‘baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus’ (verse 16). People used the Greek words for ‘into the name’ in business. Those words meant that something had belonged to one person. But now someone else owned it. That thing had come ‘into the name’ of this other person. So, when a person receives baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus, that person now belongs to Jesus. Jesus is now that person’s Lord and master.
Peter and Simon, 8:18-25
As the believers received the Holy Spirit, something happened. Everyone could see the Holy Spirit’s power. Luke does not say what people saw. He does not say whether they heard anything.
Simon, too, could see the Holy Spirit’s power. But he thought that the power came from Peter and John. He wanted it too. He had become a Christian for the wrong reasons. And he had received baptism for the wrong reasons. He wanted power over people. He wanted people to think that he was important. So, he tried to buy the power. But we cannot buy God’s gifts with money. They are free. Believers must use them to show God’s power to people. They must not use God’s gifts to make themselves look important. Peter was very angry with Simon. This was because Simon’s faith was not real. Peter reminded him that God knew this. God knows everything about a person. Other people see the things that we do. But only God knows the reason why we do those things.
However, there was still hope for Simon. Peter told him to repent. Simon would have to pray to God. Simon would have to change. He could not use God’s power for selfish reasons any longer. Peter said, ‘Perhaps he (God) will forgive you.’ Simon could say ‘sorry’ to God. But if Simon did not mean it, God would not forgive him. However, God always forgives people if they are sincere.
Peter could see that Simon was jealous. Simon wanted the power that the apostles had. His bad thoughts made him unhappy. So, it was as if those thoughts were keeping him in a prison. His sin was like a prison. That is what sin does to us. It hurts God. It hurts other people. And it hurts us. Only Jesus can save us from the results that sin causes.
Jesus said, ‘Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. The slave does not belong to a family for always. But a son belongs there for always. If the Son frees you, then you will be really free’ (John 8:34-35). So, sin is like a prison, but there is a way out from that prison. Simon saw that there was a way out from it. So, he asked the apostles to pray for him.
Peter and John returned south to Jerusalem. As they traveled through Samaria, they talked about Jesus. They talked about him in many more villages there.