Acts 8:1-25 "Bam! Magic."
Ever been blindsided by life? Like, you knew where you thought you were going, basically had a plan and purpose, and then—BAM—out of nowhere, everything changes?
It’s happened to me so many times I ought to be used to it.
I was actually on tour, writing songs for my second album when I found out our record company didn’t exist anymore. I mean, Warner Brothers was still there, but not the division we were signed to—Collision Arts was gone.
But without that seemingly catastrophic change, I would have never become the worship leader at a big LCMS church in Katy. And nobody was more surprised than me when I loved it—I would have never left that position. But then—BAM—I was, let’s just say, 'surprised' by a meeting where I found out I was, how do I put this... no longer needed. You know, 'surprised' in the same way you’re surprised when your favorite Mexican restaurant suddenly says, 'Sorry, we’re out of chips and salsa.' Also, the manager has asked you to leave.
I had poured everything into that church. Loved the people, loved the ministry, and honestly, I would’ve stayed there forever. But in one painful conversation, it was over.
And you know what? At the time, I thought it was the worst thing ever. Worse than losing a record deal even. Looking back, I can see how God was at work, using those situations to shape me, change my perspective, prepare me for the next adventure, and ultimately lead me where He wanted me to be. Without that unexpected BAM, I would’ve never ended up planting a church. I would have never met all of you. The most important work of my life would have never happened. Thank God for BAMs.
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? We make plans, we get comfortable, we think we’re in control, that we understand what it all means, what we’re doing on this earth—and then life happens.
We’re going through the Book of Acts line by line. Last week the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem arrested a young Greek Christian named Stephen—after he schooled them on how the whole history of the Old Testament points to Jesus they got mad and stoned him to death. There was another young man named Saul who stood by and watched the whole thing with great interest. Chapter eight…
And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Acts 8:1
Saul was like the chief officer put in charge of a special task force to shut this Christianity thing down. That speech Stephen had given made one thing perfectly clear: Following Jesus is not compatible with the old Jewish way of life. Not the temple worship led by the Sadducees. Not the synagogue worship led by the Pharisees. Not even the Roman way of life. Following Jesus is a threat to all the world’s systems. So, the way they saw it, the Christians had to go.
This is still true, by the way—following Jesus is not compatible with your old life.
The attack was especially aimed at the Greek Christians like Stephen, so most of them got out of town. And I’m sure that was terrifying and painful and horrifically inconvenient. Also, it forced them to do what Jesus had told them to do—Go! Make disciples of all people, starting in Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and keep going to the ends of the earth.
Church of over 30,000 people, excited about Jesus, taking care of each other, having a great time, and then—BAM!
But the apostles stayed in Jerusalem. Maybe because they thought they should man their posts. Maybe because the persecution was mostly against the Greek Christians.
Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. Acts 8:2
In those days, people were usually buried the same day they died. It was forbidden to publicly mourn for a person who was executed but they held a proper funeral for Stephen anyway.
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Acts 8:3
This is our boy who will eventually be known as St Paul—the guy who’s going to write at least thirteen of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament (fourteen if you think he also wrote Hebrews). But here he is starting his career as Dog The Bounty Hunter Jerusalem edition. Doing whatever he can to violently destroy the church—going house to house looking for any sign that people might be Christians. Plastic chrome fish on their donkey? WWJD bracelets. John 3:16 tattoo’d behind their ear. Bedazzled cross necklaces—which were especially confusing to the Romans.
Seriously though, Saul’s leading a brutal crusade. Dragging off men and women and throwing them in prison for believing in Jesus.
But, the people who got out of town, they took the Gospel with them. If they thought Christianity was an infection, this persecution was helping to spread it.
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.
Acts 8:4-8
Philip was one of the Greek Christians who was appointed to help run the food bank—a deacon like Stephen. We’re told his story as an example of what was happening everywhere. This is just one of the thousands and thousands of stories of these Christians who ran from the persecution in Jerusalem and went to other cities where they told people about Jesus. The Savior. The One greater than Moses. The Messiah. The Christ who died and came back from the dead. The One who offers salvation and eternal life to anyone who believes in Him. This kind of thing was happening everywhere.
You might remember that the Jews and the Samaritans hated each other. Jesus had gone to a few Samaritan towns but He told the disciples to stay away from them. At least until after the resurrection, then He specifically told them to take the Gospel to Samaria. So, here they are—Christians aren’t allowed to hate anyone.
This town, although Luke doesn’t give the name, is probably the Samaritan equivalent of Jerusalem—the central city of their worship. The Samaritans worshiped at Mount Gerizim, so this would have most likely been the city of Shechem.
The Gospel was received with open arms. They listened, they believed and were baptized, people were healed, demons were cast out. A good time was had by all—there was great joy in the city.
It even got the attention of the great and powerful wizard of Shechem.
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. Acts 8:9-11
Simon the Sorcerer. He had the city under his spell. Simon says he was someone great. He was a magician—a magus. Like the magi who read the stars and figured out where Jesus was going to be born. Like the magicians in Pharaoh’s court who were able to use magic to duplicate most of the signs and wonders that Moses had done before Pharaoh—most but not all.
Simon was a practitioner of magic. Not just misdirection like David Copperfield or Chris Angel (although I’m sure some of his “magic” was illusion and tricks) but some of it was darker than that—forbidden, demonic, black magic.
Simon had a lot of power in this Samaritan city, and when he heard about Philip’s revival meeting evangelistic crusades—complete with supernatural miracles—Simon and his witchy friends showed up to see what it was all about.
He was used to people paying attention to him but now the whole city was all about Philip and what he had to say about Jesus—and His miracles.
But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
Acts 8:12-13
Celebrity becomes a Christian. That always works out great, right? “Hurry, let’s give ‘em a mic and let ‘em tell their testimony!” “Hey, y’all! I used to be that sorcerer guy who put hexes on your exes! I’ve traded my pentagram for a “Jesus is my copilot” coffee mug!”
Simon hears about the Good news of the kingdom of God and he wants in. He believes and gets baptized. Starts following Philip around like a puppy—amazed by all the miracles that are happening.
It’s always good when people come to faith in Jesus but we have to be careful with new believers, especially celebrities—I’ve seen it go bad too many times. We always want to hold them up like a trophy to validate our faith.
In the 70s there was this ad campaign where they showed famous people with the caption, “Look who’s reading the Bible!” Johnny Cash, Alice Cooper, The Byrds, Charlton Heston.
Then there was Bob Dylan who made a Gospel album just before he went completely silent about his faith and Jesus. In the 2000s, the author Anne Rice, who wrote The Vampire Chronicles became an outspoken Christian—my previous church tried to get her to come speak at a conference we were hosting. Her answer was pretty great, she said, “Thank you for the invitation to speak at your event but I’m afraid I must decline. Although I have recently come to Christian faith, I am very new to it and don’t believe I should be given a platform to display my ignorance.” She had more sense than we did. Ha.
But the most famous wizard in Samaria believed in Jesus and was baptized. It was pretty cool.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. Acts 8:14
The big news made it back to synodical headquarters so they sent the big dogs to check it out. By the way, this is the last time we’re going to hear anything about John in the Book of Acts.
When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:15-17
This is a weird verse. Peter and John show up and even though the Samaritans heard the Gospel and believed, even though they were baptized, even though there were all kinds of supernatural miracles happening and demons being cast out—it says the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them. Strange. Even though no one can be saved unless the Holy Spirit draws them and marks them as belonging to Jesus. Even though no unholy demon can be driven out unless it is replaced by the Holy Spirit, or else Jesus said it would only make matters worse—seven demons would move in. How can it be that the Holy Spirit had not fallen on any of them? What’s going on here?
It says they had only been baptized in the name of Jesus, instead of being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—like Jesus had commanded. So there’s that. Maybe that’s the whole thing. Peter and John don’t rebaptize them but they lay hands on them and pray that they would receive the Holy Spirit—which they should have received in their baptism if it hadn’t been for that oversight in how Philip administered it. They finished the baptism. Maybe that’s what happened.
It’s also a sign to the Apostles and to Samaria that salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit is truly for all people—not just Jews in Jerusalem. What happened on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem is also happening here in some way—in the central location of worship for the Samaritan people. This is their Pentecost. This is a sign of unity. These former enemies are to be brothers and sisters in Christ. The church is to be one body.
It’s interesting to remember that the last time John was in Samaria, he and his brother James wanted to call fire down from heaven to destroy the ungrateful Samaritans who didn’t receive Jesus. This time, John brought a different kind of fire—the baptism of fire from the Holy Spirit to save them.
I think it’s a good reminder to let Scripture be Scripture. Don’t try to force your theology into every crack you find in the Bible—let the Bible interpret the Bible. Let whatever Scripture that’s in front of you at any moment jack with you. If it means you have to reconsider what you think is true then so be it. Just believe everything the Bible says whether you understand it or not. Let the clearer passages of Scripture interpret the weirder parts. Also, and this is very important, don’t build your theology using only the strange bits.
Back to our celebrity Christian sorcerer…
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this power so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Acts 8:18-19
Oh Simon. Up to your old tricks—wants to learn a new one.
We don’t know exactly what happened when Peter and John laid their hands on people—they received the Holy Spirit—and then what? What happened? Did they glow? Did they manifest flames of fire over their heads? Did they suddenly know how to speak languages they had never spoken before?
The modern Pentecostals are pretty sure they immediately went into an ecstatic state and started speaking in tongues. It’s possible, I suppose. I just don’t know why Simon the sorcerer, the most powerful practitioner of black magic, would be so impressed by that. I’ve seen hundreds of preachers slap people on the forehead just before they started speaking gibberish—I never found it to be very impressive. Too easy to fake.
Something about whatever happened to these people impressed the most powerful magician they had ever seen. Whatever happened when Peter and John put their hands on these Christians was enough to even impress Simon—he wanted to be able to do it. I’m sure he had paid all kinds of money to learn the dark arts he already knew. He wanted to add the Holy Spirit to his bag of tricks. Interesting that it doesn’t say anything about Peter laying hands on Simon to receive the Holy Spirit, he didn’t ask for whatever it was to happen to him—can’t give to other people what you don’t have, Simon.
This is another problem with Christian celebrities. They usually want to hold onto whatever made them famous. But Jesus isn’t something we add to our life—Jesus gives us a new life. The old life has to die. Simon wants to be a Christian sorcerer. It doesn’t work like that.
Peter is not amused by Simon’s request…
Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” Acts 8:20-23
Peter comes out swinging—which is consistent with his typical “fire, ready, aim” approach. Where’s the grace? Where’s compassion? I don’t mean to criticize Peter but it’s kind of a Law sandwich. You know, just because this is what he said doesn’t mean it was the best way to handle it. The Book of Acts is a record of what happened in the early church—an inspired history describing how things were and what people said. There’s a difference between “descriptive” and “prescriptive”—descriptive just tells us what happened. Prescriptive tells us how God wants us to always do things, the way He “prescribes” us to act.
So, maybe Peter handled this situation perfectly, maybe he lost his cool and was too harsh on our friend Mr Wizard—all we know is what we were told.
Peter told Simon, “You and your money can go to hell! How dare you think you can buy God’s gift! You will have no part of this ministry! You will have no share in the Gospel! Your heart is not right with God—in other words, Jesus has not saved you and you are damned. You need to repent of your wickedness—you are full of bitterness and a hopeless slave to sin!”
Seems a little strong. On the other hand, maybe an Alpha male like Simon needed to be smacked down by another Alpha Male to set him straight. It’s funny to me that Peter’s name used to also be Simon and Jesus had certainly smacked him down a few times.
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Acts 8:24
I mean, it sounds like Simon is a true believer, that he repents—based on what Luke tells us about it.
Church history talks about a guy named Simon Magus—Simon the Magician—who became a leader in the Gnostic church and was a rival to Peter and Paul. Some people think it’s the same guy. If it is, then he didn’t repent and went on to cause a lot of trouble in the church. But if that was the case, I would think Luke would have been a little more clear about who we were dealing with. Anyway, we don’t know. Did what Peter say drive him away? Or did it cause him to repent? The text would lead us to believe he repented—it’s certainly possible for someone to repent of their bad motivations and come to true faith—of course, it’s also possible to repent and believe for a while but then fall away later. It’s okay to admit we don’t know things.
In any case, Peter and John continue visiting other places in Samaria where the Christians who were running from persecution went.
After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages. Acts 8:25
In spite of the dark cloud of persecution that was hanging over the church in Jerusalem, everywhere the Christians went, the Gospel was heard and the cities broke out in joy. When our lives are transformed by the love and grace of God, there’s nothing better. What was meant to destroy the church only made it stronger. Like Joseph said to his brothers, “What you intended for evil, God used for good.”
BAM happens. Just like in my story, and just like in the early church—just like in the situations you find yourself in that seem so hopeless. God can use those moments when we feel like we’re falling apart to do something greater than we could have imagined. Whatever you’re going through, whatever happens—God isn’t surprised, and He will use that disruption to bring joy and transformation—purpose and new direction—in ways you might not be able to see right now.
Of course, the most surprising BAM of all was the cross. The disciples thought it was the end. They couldn’t see how anything good could come from Jesus being crucified. But out of that moment of uncertainty and darkness, God brought the greatest light, the most hope—the resurrection couldn’t have happened without His death—which brought the defeat of sin, the victory over death and hell. What seemed like the end of all hope was actually the beginning of salvation for all of us.
BAM! What are you facing? How are you being blindsided? The same God who redeemed the world through the cross can redeem whatever you're going through. Trust in His grace. Trust in His plan. Because He’s already made the way through Jesus, and He promises the BAMs of life are not a surprise to Him, and He’s leading you somewhere good. AMEN