Now those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Thus Philip went down to [the] city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them. 6 With one accord, the crowds paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out in a loud voice, came out of many possessed people, and many paralyzed and crippled people were cured. 8 There was great joy in that city. 9 A man named Simon used to practice magic in the city and astounded the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great. 10 All of them, from the least to the greatest, paid attention to him, saying, “This man is the ‘Power of God’ that is called ‘Great.’” 11 They paid attention to him because he had astounded them by his magic for a long time, 12 but once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, men and women alike were baptized. 13 Even Simon himself believed and, after being baptized, became devoted to Philip; and when he saw the signs and mighty deeds that were occurring, he was astounded. 14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, 15 who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the holy Spirit, 16 for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them and they received the holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was conferred by the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me this power too, so that anyone upon whom I lay my hands may receive the holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your money perish with you, because you thought that you could buy the gift of God with money. 21 You have no share or lot in this matter, for your heart is not upright before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that, if possible, your intention may be forgiven. 23 For I see that you are filled with bitter gall and are in the bonds of iniquity.” 24 Simon said in reply, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” 25 So when they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem and preached the good news to many Samaritan villages.
After Stephen was martyred (Acts 7:54-60) many of the disciples fled Jerusalem to escape persecution and scattered as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch (Acts 11:19), but they continued to preach the Gospel. Philip, one of the seven men chosen to be Deacons (Acts 6:1-6), went to Samaria and preached that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise of a Messiah as foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures. The crowds paid attention to his words and were amazed by the miracles he performed. Many converted and were baptized but they did not receive the Holy Spirit. Casting out unclean spirits and healing the paralyzed and crippled demonstrated the authority and power given to the disciples by Jesus to perform miracles in his name (Mark 16:17-18). The joy witnessed among the people in Samaria was a realization of Isaiah's prophecy foretelling the arrival of the Messiah, as described in Isaiah 61:1-3.
Simon was a magician who had gained notoriety in Samaria through his practice of magic. He performed feats that appeared supernatural and impressed the people of Samaria, leading them to regard him highly and consider him someone of great importance. He was even heralded as “the power of God.” Simon believed Philip’s message and was baptized but did not receive the Holy Spirit. Simon became devoted to Philip and was amazed at the miracles Philip performed through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The apostles in Jerusalem heard that many in Samaria believed and were baptized so Peter and John were sent to pray for them so that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Peter and John laid hands on the new converts and they received the Holy Spirit. Upon witnessing the visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands by Peter and John, Simon offered them money in exchange for the ability to confer the Spirit for his personal gain. He did not understand the nature and purpose of the Spirit's work. Peter was horrified and sternly rebuked and condemned Simon for attempting to buy the gift of God with money. Simon’s request implied that his baptism may not have been accompanied by genuine repentance or faith. Peter told him to repent and pray to the Lord for forgiveness because his motives were impure, and his heart was filled with bitterness and bondage to sin.
In humility and acknowledgment of his need for prayer, Simon the Magician asked Peter to intercede for him with the Lord so that he may avoid the consequences of his sin. However, some commentators interpret Simon's words as reflecting more of a self-serving concern for his own well-being rather than genuine repentance and submission to God's will. Peter and John proclaimed the Good News to the city of Samaria and returned to Jerusalem preaching the Gospel message to the villages along the way.
Almighty God, grant us the discernment to recognize sincerity in our hearts and humility to repent of any wrong motives. Help us to understand that all of our gifts are from you so that we may trust in your grace alone and not seek to manipulate or exploit your gifts for personal gain. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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