But a certain man, by name Simon, had been before in the city, using magic arts, and astonishing the nation of Samaria, saying that himself was some great one.
Acts 8 brings the gospel to Samaria, and there it meets a rival: a man who had held the city under his influence for a long time. Two questions follow — what power was Simon using, and what happens to it when the good news about Christ arrives?
The verse names Simon's trade before anything else. One writer sums up who he was and how he built his hold on the people.
Who was that sorcerer? His name was Simon, and people usually call him Magus. That title points to his profession — a magician or sorcerer. By his magical arts he had bewitched the people, and had established himself in their eyes as a marvel. He gave himself out for some great one.
He was not the only one. The New Testament names others who practiced the same arts.
In the New Testament, besides the slave girl who had a spirit of divination, we read of others. Simon used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria for a long time (Acts 8:9-11). Elymas the sorcerer, a Jew met in Cyprus, perverted the right ways of the Lord (Acts 13:6, 8). Sorcery ranks with the grossest of sins.
The wording is careful. He said he was somebody great, but he never said what made him great. The vagueness did his work for him.
He had dazzled them with wonder-working. He was content to drop a mysterious hint about its source: some greatness in himself beyond nature. That left their imaginations to go further than his cautious claim. For them he came to be "the power of God which is called great"; but before the true power of God all this collapsed.
Commentators do not treat Simon's hold as mere showmanship. They see him as an agent, and the city as ground the enemy already held.
The power over unclean spirits stands out here. In this and in other ways, Samaria appears to be largely under the power of the enemy, despite its professed worship of the true God. The truth had begun to work among them. That may well have stirred up special resistance from one who knew its power. Simon the sorcerer had been his special agent, sent to distract the Samaritans and turn their minds away from the truth.
Philip also worked wonders in that city. The difference between the two men lay in who they put forward.
To those captivated by Simon, Philip preached — not himself, however, but Christ. How different he must have appeared to them all from the sorcerer. Both did wonders. Simon exalted himself, and accepted the crowd's flattery. Philip preached Another, and enlisted the converts as disciples of Christ. He sank himself, his glory, his greatness, in the excellency of the One whom he preached.
A hold built over years came to an end. Commentators point to the message itself as the thing that broke it.
Simon's sorcery and falsehoods did great damage, leading on to his own blasphemous claims. We are told here that he misled everyone around him, small and great. What use are rank or education to guard from error? Yet all of it vanished like smoke before the light of the gospel. "The kingdom of God" and "the name of Jesus" wiped out the Samaritan's empty tricks and shameless frauds.
Philip came with the gospel of Christ, and that broke this man's spell. Nothing else can deliver people from slavery to Satan, whatever form that slavery takes.
Verse 13 says Simon believed and was baptized. Commentators read that response in the light of what impressed him.
Alas! it was the miracles and signs that struck him, not the word of God. Faith founded on miracles is worth very little. The Lord, when He was here, would not entrust Himself to such faith (John 2:23-25). Miracles may arrest and convince the mind. They may confirm faith where it already exists. But the word of God alone can lay bare the heart and conscience. This the unhappy Simon never knew.
- Claim — Simon's trade was sorcery. He hinted at some greatness in himself and let the crowd's imagination supply the rest.
- Capture — The hint worked on everyone, small and great; rank and education guarded no one from the error.
- Contrast — Philip did wonders too, but he preached Another. Simon exalted himself and took the applause.
- Collapse — Years of influence vanished like smoke before the light of the gospel. Nothing else sets people free from such bondage.
- Caution — The signs amazed Simon, but the word never searched him. Faith resting on miracles alone never reaches the conscience.
To whom they had all given heed, from small to great, saying, This is the power of God which is called great.
A whole city, from the lowest to the highest, had settled on one verdict about one man: he was God's power in person. The verse shows what a crowd will believe when a show of power comes without the truth of God.
The crowd's words are more than praise. One commentator points to a single word in them, and to what the oldest manuscripts say about it:
The oldest manuscripts keep the word "called"; the less reliable copies leave it out. The copyists probably did not see why it mattered and thought someone had simply added it. The word expresses the outrageous assumption of the impostor.
Behind the crowd's verdict lay a deliberate substitute for the truth:
The enemy seemed to be in possession like a flood. But the Spirit of the Lord lifts up a standard against him in the preaching of Philip, backed by the signs Philip did in front of their eyes. … Satan had sought to blot out the truth and set up a rival in sorcery. Sorcery is always ready to seduce, interest, and alarm those who do not know the true God. … The energy of the Spirit was at work in Samaria through a free herald of the gospel. This came after Jerusalem had refused the testimony with hatred to the point of death.
Nobody was exempt — not the educated, not the leading citizens. And one thing broke the whole system:
Simon's sorcery and falsehoods did great damage, and they led to his own blasphemous claims about himself. We are told here that he misled everyone around him, small and great. What use are rank or education in guarding a person from error? Yet it all vanished like smoke before the light of the gospel. "The kingdom of God" and "the name of Jesus" destroyed the empty trickery and shameless frauds of the Samaritan.
Why would a man work to gather a title like this? One writer names two motives, and the only thing that can break such a hold:
Self-exaltation and personal gain were his objects, as with every other misleader, ancient and modern. … Philip's coming with the gospel of Christ broke this man's spell. There is indeed nothing else that can deliver people from slavery to Satan, whatever form that slavery may take.
Set the crowd's great man beside the One Philip preached, and the contrast is total:
Pride and self-exaltation have always been the marks of man. So people have become easy prey for Satan, whose thoughts and desires have always been set against God and His Christ. What a contrast we see in the blessed Man whom Philip preached! … Here was a blessed Man whose ways were exactly opposite to those of every other man.
Loud claims to power should make a reader cautious. One writer holds the crowd's cry up as a mirror for today:
The Lord hates pretension to power in a day such as the present. The display of merely human power which we see on all sides is nothing like the power of the Spirit. Those who make loud claims that the power of God is with them resemble the crowds who followed Simon Magus, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great." They also resemble Laodicea, which says, "I am rich," not knowing that she is "wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked."
- Claimed power. The crowd's title carried Simon's own outrageous assumption. The word "called" marks it as a claim, not a fact.
- Borrowed power. Satan set up sorcery as a rival to the truth. It seduces, interests and alarms people who do not know the true God.
- Unquestioned power. Simon misled everyone, small and great. Rank and education guard nobody from error.
- Broken power. The kingdom of God and the name of Jesus made the whole system vanish like smoke. Nothing but the gospel of Christ frees people from slavery to Satan.
- Counterfeit power. Self-exaltation was Simon's aim. It is the reverse of the Man Philip preached, whose ways were the opposite of every other man's. So loud talk about having God's power should make us cautious, not impressed.
And they gave heed to him, because that for a long time he had astonished them by his magic arts.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
But when they believed Philip announcing the glad tidings concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women.
Philip preaches in a Samaritan city, and the people believe him and are baptized. That raises two questions: what did Philip preach, and why does Luke record who was baptized?
Philip matched his message to the people in front of him. The Samaritans already shared part of Israel's hope.
The Samaritans, though a foreign race, had for centuries taken Jewish ground. They had their temple on Mount Gerizim, and they had the Jewish Scriptures. They spoke of "our father Jacob." They took the Jewish hope as their own — the coming of the Messiah (John 4:12, 25). Philip therefore took them on their own ground, and announced the Christ to them.
A sorcerer named Simon had the city under his influence. Two things Philip preached broke his hold.
Simon's sorcery and lies did great damage, and they led to his own blasphemous claims. We are told here that he misled everyone around him, small and great. What use are rank or education to guard from error? All of it vanished like smoke before the light of the gospel. "The kingdom of God" and "the name of Jesus" wiped out the empty trickery and shameless frauds of the Samaritan.
One writer argued that believing "the name of Jesus Christ" is less than believing in Jesus Himself. That argument fails.
The same strange confusion runs through this writer's remarks on Acts 8:12: "What did they believe? The things concerning the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ. They were then baptized, and so brought into the kingdom and to the name of Jesus Christ. But whether they truly believed in Him is another thing." Did he not know that "the name" is used for the person? (John 1:12; 1 John 5:13.)
The words "kingdom of God" appear less often in Acts than readers expect. Philip's preaching in Samaria stands almost alone.
Philip preached the things concerning the kingdom of God in Samaria (Acts 8:12), as Paul did at Ephesus until everyone living in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:8)… Apart from Paul, in fact, the kingdom forms no part of the recorded testimony of anyone in Acts, except Philip at Samaria. This does not mean it was not established in the most real way. But the great subject of everyone's testimony, as they went from province to province and city to city, was Christ — His death, resurrection and ascension. The power of the Holy Spirit gave that testimony effect in souls and brought them to confess His name, and so the kingdom was formed and spread.
Philip did miracles. But the verse marks their believing as the turning point, and that order repeats.
When the Lord would start the work in Samaria, Philip went down and preached Christ to them (8:5). He worked miracles as well (6, 7). But we read, "when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women" (8:12). So at Damascus (9); at Antioch in Syria (11:19-24)… it is the word of God, and not the display of power, that first caught the attention of both Jews and Gentiles. And it converted those who listened to it.
Baptism followed faith, and it carried a public meaning.
Verses 12 and 16 show us that the baptized person professes an entrance into the kingdom of God. He also professes to take on himself the name of the Lord Jesus, as his new Master. This is just as Israel of old were baptized to Moses — see 1 Corinthians 10:2.
The words "both men and women" mark a change from the sign God gave Israel earlier.
Only the males among the Jews were circumcised; disciples, both men and women, were baptized (Acts 8:12).
The next verse adds Simon to the baptized. His case is the warning attached to this passage.
He was amazed when he saw the great miracles. But more than that, he also believed, was baptized, and then stayed with Philip. But his faith was not through the word of God. God's word alone can produce faith in man, for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Simon was captivated by the miracles he had seen. Philip was deceived by him, but not Peter, who uncovered his wickedness.
- Word. What broke Simon's hold on Samaria was a message believed, not a greater display of power. The word converted them, not the wonders.
- Name. "The name of Jesus Christ" is not a lesser thing to believe than the Person. The name stands for Him.
- Kingdom. Philip's preaching of the kingdom of God is one of the few such records in Acts. Elsewhere the kingdom spread as people came to confess Christ's name.
- Baptism. Believing came first, then baptism. Baptism professes entry into the kingdom and taking the Lord Jesus as new Master. Unlike circumcision, it was given to women as well as men.
- Reality. The same baptism that marked real converts also covered Simon. His faith rested on miracles. Profession is one thing; a work of God in the heart is another.
And Simon also himself believed; and, having been baptised, continued constantly with Philip; and, beholding the signs and great works of power which took place, was astonished.
Simon had held all Samaria under his spell. Now he is the one amazed. He believes, Philip baptizes him, and he stays close. But what was that belief worth? Peter later tells this same man that his heart is not right before God.
Before this verse can be weighed, the scale of what happened in Samaria has to be seen. The preaching of Christ ended the sorcerer's career as the man everyone called great.
This man's spell was broken by the coming of Philip with the gospel of Christ. There is indeed nothing else that can deliver men from the grip of Satan, whatever form that grip may take.
Verse 12 and verse 13 do not use the same words, and the difference is not flattering to Simon. The men and women simply believed and were baptized; of Simon alone we read that he stayed near Philip and was amazed at what he saw.
This was what carried him away — not the love of God, not the truth of Christ, nor the grace of the gospel even to such a guilty, deceitful wretch as himself, but the astonishing power at work before his eyes… Others had their eyes drawn to the kingdom and its holy glories; others in spirit fell down and clasped the feet of their unseen Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ, lost in wonder, love, and praise. Simon was in ecstasy as he watched the signs and great deeds of power… Not a word suggests self-judgment before God, not a word of any gracious work on his heart.
It was the miracles that had this influence over his spirit, not the seed of God, the divine word entering his heart. Believing because of miracles alone is not the faith that works by the Holy Spirit. God may indeed work miracles and signs to confirm His word. The end of John 2 shows that Jesus did not trust those who had believed in this way. When the Spirit of God works, He produces needs in the soul that Jesus alone can satisfy.
This kind of faith can be perfectly honest and still be empty.
It may not be in the least insincere, and those who believe this way may be the readiest to fight for their creed if it seems necessary. But there is no life, as there is no repentance, no link with Christ formed by the Holy Spirit through receiving the word.
Philip baptized Simon along with the rest of Samaria. So what can baptism do, and what can it not?
The gift of the Spirit, a few verses later, is what exposed the difference.
When the Holy Spirit was given, the line was drawn between what was real and what was not. Not all who are baptized prove to be real, but the Spirit is given only to those who are… Simon submitted to all this; nevertheless, when the test came, reality was not found in him.
Philip took Simon at his word.
Simon confessed the Lord, and Philip baptized him. I have no doubt Philip thought he had caught a great fish, and would have brought him into the assembly of believers. But the Lord had His eye on His assembly, on His dear servant, and on this daring sinner. So through Peter He brings out Simon's real state.
Simon Magus is like a buoy fixed by the hand of God over a sunken rock, to keep passing ships away from it. He is a solemn warning to all false professors. Learn this lesson: neither baptism nor making a profession of Christ can save you. He was baptized, he professed to follow Christ, and he sought entrance into God's assembly. He was clearly not saved then, and whether he ever was saved is doubtful. Nothing will do but real possession of Christ.
- Amazed, not changed — the signs held Simon; God's word never entered his heart.
- Evidence, not faith — believing because you saw a miracle is not the faith that works by the Holy Spirit.
- Sign without substance — baptism is an excellent sign where there is life and faith. Without them it only deepens guilt, with a Saviour in plain sight.
- The Spirit draws the line — not everyone baptized proves real. The gift of the Spirit exposed what Philip could not see.
- A buoy over a rock — Simon warns every passer-by: neither baptism nor profession saves. Only having Christ does.