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THE GREAT SIMONI Acts 8:9-24

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THE GREAT SIMONI Acts 8:9-24 THE GREAT SIMONI Acts 8:9-24 Last Sunday I made a clear application of the text to the current situation we find ourselves in due to the coronavirus. I am not going to do that today. Nor am I, in this sermon, going to address the fact that today is what is generally called Palm Sunday – the Sunday when the people of Jerusalem gleefully heralded Jesus as the "son of David." Like you I regret that we are not all together this morning. For if we were, I am sure we would be enjoying, right about now, watching the many young children at Burning Hearts come walking up the aisle waving palm branches as they sing. Can you picture that in your mind? Next Sunday is Easter Sunday, and on that day we will, like today, again be in Acts chapter 8, although on that Sunday the text we will be covering fits really well with the message of Christ's death and resurrection. I'm looking forward to it. But, for today we are just going to deal with the text…straight on. So, if you have a Bible handy, please turn to Acts chapter 8… Acts 8:9-24 Long before there was David Blaine, Penn Jillette, David Copperfield or even Harry Houdini there was THE GREAT SIMON. And given that Simon lived in the era when the Italians ruled the world, it would not surprise me one bit if he went by the name THE GREAT SIMONI. Why he was a marvel…he was a wonder…what a show! While growing up, I often heard my Dad repeat a sideshow huckster's invitation to come in and see such marvels. It went like this… "Step right up folks. All it costs you is ten copper pennies, two nickels or one thin dime. She walks, she talks, she crawls on her belly like a reptile." Well, all you need to do is step right up and you can see for yourself the wonders of THE GREAT SIMONI. He'll marvel you, he'll dazzle you, he'll leave you speechless! Never before has there been a magician of the caliber of This Great Power…the power of God…THE GREAT SIMONI. And that was Simon's life. 2 He had mastered his craft and refined his art. And he had become a wonder to behold. And all of Samaria, that region of northern Judea, was in his grasp. And then…and then along came a church deacon, straight out of Jerusalem, a man whose co-worker (named Stephen) had been executed by the city's elite…Philip. No one had ever heard of HIM before. But he too was a man to behold. For unlike The Great Simoni, Philip had a message of salvation to offer to people. He wasn't a wonder to behold; he was a wonder to hear! Salvation…peace with God…the forgiveness of sins…reconciliation with our Heavenly Father: that was Philip's message. Simon could impress you for an hour, but Philip had a message that could change you for a lifetime! And so Philip came preaching and baptizing. And the people believed and were baptized. Simon, hearing the same words of saving grace said, in effect, "I too want that! What must I do to be saved?" And though the text doesn't fill us in on all the details, clearly Simon heard the message of salvation, accepted it and was baptized. So the Great Simoni became a Christian. One can't help but wonder how that might have affected his show. If some modern circles of Christianity were able to influence him I'm sure they would have had him now performing his slight of hand tricks using Uno cards instead of regular playing cards. And the lady that he threw the knives at, or the one he would cut in half, well, maybe both were a bit more fully clothed now that he had become a Christian. Or maybe, like the 20th century Christian magician Andre Kole, he figured out a way to present the gospel using some of his tricks…that in the same way he could make the rabbit disappear, he would then say, "Christ can make your sins go away!" Or just like he could make that cup of dark wine turn into crystal clear water, he would say, "Jesus can take your heart of sin and make it white as snow." And so The Great Simoni became a sideshow for Philip. Simon attracted the crowds and then Philip would preach to them the gospel. And when Simon wasn't attracting the crowds with his magic, Philip was also attracting the 3 crowds with his miracles. Yes, ages before Penn and Teller there was Simon and Philip offering a tag-team most certainly made in heaven. It was a great setup. And all would have been well. But then Peter and John came to town. Now we remember Peter and John from way back in chapters 3 and 4 of this book of Acts. Remember? They were the ones who were used by God to see the lame man walk…a man who hadn't walked in 40 years! And then, when that came to be known to the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, these were the two who gave their unabashed and bold defense of healing in JESUS' NAME! And what do we find Peter and John doing in Samaria where Simon and Philip were? Why they are laying their hands on these new Christians and with that having them receive the Holy Spirit. Now, you talk about a troubling passage. To anyone who loves theology this is a troubling text. For just consider the questions that arise from these few verses. Questions like… 1. How did Simon, or these other people in Samaria, believe in Christ without the Holy Spirit already working in them? Jesus had taught that it was the Holy Spirit's work to convict people of their sin, their need of righteousness and of coming judgment (John 16:8). If it is the Holy Spirit who convicts people of their sin and need to get right with God, then how can someone WITHOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT be convicted, ever believe or ever be saved? 2. Philip was very much aware of the Holy Spirit for as one of the magnificent "Seven" from Acts chapter 6, a requirement of him was that he be "full of the Holy Spirit." So Philip knew of the Holy Spirit. Knowing the difference the Holy Spirit makes in a person's life WHY would he have gone ahead and baptized or authorized others to be baptized who were completely ignorant of the Holy Spirit? 3. Why would an imparting of the Holy Spirit be limited to the laying on of hands by Peter and John? What did they have that Philip didn't have? And since when did it even require a laying on of 4 hands to receive the Holy Spirit? The apostles, in Acts 2 received the Holy Spirit and no one laid hands on them. When we get to Acts chapter 10 we are going to read about how the Gentile, Cornelius, received the Holy Spirit, and there also it mentions NOTHING about any laying on of hands. So what's with the laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit? 4. When the apostles were "baptized" with the Holy Spirit (back in Acts chapter 2) they all received the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues. Here in Acts 8 these believers received the Holy Spirit and there is no mention of tongues or of anything extraordinary. So how did Peter and John KNOW these believers had received the Holy Spirit? 5. Granted, Simon should not have offered to BUY the ability to impart the Holy Spirit on others, but apart from that, his desire didn't seem so wrong. Who today…which of us…would not want to see those around us have the Holy Spirit come into other people's lives? It seems like a good desire. Right? Yet Peter verbally TEARS INTO HIM with no mercy. I mean he FRIES HIM. Was Simon really that bad a guy? Was Peter's prayer that Simon "perish" fulfilled? Simon, in response to Peter's rebuke, seems pretty repentant (in verse 24), or was he just trying to save his own skin? So, lots of questions. Here and there throughout the Bible, we come up with unanswered questions. For example, have you ever wondered what finally happened to Jonah? The book of Jonah ends with Jonah contending with God over God's willingness to forgive the people of Ninevah and not destroy their city. God was showing mercy to the people of Ninevah and Jonah didn't like it. And that is where the story ends. But I wonder, • Did Jonah ever repent of his sin and of his anger towards God? • Did Jonah come around to God's way of thinking? • Did the people of Ninevah find Jonah and thank him? • What happened to Jonah? We don't know Or how about that passage in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 where Paul writes about the coming "Day of the Lord" and how before that day arrives there 5 will be a rebellion and a revealing of the man of lawlessness. And then Paul writes, in verse 6, "And YOU KNOW what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time." And every Bible reader for the last 2,000 years has been reading that saying, "No, Paul, we don't know what is restraining him or even who he is! Could you maybe have been a bit more explicit?" Unanswered questions.
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