⁹Now there was a man named Simon, who formerly was practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; ¹⁰and they all, from smallest to greatest, were giving attention to him, saying, “This man is what is called the Great Power of God.” ¹¹And they were giving him attention because he had for a long time astonished them with his magic arts. ¹²But when they believed Philip preaching the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were being baptized, men and women alike. ¹³Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.

He was making a name for himself, Simon the magician, but this had to give way to a greater name, that of Jesus Christ. With a good storyteller’s knack, Luke portrays a somewhat outlandish character to capture our attention and to then challenge the narcissist in all of us. What began in Acts 5 with Ananias and Sapphira’s selfishness and deception, we now see here in the Samaritan world, this innate self-aggrandizement on full display. Simon saw that entertaining people with works of power brought renown and influence.

In the ancient world the term “magic” or “magician” was broader than today, overlapping into the occult. Simon seemed to be particularly good at parlaying his powers (whether human or demonic) into a remarkable reputation, being called “the Great Power of God.” Every now and again, and in every place, people arise to fool others with feats of power and seemingly supernatural abilities.

However, with the coming of Philip to preach the gospel, a greater power was coming into his turf! Jesus had said, “[Y]ou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt. 16:18). Philip was like an advance scout, a forerunner to the church coming in power to invade the Samaritan world, and Simon’s magic arts would not overpower it. The gospel would break through, and would not be controlled in any way, shape, or form by Simon.

The gospel did not skip a beat; the Samaritan context did not slow it down. Luke does not bother to number the results, but simply says, “they believed” and “were being baptized, men and women alike.” With the popular influencer, Simon, joining in that response, we see the pervasiveness of the gospel’s effect. In fact, Simon became a follower of Philip, but as we will shortly see, the magician was more preoccupied with Philip’s miracles than the gospel message.

Lord, thank You for the many wonderful things You do in my life, but help me not focus on the miraculous signs, but on Your message of grace and truth.