After Stephen’s execution, Luke tells us that a great persecution broke out in Jerusalem, led by Saul and other Hellenistic Jews from the synagogue of the Freedmen. Philip, introduced in Acts 6 as a deacon, now functions as an evangelist in Samaria. Like Stephen, Simon the Magician appears to have been a leader among the Hellenists. He goes into the region of Samaria and has great success as an evangelist.
Among those who believe is a man named Simon, who is described as a magician (8:9-13). Justin Martyr describes Simon the Magician as a source of much heresy in the early church. While it is impossible to confirm this claim, Luke described him as a first-century magician who used these skills to draw people to himself. “Simon and his disciple Menander as heresiarchs found in Justin (1 Apol. 26.2, 4; 56.1, 2; Dial. 100.4; 106.3; 120.6) and Irenaeus (Haer. 1.23)—the latter calls him “the father of all kinds of heresies.” Lüdemann similarly notes that we cannot get beyond the knowledge that Justin and Irenaeus have foisted gnostic beliefs on Simon, for which we lack any reliable first-century evidence.” (Steve Walton, Acts 1–9:42, 503, citing Lüdemann, Untersuchungen, 29).
This appears to be what Simon is since he has been an amazing person for a long time in the town of Samaritan. In Simon’s case, he seems to have been able to perform several miracles, which gained him a following among the Samaritans. Luke does not tell us what his motivation might have been, but there is a connection between magic and money in other contexts in Acts (13:6-8, 16:18-19, 19:14-19), so it is possible that Simon was functioning as a miracle worker to make money.
My Favorite Magician
Keener points out several comparisons between Philip and Simon. Both work wonders and draw crowds. Simon is a “great power” (8:10), and Philip performs “great powers” (8:13). Both amaze the Samaritans, Simon with magic (8:9, 11) and Philip with miracles (8:13). Simon, however, attempts to make himself something great. At the same time, Philip acts only “in the name of Jesus” (8:12,16). This is the first of several confrontations with magicians Luke describes in Acts. Paul will be opposed by a magician Elymas (Acts 13), a Philippian slave girl who is possessed by “the spirit of python” (Acts 16), and the Sons of Sceva who attempt to cast out demons and are beaten (acts 10), resulting in the burning of magical scrolls by some Ephesian Christians (Keener 2:1499).
Why is there an interest in magic in the Book of Acts? One reason is the ancient world was obsessed with magic. Magic was an attempt to manipulate spirits and force them to act in ways religion did not (Keener: 2:1500). While moderns think of magic as a “trick” or an “illusion,” the ancients understood magic as a way of dealing with reality. Love potions and curses were available for purchase in places like Ephesus, fortune-tellers were in the marketplace to help you make decisions, and people bought charms and spells to protect them against evil spirits. If Philip the Evangelist did miracles, confusing them with magical practices would be very easy.
What is the point of the Simon narrative? Indeed, the gospel has moved into a new geographical and cultural area, but in doing so, it has encountered new problems that were not anticipated or experienced in Jerusalem. Is it possible for someone to accept Jesus as messiah and savior in Samaria? But in the case of Simon, his lifestyle before coming to Christ hinders his ability to understand and appropriate the blood of Christ. “Hearers of Acts next meet Samaritan believers in the summary in 9:31, which draws this section of Acts to a close. After that, we find Barnabas and Saul encouraging Samaritan believers as they travel to Jerusalem (15:3, the last mention of Samaritans in Acts)” (Walton, Acts 1–9:42, 506).
Does the story of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts 8 function as a warning against magic? Or was the story intended to explain to Christians the source of the disciples’ power? Perhaps this is a good passage to think about the application: Luke meant for his readers to understand something about the practice of magic in the first century, but how do we draw application to modern, western cultures where magic is not practiced? Is this a story that would be more quickly applied in an African environment than an American college campus?