seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Acts 8:4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
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.
So, let's recap. Stephen [and Philip in these verses] were elected to be deacons. Stephen was murdered by the Sanhedrin. Saul of Tarsus, one of the Sanhedrin, held the coats of his fellows on the Sanhedrin while they murdered Stephen. Then, Saul went all around Jerusalem pulling Christians out of their homes and putting them in prison. So, a lot of them fled. As they ran, anywhere anyone would listen, they talked about the Messiah.Now one of the others who ran was Philip. He was also elected to be a deacon, just as Stephen had. Philip fled to Samaria.
Now you all know about "the good Samaritan" story. The "good Jews" would have nothing to do with a Samaritan. See, when the Persians overran Jerusalem and took prisoners back with them [Book of Daniel], the Persians left behind the "no hope" cases that were not capable of making the trek. They were left there to die. Then any conquering hero that came along... would marry into the "no hope" cases. They were considered useless by the "good Jews". That's where Philip wound up.
Philip started doing what he apparently did best, considering he was elected to do so, he started being kind to the Samaritans. The Samaritans soaked up everything Philip taught them. The Holy Spirit in Philip was racking up fine numbers of converts... So, Peter and John joined Philip in Samaria.
Now in Samaria, there was a magician named Simon who was doing some pretty dramatic stunts. He had quite a following. When he saw the "slick tricks" Philip was doing, he joined right up and was Baptized. He hadn't received the Holy Spirit at this point, because Peter and John hadn't arrived. But he did follow Philip, soaking up everything he could learn.
When Peter and John [Apostles] arrived, they brought the Holy Spirit with them and anyone they touched got the Spirit. That was something Philip was not capable of [yet?]. Well, when Simon saw the power of the Holy Spirit in action, his dramatic stunts were like kindergarten fridge art in comparison. He just had to have the Spirit! So, Simon did what most people would do.... Simon tried to buy the Spirit!
The answer is in purple above. Philip, Peter, and John were not offering to sell the Spirit. They knew the Spirit wouldn't do tricks for duckets like humans would. They told Simon to pray God would forgive him for even thinking such a thing. Simon asked them to pray for him. it doesn't say he ever got the Spirit.
Then Peter and John went back to Jerusalem, preaching along the road on the way back.... while Philip stayed in Samaria and continued his mission.
Simon tried to buy the Spirit!
Simon learned a big lesson we should all keep close to our hearts.
The Spirit is.... Not for Sale!
