NW Bible Study - Bible Quiz #28 - Simon Magus

Well, good evening. Welcome to another Wednesday night Bible study. So, tonight we pick up where we have left off. We are on question number 28. And if you look at your quiz, and again, just as a reminder, if you go to the uh if you're on the YouTube channel and you go over to the notes, I believe it's called notes, uh then you should see as one of the early notes there, a link to the um to the quiz itself.

And uh if you download that, you can follow along. And and I certainly encourage people to go ahead and uh go through it yourself and and and answer as many as you can. But remember that the point of this uh of going through this exercise of each of these is to answer the question why is this important to know? And of course that allows us to to look at something uh maybe from a little different angle or at least a little bit more thoroughly to try to figure out what is what is really important about this. So tonight

we're on question 28. Acts chapter 8 describes a figure whose name is Simon Maggas. We'll pick this up in Acts chapter 8:es 9- 11. So this is where we find the answer to question number 28. So it's Acts 8:es 9-11. And it says here, "But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city, and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the great power of God." And they heeded

him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. This is an interesting character. It's an interesting story. Uh I want to walk through this thing a little bit carefully today uh to learn some lessons for us today. Simon Maggus is a lesson or provides lessons for today for us for God's people right now.

So now when we step into Acts chapter 8, the story actually is not primarily about Simon Megas that begins with Philip. Now, he was one of the seven chosen in Acts chapter 6 to be a deacon. After the persecution that followed Steven's death, we get to Acts chapter 8 8 and Paul is persecuting the church and the disciples are scattered uh over this persecution. So, Philip was among those who was driven out of Jerusalem.

But his scattering was not really a setback for him. Actually, God used that to move the gospel into the new territory of Samaria. Now, Christ had obviously been there before, had talked to the Samaritan woman. But look at what God was able to do through Philillip here. So, let's look here at verses 4-8.

Says, "Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philillip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits crying with a loud voice came out of many who were possessed, and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed.

And there was great joy in that city. So Philip essentially was on an assignment by God. He carried the message of the kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ into an area that had been long ago divided from Judah. Now that obviously is a people with a complicated history.

It's a they have a mixture of truth, error, and a longing for God which was shaped by generations of confusion. I want to go through a bit here before we move further into the story. I want to go through a bit of background on Samaria as a reminder of who were these people. Often times we remember the ancient people of Samaria and we remember that Samaria was the name that that essentially meant the northern 10 tribes of Israel. So it meant Israel.

Yet after Israel was sent into captivity by Assyria, some things changed. So I want to walk through a bit of this back. So the northern kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria around 720. That's a good rough number to you. 720 BC. Now when that happened something permanently altered the identity of the region that we call Samaria then they were no longer after that they were no longer the lost Israelites or the descendants of the tribes of Israel who remained in the land. The Bible provides a clear historical record of what occurred after the Assyrian

conquest. Let's go back to 2 Kings chapter 17. 2 Kings chapter 17 verse 6. Let's pick this up here in verse 6. 2 Kings 17:6. In the ninth year, Hosa, the king of Assyria, took Samaria and carried Israel away to Assyria and placed them in Halah and by the and by the habore, the river of Goen and in the cities of the Mes.

This verse states that Israel was removed, not partially, not symbolically, but physically relocated. The Assyrian policy of conquest involved deportation. They did that to break national identity. Archaeological records from Assyrian kings such as Tiglath uh I think it's Pileer could be Pis Pilzer but it's probably Pzer and Sargon I confirmed this practice.

Populations were uprooted, resettled and replaced to prevent rebellion. Makes sense, doesn't it? The Hebrew term gala which means carried away or is translated carried away here I should say means to uncover to strip bear or remove completely. So that's not the language of taking the leadership out.

That's the language of removing all of the people clearing the land of its inhabitants and then repopulating it with your own. That's clearly what the Assyrian practice was. 2 Kings 17 24. We're here in 2 Kings 17. Let's drop down to verse 24. It says here, "Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Kufa, Ava, Hamoth, and from Sarah and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel.

And they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities." Now this is a critical detail and a lot of people overlook this but after removing Israel, Assyria imported foreign populations and we see the regions from which they brought them. These were not Israelites any longer. These are foreign people. They were citizens of Assyria, conquered peoples, and they were transplanted.

And of course, being transplanted to uh Samaria or Israel or, you know, north of Jerusalem in this case doesn't mean that they came to this place and then just abandoned their own beliefs. They brought everything with them.

They brought all of their own customs, their idol worship, all the pagan stuff that they were doing. They brought all of that with them. So, these are not Israelites returning home. These were foreign settlers moving into Israel as residents. Verse 29, we're still in 2 Kings chapter 17. Let's notice verse 29. It says, "However, every nation continued to make gods of its own and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made.

every nation in the cities where they dwelt. So now we see that whatever the worship practices of Israel were prior to this, those were displaced. They were replaced by the practices of the people that were brought there to become the new residences of the promised land of where ancient Israel had previously resided.

and all of its people now having been evicted, a new population exists of Gentiles, of foreigners. Commentators consistently note, let's look at the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible, which says, "The population of Samaria became a mix of peoples from various conquered territories who brought their own religious practices with them.

" The Anker Bible Dictionary explains, "The Samaritans are the descendants of foreign colonists settled in the district of Samaria by the Assyrians in the wake of the destruction of the kingdom of Israel in 7:22 BC." Let's note here in Ezra 4 and verse 2. Ezra 4 and verse 2. Okay. Ezra chapter 4 verse two. Let's see here. I want to make sure I get enough context for you here. Well, let's read this. Let's pick it up in verse one.

It says, "Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the descendants of the captivity were building the temple of the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the heads of the father's houses and said to them, "Let us build with you. For we seek your God as you do, and we have sacrificed to him since the days of Esar Haden, king of Assyria, who brought us here.

" That's a bit of an exaggeration in my opinion, but it does settle the question. He's admitting they aren't Israelites. He admits that they were brought into the land by Assyria generations after Israel had been removed. So, their claim to worship. Now, keep in mind that Ezra is writing here sometime around the mid 400s BC.

So this is almost 300 years later. It's well known then these are not Israelites. They are foreign settlers practicing pagan worship claiming to honor the God of Israel. So by the time Philip arrives in Acts 8, Samaria was populated by people with maybe a partial knowledge of Israel's history but no religious heritage for sure.

They were not descendants of the northern tribes. They were a mixed gentile people shaped by centuries of spiritual confusion and pagan worship. So this background explains why someone like Simon Maggas could rise to prominence in that society and why Philip's preaching had such a dramatic effect. Now let's go back here to Acts chapter 8 and let's pick this story back up again and let's let's look at a couple of things.

We're back in Acts chapter 8 here and again we we're in in the verses of 9-11 for this inter this person introduced to us as Simon Maggas. But there was a certain man here Acts 8:9 called Simon who previously practiced sorcery in the city and he astonished the people of Samaria. But I want you to note something. It says here that he was claiming that he was someone great.

And then of course notice the people all gave him heed from the least to the greatest saying this man is the great power of God. And they heeded him because why? Because he had astonished them with his sorceries. And not just a little while for a long time. So now we see Luke establishes us with a setting here.

We see this figure Simon Magus who is a magician of some kind who has demonstrated some sort of impressive power that has deceived the people. They were astonished by what he could do. He claimed to be a great person and then supported his claim of course with the trickery whatever that was that he was doing for the people which made him look like the great power of God.

Of course Luke records him. There's a number of reasons I think we can deduce for why did Luke introduce this figure to us. He's important to us for sure. But one of the things he's saying is that he built an entire identity around astonishing people.

Now this Greek word that's used astonished or bewitched means to drive someone out of their normal state of thinking. It's to overwhelm their judgment with displays that appear supernatural. You know, I was thinking about I was thinking about how powerful this concept of magic is to human beings. And I was remembering back in 1983, I I remember as I was I was 18 at the time, uh around 18 at the time. I think I was 18 at the time because I think he did this in the summer.

But David Copperfield was a well-known magician during during those years. And he had a very ambitious project. He wanted on national TV before a live audience. He wanted to make the Statue of Liberty disappear. So he set up a very impressive display. He had stands set up.

He had these big columns and it and so you know you've got Ellis Island where the statue is and then you've got Liberty Island which I believe is right next to it. And so that's is where he set up everybody. And you could see the the statue out beyond these big pillars he had set up before these the stands where the people were. And so if you can imagine this, the the there's there's video cameras everywhere. They're filming the whole thing and and there's lights which he's going to use.

And so, you know, the people are sitting there and then the big moment, the big reveal comes. There's a curtain that raises up between these two giant pillars and it covers for the audience and and and us who are watching on TV. It covered the whole thing. So, you couldn't see the statue anymore. And, you know, then the big reveal. Ooh.

The lights go out, the the sheet drops, the lights come back on, there's no Statue of Liberty. Everybody's obviously completely befuddled. This is amazing. What What in the world happened here? And it turns out he was no um he was not supernaturally powerful enough to make the statue actually disappear.

So what he actually did was the podium upon which they were all seated. It was with a massive platform and the pillars were a part of it. And so what he did was he simply rotated very slowly. He was playing very loud music. He rotated everything over just slightly so that the statue ended up behind one of the pillars. And so when he dropped it, you couldn't see the statue anymore because it was hiding behind one of the pillars. And uh nobody knew that obviously.

They thought, "Oh, what do I mean?" And then he had a second set of lights. And so when he So when the lights went off, he he just fired up the new set of lights and they were shining across the whole area where there was no statue. So it's kind of, you know, it was fun. But, you know, human beings love magic.

I hate magic. Look, I really I really am not a fan of magic. And here's why. Because at the end of the day, to me, it's all about manipulation. making me think something's true that I know isn't true. These people do not have supernatural powers. I know some people really enjoy the thrill of the trick, but I hate the thrill of the trick.

Anyway, so many people like it that Simon Maggas was using some kinds of tricks and people were astonished by what he was able to do. Now, his objective was manipulation and religious control, not having some fun. Now, Luke tells us Simon claimed that he was someone great. Now, that's important.

His authority did not rest on truth. It didn't rest on scripture, on revelation, or anything that God had done, but on self-promotion. And it it was supported by his deceptive power. And of course, the people accepted this from the least to the greatest. It said they attributed to him the title, the great power of God. A statement showing that they mistook Simon's displays as divine.

So the key here is not that Simon impressed them because some degree that that did happen, but that's not the key. It's that they could not tell the difference between his sorcery and the work of God. This is Luke's first major point. The people lacked discernment because they had never witnessed the real thing. They'd never seen true miracles.

They didn't know what a miracle was. He didn't know what real power was. They only had Simon's deceptions. Simon filled that void and he offered spiritual spectacle and the people were captivated by that. The Samaritan people were rooted in mixed religion with pagan roots.

So they were vulnerable to spiritual pretenders like Simon Maggas. So he wasn't a passing figure or a momentary curiosity. He was the region's revered spiritual authority except everything that he did was counterfeit. It was fake. It was trickery. And that that's essential to the story. When Philip arrives and preaches Christ performing genuine miracles by the power of God, Simon does something remarkable.

He becomes a disciple. Who becomes the one who's astonished? The fraud meets the authentic. The pretender witnesses the real power of God. Now, for him, that difference is undeniable. He knows what magic looks like and what it takes to create the illusion of supernatural power. So when he sees the real thing, he knows it's the real thing.

Luke includes Simon because his presence highlights the contrast between humanly manufactured spiritual power and God-given spiritual authority. Simon represents everything false, self-exaltation, manipulation, spiritual confusion, while Philip represents everything true, submission to God.

proclaiming the truth, miracles that flow directly from the father rather than from human designs. The rise of Simon Mega sets the stage for an even deeper lesson to come. If this man who fooled an entire population with counterfeit power could immediately recognize the reality of what Philip was doing, then the church must understand the importance of distinguishing between the impressive spiritual display and genuine conversion.

Let's note here in Acts chapter 8 verses 12 and 13 what it says here. Now we're still in Acts 8:12 says, "But when they," this is the Samaritans, "What when they believed Philillip, as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized." Then Simon himself also believed and when he was baptized he continued with Philillip and was amazed seeing the miracles and signs which were done.

So when Philillip began preaching the message of the kingdom. So he wasn't there preaching about himself. He wasn't there saying I am the power of God. Look how great I am. Which is what Simon was doing proclaiming himself. claiming he was someone great. Philip didn't come there claiming he was great.

He came proclaiming God and Jesus Christ in the kingdom. Well, the people of Samaria immediately recognized what they were hearing was very different from anything they had ever encountered. The miracles they witnessed were not illusions that they weren't emotional manipulations either. And they weren't spectacles.

They were actual acts of God confirming the truth of the message that Philip was preaching. For the first time, these people, which I would say would be long accustomed to counterfeit spirituality because it says Simon deceived them for a long time. Now they're they're encountering something very real. And they responded with sincerity. They believed what Philip taught and they were baptized into the name of Jesus Christ.

Now Luke after this inserts a detail that really does demand our attention. Then Simon himself also believed. Now I want you to pause on that and think about that for a minute because this is where we've talked about what is faith before. It is belief. It's belief in God. But that's followed by two other things.

It's combined with belief is combined with action. that demonstrates you do believe what you said you believe and that's also based off of trust in God. So you say you believe in God, you do what he says, you trust him. That's what faith is. So we would be looking for all of those components if the belief that Simon expresses here is truly a part of faith that it's developing in him.

But I would say that Luke's wording here is very intentional. He does not say that Simon repented. It doesn't mention that he confessed his sins, that he surrendered to God, or that there was any change of his heart. He simply says that Simon believed and was baptized.

So external actions that could be interpreted as conversion yet lacking the internal evidence that scripture associates with genuine repentance. And this is this is a great lesson for us today and it's worth reflecting on in ourselves when we contemplate the issue of conversion.

Am I converted? Well, have you repented? We begin with that an absolute turning away from your former life and turning towards God and moving in that new direction. Now we have to ask what captured Simon's attention. Well tells us directly he was amazed seeing the miracles and signs which were done. But here's a secret and I don't have time to go through this in this study but it's worth thinking about. It's worth looking into if you want to.

Miracles don't convert. Think about that. Miracles don't convert. This is why if you look and you say, well, why don't we see big miracles the way that we used to see these days here where we see dramatic healing, right? This is one of the things that Philip that was done through Philillip. Dramatic healing. Uh demons cast out.

Uh paralysis was healed. Lots of things were happening. And when you think about that, you have to ask, well, how come we don't see big dramatic things like that happening today? And the answer is miracles don't convert anyone. What was Simon amazed by? Was it amazed by the truth? No.

He was amazed by the miracles and the signs which were done. Now, this Greek word for amazed, this is important. The Greek word for amazed is the same word previously used to describe how Simon had bewitched the people. The irony is deliberate. The deceiver who had driven an entire population out of their senses is now himself driven out of his senses by what he sees Philip do. This is the heart of the point.

The counterfeit can't hold up in the presence of the authentic. Simon recognized instantly that Philip's miracles were of a different order. They did not draw attention to the performer. They did not establish personal greatness. They did not create a need for applause or celebration or worship of Philillip. Philip's work pointed entirely to the power and authority of God. This is why Simon followed him.

Not because he embraced the message of the kingdom, but because he could not deny the reality of what he saw. Now, here we have to pause for a teaching moment. Simon's response shows that it is possible to be drawn to the things of God for the wrong reasons. A person may be fascinated by miracles and prophecy and knowledge or spiritual activity even yet remain really unmoved here. Simon was amazed by the power but not the purpose of God.

He admired the results but not the message. Luke's account warns us that the outward agreement with the gospel is not the same as conversion. Baptism is not the same as repentance. This is why Simon's baptism does not solve his problem. Instead, it really exposes it. He has stepped closer to what is true, but his heart did not change.

He saw the works of God and desired them, but he did not desire God himself. The people of Samaria received the truth with conviction. Simon observed the truth with a selfish interest. They were moved by the message. He was moved by the display of power. And this is the foundational lesson. The gospel exposes what is genuine and what is false.

When the power of God is revealed, the counterfeit becomes unmistakable. Simon's response is the first hint that something is deeply wrong within him, and it prepares us for what comes next. Let's notice verses 14-1 17. We're still here in Acts 8, but now we'll pick this up from verses 14-1 17.

And it says, "Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them who when they had come down prayed for them, that is the Samaritans, that they might receive the Holy Spirit." So, so they were baptized but they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Now, that's a part of a a different in a separate discussion, but it's an important thing to note.

For as yet, it says in verse 16, it that is a misransation. That word is it because it refers to the Holy Spirit which is not a person. It's the power of God. For as yet it had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they, that is Peter and John, laid hands on them and they, the Samaritans, received the Holy Spirit.

So we see here that the moment the apostles in Jerusalem learned that Samaria had received the word of God, now they didn't wait. They were they were obviously moved also by the spirit of God to get to Samaria and complete the process for these people. Now Peter and John are the same two people who had spent three and a half years under the ministry of Jesus Christ personally learning from the savior himself.

So they these two men were sent to Samaria to confirm what God had begun through Philip's preaching. Now Luke wants us to see that the giving of the Holy Spirit was not automatic after baptism. It was the direct act of God granted through those whom Christ had entrusted with that authority. In other words, God gives the spirit yes to whom he will choose. But he gave us a process.

It's the baptism process by which we receive the Holy Spirit. And we see here that that included the laying on of hands. And it was done by those ordained to the job, Peter and John, not Philillip, who was a deacon. So when Peter and John arrives, they pray for the Samaritans, they lay hands on them, and the Holy Spirit is given.

We see this is the complete process of baptism. And then this of course is where our narrative makes a turning point. Everything up to this moment has shown us the Samaritan people responded to the gospel. Now let's see how Simon responds to the spirit. Verses 18 and 19.

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles hands, the Holy Spirit was given. You got we have to pause on that for just a second. What have we been seeing in Simon this whole time? We haven't been seeing someone who's listening to learn and change, to repent, to heed the gospel at every turn. What we keep seeing is he's observing.

He's watching. He's noting. What he's seeing. This is a very important point because what he sees drives him to do the next thing. He offers them money. saying, "Give me this power also that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit." That right there, offering money for a religious authority is called Simon.

Now, you know why? Because it's named after Simon Maggas. So instead of submitting to what he observed, Simon wanted to purchase that power. Now his reaction reveals two truths. First, Simon viewed spiritual things through the only lens that he understood, which was control and manipulation.

To him, power is something that you acquire, you possess, and you use to elevate yourself. Now he saw something greater than his own sorceries because he had built an entire career on this idea. But he saw something real and he wanted the ability to give that same power to be able to give the Holy Spirit just as he saw was given to these people through the laying on of hands of Peter and John.

He didn't want to do that to honor God. He wanted to do that to regain the control he had had watching it slip away as the people who had formerly worshiped him were now worshiping God. The second lesson is that Simon misunderstood the nature of the Holy Spirit entirely. To him, the spirit was not God's presence. It wasn't the a real power of change of conversion.

He didn't see it as that. It was a commodity. This reveals that Simon's earlier belief, quote unquote, was not rooted in repentance, but in admiration for what the apostles could do. The Holy Spirit in his mind was simply the next level of power to be acquired.

So, let's pause one more second for another vital teaching moment, especially for those who are of our younger members here. There are only two ways to approach the things of God. Either we come with repentance seeking to change, align ourselves with God and his will, or we come seeking power or benefits or influence or maybe prestige, I don't know. But it's the opposite of that.

And of course, the history of the church is filled with the presence of both types of people. The Holy Spirit exposes which of these is true for anyone being called. The spirit cannot be bought. It cannot be manipulated. It cannot be used to advance a personal agenda because it is God himself dwelling in those who want to obey him. Simon's offer of money reveals that his heart had never left his old life.

He was trying to add the power of God to the foundation of his own sorceries. He was attempting to merge the authority of the apostles with his own identity as a spiritual figure in Samaria. But the spirit reveals motives and the exper and the spirit exposes the heart. So in this moment Simon's heart stands well I would say plainly revealed.

His baptism did not cleanse him. His belief did not change him. And of course what he saw did not humble him. And of course this leads to a striking rebuke from Peter verses 20 and 21. But Peter verse 20. But Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money.

" Simon verse 21. You have neither part nor portion in this matter for your heart is not right in the sight of God. So obviously this is a very sharp and immediate and of course deeply revealing rebuke. The apostle is not offended in the sense of of uh of being weak in the faith. Peter wasn't defended but he is discerning. He sees right through Simon Maggas.

Simon's opera of money exposes that his heart was still governed by his old mindset of manipulation and control. To Simon, the Holy Spirit is a commodity, another level of influence that he can acquire and use for his own purposes. But to Peter, this is not merely, you know, a misjudgment or an error in his understanding.

It's a spiritual crisis that reveals Simon's true condition. He is not in the faith. He is not converted. And so Peter says to him, "Your per your your money perish with you." Now that statement connects the fate of Simon's treasure with the fate of Simon himself. So in scripture, a person's relationship to money often exposes the condition of the heart.

Covetousness, control, self-importance, idolatry. Peter's words indicate that Simon's motives are corrupt. He's still captive to sin. So the issue to Peter isn't the money. It's where Simon is. So Peter continues, "You have neither part nor portion in this matter." I want you to understand right here that these are not the same words.

They mean they they're both very important and they they mean different things. The Greek word for part And the Greek word for portion are different words. Peter is telling Simon is this. You have no part in the ministry of Jesus Christ. You have no portion of the inheritance of the Holy Spirit. That's what he's telling him. You weren't there. You haven't been a part of the training.

You did not get instructed by Jesus Christ. You did not repent in your life. You did not turn towards God. You have never submitted to that process. So you've never been a part of anything that we've done. And so you have no part, you've got no portion of the Holy Spirit coming to you. That's what he's trying to tell him.

And Luke wants us to see this distinction because Simon stood with believers. He listened to Philillip. He observed the miracles and he was even baptized, but he was unconverted. Verses 22 and 23. This is what Peter goes on to instruct him. He he tells him you could be converted, right? Because he says in verse 22, repent therefore of this your wickedness and you pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven.

You turn to God, ask him for forgiveness and repent. This is the instruction. This is not new. We go all the way back to Acts chapter 2, the very first sermon that Peter gives to the people after convicting them of their crime of murdering the savior, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And then they ask, "Well, what do we do?" And he says, "Repent." The first thing you do is repent.

That's what tells us you're being converted. You repent. So Peter is diagnosing two exist two conditions that cannot coexist with true conversion. First, let's notice here in verse 23, for I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. Two things he points out to to Simon about himself. You're poisoned by bitterness.

Now bitterness in scripture off in scripture often refers to resentment against authority, envy of spiritual gifts or hostility towards someone else's favor before God. Now this fits Simon perfectly. He had been the center of spiritual attention. He had been revered as the great power of God.

But now the people he once controlled are following Philillip. Simon is losing influence, losing visibility, and losing the admiration that he once commanded. This is his poison. But the second thing Peter says is that he's bound by iniquity. Bound by iniquity. The image here is imagery is very powerful. The word bound means shackled or chained. Simon's baptism didn't break hold of this bondage.

His belief did not change his direction. You know, it's it's like the angels where Christ says they believe. You can believe in God but not obey, not be converted, not follow him. And this is where Simon is. Okay, there's a God in heaven. Great. These must be from him. I want that power, too.

That is not the mind of a converted person. He's chained or he's shackled in his old former life. There's no release. There's no repentance. There's no transformation. So, he came right up against the truth and it didn't touch him. It had no effect on him. Well, here's the lesson for us. Peter's not calling Simon back from a momentary lapse.

He didn't just slip a little back to his former life. He never left it. And Peter's calling him to real repentance. Everything that Simon has done until this point has all been external. Peter exposes the heart behind the actions. Conversion is not measured by enthusiasm or amazement or even someone's desire for spiritual things. That doesn't necessarily equate to conversion.

The real identifier of conversion is repentance. It's change. So Peter's word brings us to the essence of Simon Maggas' issue. The presence of God's spirit reveals the truth about every heart it encounters. For the Samaritans, the spirit confirmed their sincere repentance. But for Simon, the spirit exposed the corruption that he could not hide any longer.

Now let's notice verse 24. Then Simon answered back to Peter and he said, "You pray to the Lord for me that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me." These are the final words recorded of Simon Megas. And they reveal everything that Peter had just tried to instruct him in that he did not understand because instead of falling to his knees in repentance right then he responds out of fear.

What? What? Fear? What consequences? Peter just said your money perish with you. Threat. And he says to him, "Repent of your wickedness." He's called out. And pray of God perhaps that the thought of your heart may be forgiven you because you're poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. Simon doesn't want the consequences that Peter is suggesting are in front of him or the judgment of God that he ought to ask repentance for.

Here's the thing. Fear of the consequences is not the same thing as repentance. Why didn't he get on his own knees and ask God for forgiveness? Instead, he says to Peter in his rebuke, "Would you pray for me and ask God for me to forgive me?" That's not repentance. Peter can't save Simon Maggas. Repentance is the clearest indicator that Simon was never converted because his concern is not in his relationship with God. It's in self-p protection. He wants relief, but not righteousness.

He fears judgment, but he doesn't fear sin. He wants the punishment removed, but he doesn't want to change his heart. But here's the thing that we have to learn from this. Repentance is not measured by the desire to escape consequences. It's measured by the desire to be reconciled to God. So, Simon's request also demonstrates his distance from God.

Because true repentance brings a person directly to the father. We're humbled. We're seeking his mercy. We want to change our life and we want to align our purpose with his. That's what repentance looks like. That's what conversion is all about. Simon Maggas couldn't do that.

He wanted someone else to stand between him and God because he just didn't have the heart of a disciple. So the man who once claimed to be the great power of God can't utter a single prayer of repentance for himself. You know, Luke ends Simon's story very abruptly. This is it. That's it. We've read the whole account of Simon Maggas. He doesn't tell us whether Simon changes his heart later. He doesn't describe his final fate. I think this is intentional.

Luke has achieved his purpose to show that false belief can sit right beside genuine belief that counterfeit conversion can imitate the real thing for a while and that only the spirit of God reveals what lies within the heart. Luke concludes this story, I think, because God wants his people right now, even today, to think carefully about the condition of the heart, our motives, our responses to truth, the way that we approach the things of God, the teachings of God.

Simon shows us how easy it is to admire spiritual power without surrendering to spiritual authority. To come close to the truth but not let it reshape your heart or change who you are. To follow a servant of God outward while resisting the work of God inwardly. But the lesson for us is not meant to discourage us. It's meant to strengthen us.

When God calls a person, he does not call them halfway. He calls them to a humility that welcomes correction, to a repentance that transforms a life and to a relationship that cannot be bought. It can't be borrowed and it can't be imitated. Where Simon resisted, we can respond. Where he sought control for himself, we can seek to surrender to God. where he feared consequences.

We can seek the presence of God himself through repentance. The difference between Simon and the Samaritan believers is the difference God wants us to see in ourselves. He's not looking for spectators of his power. What he's really looking for are disciples who want to have the same heart, who want to be converted to follow God.

This is the lesson for us today of Simon Magus.