A minor figure in new testament history, simon also appears in gnostic texts in which his character and biography are expanded upon, but these accounts. Simon magus also known as simon the sorcerer or simon the magician, was a religious figure. Simon the sorcerer, contrary to many theologians views, was a true believer. We first started in chapter 1, looking at how jesus promised. He appeared in the wake of the newly established church in samaria. The name or term magus is not given to him in the new testament, but is justly used to designate or particularize him on account of the incident recorded in acts 8. Listen here to the most recent sermons preach from the grace baptist church pulpit. Join us in exploring, the strange tale of simon the magician. He used his so called magic to make a great name for himself and to win the adoration of the people.
He was a magician of sorts, and had mesmerized the locals with his arts. Nor can it be attained automatically because we read books about building the church. The spirit isnt a commodity we command but a person who commands us. People are attracted to entertainment with dazzling special effects. It documents the true history of the samaritans, the meaning of the word peter in the ancient world and the church that was established at rome by simon the magician.
Deceit, lying, power, money, bitterness, slavery, gospel preaching, salvation, and the laying of hands to give. Simon magus today we are continuing our journey through the book of acts. Large numbers of samaritans professed faith and were baptized. Simon the sorcerer amazed the people of samaria with his impressive tricks.
But when they believed philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of god, and the. Philip, stephens coservant to the hellenistic widows, headed to samaria and preached and performed signs and wonders in a city there. Conversions in the book of acts simon the sorcerer acts 8. Going back to acts 8 when we see simon a magician having magic and philip doing miracles, its very easy to assume that magic that didnt come from god could have been in play regardless of phillip saying in the name of jesus acts 8. Although the bible warns about various false teachers, in the new testament there is more about one of them than the others during that time. I then understood that simon the magician is the opposite pole of simon. The kingdom of christ and simon the magician by rev. The act of simony, or paying for position and influence in the church, is named after simon. Esv magic is the art of deception, the sleight of hand, the skill of illusion and distraction. After consulting these two books, i invoked simon the magician. Simon the sorcerer, sometimes referred to as simon magus or simon of gitta, is mentioned by luke in acts 8. Simon performed magic tricks and everyone thought he was amazing.
Lessons from the book of jude united church of god. But when they believed philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of god, and. These were wise men who came from the east to worship jesus, the newborn king. Although the term magus is not found in this passage, it is also an appropriate description since in act 8. Magic is defined as the art of producing illusions as entertainment by the use of sleight of hand, deceptive devices, etc. In any case, there are some important lessons from simon s brief new testament appearance. Luke tells us that this is the occasion for a great persecution to take place and those who were in jerusalem and in judea began to be scattered to other places. But when philip told the samaritans the good news of jesus christ many people believed. A collection of sermons on book of acts chapter 8 by dr. His name was simon the magician, and this man, and not simon peter the. We first started in chapter 1, looking at how jesus promised the holy spirit for all of us to live upright lives.
Magicians and astrologers swarmed in her streets comp. By his magic arts 115 simon had managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the samaritans for years. Simon had a special status among the samaritans as a practitioner of magic. Now, in verses 9, one man is in view, a magician by the name of simon. And that was simon the magician, now generally called simon magus. Simon the magician this is a great expose by the late dr. Simon the magician answered and told me, do not invoke me in the name of christ, call me in the name of peter. The power of authority will not function simply because we copy the methods of another, as the sons of sceva realized acts 19. After the story about simon, the end of chapter 8 relates the story of an ethiopian eunuch who believes philips preaching of christ vv. Simon magus international standard bible encyclopedia. Sermons from the grace baptist pulpit are expositional in nature. Simon magus tries to buy the holy spirit america magazine. Magus means magician and is commonly added to his name to differentiate him from others named simon.
This article mainly consists of quotes from the bible and early writers about simon. So, simon was doing miracles which, for the moment, relieved people, but which, later, left them bound worse than before. Simons perversion of signs and wonders desiring god. Even simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with philip acts 8. A series of character sketches through the book of acts simon magus. The strange tale of simon the magician united church of god.
Simon the magician was man who believed that he was someone great. I want you to open your bible to the 8th chapter of acts because were going to look at the history of a man by the name of simon, not simon peter. However, when the question of jewish traditions continued to intrude on the early churches, christian literature and sermons slid into the third, and most dangerous of these polemics, the defamatory polemic that dehumanizes jews kille 293, or as will be discussed in our case here. Simon magus, also known as simon the sorcerer or simon the magician, was a religious figure whose confrontation with peter is recorded in acts 8. Simon magus was a magician of samaria who had seduced the people of that region.
That is what happened to simon the magician here in acts 8. The search for the historical paul, signature books, isbn 156085216 x. The greek word expresses the idea of superstitious arts, overbusy with the supposed secrets of the invisible world. Gary years ago, i had a long conversation with a prominent member of a mainstream christian church. The acts of simon magus in the first century ad by. It comments on a good believer who was martyred, stephen v. From taylor marshalls new book the eternal city rome and the origins of catholic christianity due december 2012.
Simon the sorcerer and the faith that does not save. We usually speak of simon the sorcerer or simon the magician. Free access to sermons on simon magus, church sermons, illustrations on simon. One has to do with how simon the magician responded to the holy spirit, and the other has to do with how the samaritans responded to the holy spirit. Simon, a man amazed with magic and not with christ. Catholic tradition relates that saint peters ministry in rome was challenged by an evil antagonist named simon magus or simon the magician. This explains many of the miracles in these socalled faith healing meetings. We cannot buy it as simon the magician attempted to do acts 8. It took a truthtelling believer peter to set him straight and tell him the path to forgiveness. These arts were almost, so to speak, the specialite of ephesus. Simon was the samaritan sorcerer who professed conversion to christianity and sought to buy an apostleship. Simon responds to this situation where gods power is now conveyed as means of judgment pointed at him and he is one scared former magician. The book of acts is the key to the understanding of christian beginnings. Well, lets turn to the book of acts, and see how this preaching deacon, philip, and others dealt with simon magus.
The acts of simon magus in the first century ad is the autobiography of this fascinating character, told at the end of a long and eventful life, describing his many adventures in the time of christ and nero. Roger duncan ii continues his series on simon peter by looking simon from chapter 8 and his use of sorcery. But being immature, he was seduced to go back to the old ways of thinking. Simon was a local celebrity in samaria, because he practiced sorceryor as the esv renders it, magic. We will spend two weeks on this text because there are two sermons here.