A Charlatan Full of Cheap Parlor Tricks

Magicians have captured the imagination and hearts of people throughout the ages from Houdini, to David Copperfield, to David Blaine. With their ability to do slight of hand card tricks, and pull rabbits out of thin air, or do death defying tricks like escape death while being chained in a straight jacked while dangling over a pit of hungry alligators.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have a magic wand all to yourself. The ability to to just with the wave of a hand make things happen. We could wave it here and wave it there and in a instant cure all the hunger in the world. Do not think for one second that that type of power would bring corruption to the heart of anyone who wielded it. The world is already a scary place full of people who have but a little power. What a scary place the world would be if we could in an instant destroy all of our enemies and create a world after our own image, and likeness. One might even in that situation be tempted to call themselves a god, think of themselves as some great.

Burden: The gift of the Holy Spirit cannot be bought.

A contest of phenomenal power. (9-13)

The entire episode reminds me of Moses and the sorcerers of Pharoah. This was obviously a contest of the Pharoah, the god of the Egyptians and the true and living God. God sent Moses to demand from Pharoah to set His people free, and Pharoah sent his magicians who like Moses and Aaron were able to turn their staffs into serpents, but the Lord asserted His supremacy over Pharoah but causing Moses staff turned serpent to swallow up Pharaoh's.

So we see here it is no surprise that just as in the beginning of the OT and now the NT era that we would see once again a contest of the god’s. Simon the magician who has gathered for years the attention of the people by his cheap parlor tricks against the God who is keeping His promise to bring the Gospel of His kingdom to the world starting with Jerusalem and now the Samaritans.

Verse 12 helps us to see that Luke is presenting here a contrast between Philip and Simon. Simon with his worldly sorcery and cheap tricks, and Philip with the real power of God, the Gospel of the kingdom.

The Gospel of the kingdom to the Samaritans had to come with some sort of confirmation.

The wows and amazement of the christian faith can only take you so far. The genuine Christian moves past this phase his faith is genuine so it is able to carry him past hardship and trouble and the temptations arise inevitably. If Simon was genuine which the text leaves us doubtful it his fall or was indeed incredibly quick. Even Simon followed Philip around like he thought that he was some sort of rock star he was one of those teen ages at the concert jumping up and down going crazy.

A confirmation of Philip’s proclamation. (14-19)

Not to undermine the work of Philip

This was not a gift that was strictly given through the laying on of the hand of the Apostles. Infact there are other passages that indicate none of this. When the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost there was no mention of the laying on of hands.

Acts 10:44–47 ESV

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

The question that we must ask ourselves here is this, “Is this passage and the order of faith, baptism, and the gift of the Spirit, normative for all christian eras?

I think that the answer has to be no, it is no wonder that with the tension between the Jews and the Samaritans and the fact that this was ushering in a new era, a radically different approach to the scope of the good news and the Word that it would indeed require confirmation and that the christian community at large which now included Samaritans be firmly established by the Apostles themselves. Remember that Philip was a Hellenistic Jew and there by influenced by the Greek culture. It was necessary that the Apostles not redo, or somehow undo what Philip did, but confirm it to the Jewish community that yes the Gospel had indeed come to these Samaritans.

The second Question that we must ask is this, “Did the Holy Spirit come merely at the will of the Apostles and the laying on of hands? If so why don’t we do this today?

The simple answer is that this was a one unique case in a transitional point of the Gospel, and where ever we see the Gospel going in to a new region or group it is usually accompanied by a unique sign or event.

See Acts 10

The clear pattern and normative is that the Holy Spirit is given to the believer this is called the baptism of the Holy Spirit that John the Baptizer talked about , and then the sign which is water baptism proceeds it.

The Holy Spirit is not confined or manipulated by any man or any person. That is why Simons request was so egregious he assumed that the Holy Spirit was bound to the Apostles and that this power could be sold to a higher bidder.

John 3:6–8 ESV

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Be assured that it was not the Apostles who called and took the Spirit of God to Samaria,but the Spirit of God and took the Apostles. It is foolish to think that even the Apostles let alone Simon could manipulate and give the Spirit at will.

A conjurer full of poignant poison. (20-24)

This story is so famous that we even have a word to describe some one who buys and sells religious privileges or rights, it is called Simony. Simon thought that he could purchase the gift of the Holy Spirit, not for himself but so that he could dispense it at will, no doubt to use if to gain more notoriety and power and money. We have our modern day charlatans as well, those who seek to profit by the Gospel, to manipulate money from others, to line their own pockets, and to enrich themselves. Such people who promise health and wealth as such are false teachers and should be avoided like the plague.

The fact that we are told in vs 13 that Simon believed but we are not told the object of his faith. Luke is clearly making a distinction between the faith of the Samaritans and the faith of Simon. F.F. Bruce, in his commentary on Acts calls Simons faith, “Superficial and inadequate”. That is he was wowed and impressed by the fact that these men could do things that he could not, but awe and wonder alone will not get you into the kingdom of God. It is not the miracles or Philips casting out of demons, or healing the paralyzed and the lame that saved the Samaritans, but genuine faith in the message, the other stuff was merely meant to buttress and confirm their faith and the entrance as Samaritans into kingdom as the people of God.

There are somethings that are clear from this passage and somethings left untold. It seems clear that we can recognize the Samaritans who were genuinely kingdom saints, given the gift of God’s Spirit, as for Simon, we are less certain, though the text seems to indicate that there was a lack of genuine faith and that he was devoid of the life giving Spirit. The point is we just don’t know, and some of the more credibly historians who wrote about him were not too kind.

J.B. Phillips translates this passage in his paraphrase “to hell with you and your money!”

The idea here very strong and poignant. The gall of bitterness in the greek is an idiom meaning bitter poison, with intense malignity. It is expressed emotionally by a state of wrath, that a person would be doomed by sin, and under God’s judgement which in its ultimate sense would be a very bitter state.

Jeremiah 8:14 ESV

Why do we sit still? Gather together; let us go into the fortified cities and perish there, for the Lord our God has doomed us to perish and has given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the Lord.

We are not told whether Simon did actually repent, though Luke indicates that he requested that Peter pray for him rather than choosing himself to pray for forgiveness. It is at least a possibility given the fact that he did not die instantly as did Annanias and Sapphira. Peter uses the words “if possible” in verse 22.

However nothing from 14 on indicated that the belief and even baptism of Simon was accompanied by the giving of the Spirit. in fact vs. 21 indicates the opposite that Simon has no part or lot with the giving of the Holy Spirit a promise to the people of God.

Colossians 1:12 ESV

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Conclusion:

Not all who claim to believe are regenerated, possessing the Holy Spirit. Those who are citizens of the kingdom have Christ as the object of their faith. Philip is said to have preached the Word, and Christ, and now it is called the good news of the Kingdom of God for the first time in Acts.

The fact of the matter is that there are people like this even today, who claim to have genuine faith, but we could use the example of Hebrews 6:4-6

Hebrews 6:4–6 ESV

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Or John 6 where men and women who had just been fed food in the parable of the 5000, who were even called disciples, walked away from Christ because his words were too difficult to swallow.

or how about the parable of the sower where the seed was cast out and some of the seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up and they were the cares of the world that choked out the word of God in their lives. Simons care and love for money and power places him on the brink of destruction and ruin.

The Gospel is heard with the ears, attended to by the mind, and responded to with the heart and lips.

NO MAGIC WAND NEEDED.