The story of Simon the “magician” in Acts chapter 8 is a curious and a puzzling tale. Every part of the story raises difficult questions. So little actual detail is given, it is hard to know what really lies at the root of this tale.
What was Simon doing in Samaria before Philip came along and began his mission to the Samaritans?
The text says that there was
a certain man named Simon had previously practised magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great. (Acts 8:9)
The phrase “practised magic” is a translation of a Greek verb that is derived from a noun. We do this in English when we say things like,
“We need to decide (vb.) where to go. This is an important decision (noun).”
“When it is raining (vb.), the rain (noun) makes you wet.”
It is customary that the meaning of verb and noun are in close agreement.
The noun that lies behind the verb Luke uses in Acts 8:9 is a noun we have heard once in Matthew’s Gospel, when Matthew wrote,
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. (Matthew 2:1)
The Greek word translated “wise men” is magos. The verb in Acts 8:9 translated “practised magic” is mageuo. It is the verbal equivalent of the noun “magos.” It is at least worth asking why in Matthew the noun form is translated “wise men,” while in Acts we are given “practised magic arts” to translate the verb form of the noun “wise men.” It is not entirely clear who Simon was, or what he was doing.
The challenge of figuring out what Simon was up to is even greater when we consider the response of the crowds to Simon.
All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, ‘This man is the power of God that is called Great.’ And they listened eagerly to him. (Acts 8:10,11)
I do not have a lot of experience with “magicians.” But I do not imagine that a magician’s first goal is to be “listened to.”
How is our vision of Simon altered if we translate the verb in Acts 8:9 to correspond with the translation of the noun from which it is derived as it appears in Matthew?
9 Now a certain man named Simon had previously taught wisdom (mageuo) in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great. 10All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, ‘This man is the power of God that is called Great.’ 11And they listened eagerly to him. (Acts 8:9-11a)
Exactly the same Greek word is used to describe the crowd’s response to Philip’s preaching as is used to describe their response to whatever Simon was doing.
6The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was said by Philip. (Acts 8:6)
Before we demonize Simon, as most popular interpretations are eager to do, we might stop and ponder whether we are absolutely confident that we really know what was going on in his life.
Was Simon using dark magic arts to manipulate the crowds and win a following for himself? Or, was Simon a legitimate teacher of wisdom who was seeking truth and longing to follow faithfully where the wisdom he discovered was leading?
What does Simon’s response to Philip suggest might be the most likely answer to these questions?
In A Spacious Place 
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January 20, 2013 at 5:36 pm
Tress
I enjoy reading these thoughtful interpretations.
From what i read in my old “King James “”bible . i did not have the impression that Simon was a an absolute Charlatan , rather that he had not come across altruistic teachers ,and probably out of his own ignorance , thought that if anything was worth having you had to pay for it( what does that remind you of today ).Phillip , after all was himself an apostle.but there fore did not have ,perhaps have the patience and understanding that jesus would have had , realising that no one is perfect
. At least Simon appears to have wanted to get the truth and maybe he was power hungry ? who knows?
January 20, 2013 at 8:01 pm
ddahli
I was wondering if the word was ‘wizard’ or ‘wizardry’ rather than magic or wisdom. Were wizards considered wise and powerful? A man poisoned with bitterness and imprisioned by gall. Sounds pretty consuming. He might have thought the power he had, legitimized his belief and teaching as being from God. But then… the Gospel and then… the power of God through Peter and John. Trust Peter to call it like it is and telling him he better turn from this deadly path. Simon hadn’t repented of something he didn’t recognize as darkness. I thought Simon’s frightened response was very hopeful. Maybe Peter’s stark harshness saved Simon’s life. I hope so. I was thinking personally, it sometimes takes a friend who can really tell us like it is, to save us from whatever possesses us to do some of the things we do.
January 20, 2013 at 10:07 pm
jaqueline
I thought the same Tress…that Simon was not taking the gift for granted, and thought it only right to pay for it. I wonder why we took the story as something bad about Simon instead of it about Peter being such a disrespectful bully. I mean after all it is not like Peter has always been perfect in HIS responses to God.