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, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.
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. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 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. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
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. (New International Version)
Simon the Sorcerer was quite a character. For that matter, so was Simon Peter. The contrast between them, however, shows that there were really no similarities between the two – even though the Sorcerer tried to make it so.
The Sorcerer reminds me of the church elder who is a continual suck-up to the pastor. Those sorts of parishioners always drive me nuts in the ministry. I have known plenty of them over the years, who put on a façade of politeness and speak with flattery; but their real agenda is to have power, by any means possible.
People like Simon the Sorcerer have always existed, ever since the fall of humanity into sin. They aren’t committed to anything but themselves. Their actions are motivated by the accumulation of information so that they can use that knowledge to leverage for more power and control.
What is so sad about the Simon the Sorcerer sort of people is that they actually believe that everyone else is motivated by the very same things they are; and that the world operates on acquiring more and more control and power over it.
They need money because they believe everyone has a price. They compulsively follow influential individuals because they believe anyone can be manipulated. They continually boast (and even lie) about their importance and all the great things they have done in the past.
Perhaps most of all, the Simon the Sorcerer type person obsessively seeks attention because they believe their sense of security and self-worth are determined by how many other people like them.
The Apostles of Christ, Philip and John and Peter, saw right through the false discipleship of the Sorcerer. They didn’t need to know all the events of Simon’s past to clearly see that he was a bitter man who was a prisoner to the guilt and shame he carried around in his heart.
simony: The buying or selling of advantages for positions in the Church, or for religious pardons
The difference between Simon the Sorcerer and Simon Peter the Apostle is the difference between manipulative magic and divine miracles. Like the Egyptian magicians of Pharaoh, and the divinely inspired Moses, the ability to perform a great wonder of power, or spiritual sign of power, seem rather similar – that is, at first.
But the similarities of the supernatural powers are merely superficial. There are always limits to what the Sorcerer can do versus the unlimited abilities of the true believer possessing spiritual power – or even between supposed Christian faith healers and the godly believer who is gifted with being a healer.
The bottom line of it all is that the deeds of Simon the Sorcerer pointed to himself in selfish acts of self-glorification. The signs and wonders of Simon Peter – and all the other Christian Apostles – consistently pointed to the kingdom of God and validated the message of repentance and new life, faith and forgiveness, in Jesus Christ.
In other words, the Apostles did not really do any of the miracles of bringing a changed life to people; Christ himself did that, through the ministry and power of the Holy Spirit. It was a message about release and freedom from the dark forces of Satan, and the ability to live a good, just, and right life without having to pay for it in any way.
Today, although few people practice an overt form of magic as the ancients once did, we still must be wary of those who promise magical results for whatever we need or what ails us.
One could argue that much of contemporary marketing and consumerism are a modern form of buying into the magical thinking that my life can be mystically and unexplainedly improved through using a particular product (or a certain church consultant!).
The easy way is most typically the approach of the Sorcerer and charlatan; it doesn’t really change anything, or require anything of us, especially when it comes to the human heart. It never truly brings about a better world.
The way of the cross, however, is a hard road – the narrow way – and few end up finding it. The old life must go in order to make way for the new life. There must be a crucifixion before there can ever be a resurrection.
God, you sent your Son into the world that we might live through him. May we abide in his risen life so that we may bear the fruit of love for one another and know the fullness of joy. Amen.
Rev. Tim Ehrhardt 