Despite persecution, or perhaps because of it, the disciple began to preach the gospel outside Judea, beginning in Samaria – Acts 8:1-25.
Having left Judea, Philip traveled to the city of
Samaria and began to “proclaim the Messiah.” Under his preaching, demons
were exorcised and many that were “lame were healed,” causing “much
joy in the city.” As a result, many Samaritans responded positively to
the gospel.
THE MAGICIAN
The text identifies one of the new converts as a
man named Simon who was known for using “sorcery” to “astound” the
residents of the city. Prior to Philip’s arrival, the “least to the greatest” men of
the city paid heed to Simon, believing that he exercised the “great power of God.” Yet
even Simon found the gospel irresistible, or at least, he was greatly impressed
with the miracles that accompanied it.
As the result of the proclamation of the “kingdom
of God,” a great many Samaritans were “baptized, both men and women…in the name of the Lord Jesus,” and
this included Simon. However, it seems his fascination was with the “signs and great miracles wrought” by
Philip (“and he was amazed”).
Upon hearing the news, the apostles sent Peter and
John to confirm the reports from Samaria. But upon their arrival, apparently,
they found something was missing from the faith of the Samaritans, and they “laid
hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.” For reasons not stated, none of the Samaritan
converts had received the Spirit.
Simon was impressed, for he “saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given,” and he attempted to bribe them to grant him the same power.
In the passage, the stress is on the fact that
Simon “saw” something when men and women received the
Spirit. Precisely what he “saw” is not stated, and we can only
speculate. Perhaps, as on the Day of Pentecost, he saw “tongues of fire”
appear over the converts or they began to “speak in tongues as the Spirit
gave them utterance.” But that is conjecture based on what occurred
previously.
BAPTISM
What the text does tell us is that the Samaritans
received the Spirit AFTER they responded to the gospel and AFTER
they were “baptized in the name of Jesus.” Moreover, in this case, the
Spirit was dispensed through the “laying on of the apostle’s hands.” Why
that was necessary is not explained in the passage.
Logically, it does not follow from the incident
that the intervention of an apostle is always necessary to receive the Spirit.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit fell on all 120 disciples without anyone
laying hands on them. And later, the Spirit fell on the Gentiles gathered at
the house of Cornelius while Peter was still preaching to them, again, without anyone
laying hands on them, apostle or not – (Acts 10:44-48).
It also does not follow from the passage that believers
must be baptized “in the name of Jesus” before receiving the Spirit. Again,
at the house of Cornelius, the Gentiles received the Spirit without the laying
on of hands and they “spoke in tongues” BEFORE they were
baptized in water.
As for the “sign” of the gift, the thing that
Simon “saw” most plausibly was the Samaritans speaking in “other
tongues” when they received the Spirit. However, the passage does not say
that was the case, and no passage in the New Testament states explicitly that
“speaking in tongues” is THE “sign” of the gift. While that may
be the most plausible explanation in Acts chapter 8, to insist “tongues”
is THE “sign” of the Holy Spirit goes beyond what the text says.
Having said that, we cannot ignore Simon’s
reaction. He was a man who had practiced the magical arts for many years, and presumably,
he was not someone who would have been easily impressed. Something out of the
ordinary must have occurred, not only to get his attention but also to cause
him to attempt to buy the same power.
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