Simon Magus

Biblical Account

Simon appears only in Acts 8:9-24. He practiced sorcery in a city of Samaria and claimed to be someone great, and the people followed him, saying, "This man is the great power of God" (Acts 8:10).

When Philip, who had been scattered by the persecution that followed the martyrdom of Stephen, preached the gospel in that city, many believed and were baptized. Simon also believed and received baptism, and he is recorded as having followed Philip and marveled at the signs he saw (8:13). This Philip is generally understood to be one of the seven men chosen in Acts 6, distinct from the apostle Philip, one of the Twelve.

Afterward, Peter and John came down from Jerusalem and laid hands on the Samaritan believers, and they received the Holy Spirit. Seeing this, Simon offered them money and asked for the power to make everyone on whom he laid hands receive the Holy Spirit. Peter rebuked him, saying, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money," and called him to repentance (8:20-22). The account ends with Simon asking them to pray to the Lord for him; what became of him afterward is not recorded in Scripture.

Significance Within Scripture

The narrative is set within the spread of the gospel beyond Jerusalem into Samaria (Acts 1:8). The episode shows that the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, as gifts of God, cannot be obtained or controlled through money or manipulation. It is also read as illustrating a recurring theme in Acts: the power of the gospel is greater than that of pagan religion or magic.

Interpretations and Debates

• Was Simon's faith genuine? Within Calvinism and the Reformed tradition, Simon is often interpreted as having believed only outwardly, since his heart was not right (8:21); on this reading, his case does not conflict with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. Within Arminianism and Wesleyan theology, some read him as a genuine believer who fell into sin and was called to repentance.
• Receiving the Spirit after baptism: Interpretations differ regarding the scene in which the Samaritan believers received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands after their baptism. The Pentecostal tradition cites this scene in support of baptism in the Holy Spirit as an experience subsequent to conversion. Presbyterian and other Reformed traditions tend to understand it as a unique event marking the gospel's first spread into Samaria.
• Extrabiblical traditions: The second-century Church Fathers Justin Martyr and Irenaeus portrayed Simon as the founder of a heresy who was active in Rome. Irenaeus regarded him as the originator of all heresies and associated him with Gnosticism. The apocryphal Acts of Peter tells how he competed with Peter in working wonders in Rome and fell from the air. Such stories are later traditions not found in the biblical text, and scholars are divided over whether the Simon of Acts and the Simon described by the Church Fathers are the same person.
• Simony: In the medieval church, the buying and selling of church offices or sacred objects was called "simony," after Simon.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, Simon is commonly cited as a warning against attempting to obtain spiritual gifts or church offices with money. He is also invoked to criticize faith that is professed outwardly but is not right at heart. The passage is frequently mentioned in criticisms of paying money in exchange for church offices or of using spiritual gifts as a means of profit.