

( N)ġ8 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”Ģ0 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! ( O) 21 You have no part or share ( P) in this ministry, because your heart is not right ( Q) before God. ( L) 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, ( M) and they received the Holy Spirit. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, ( J) 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them ( K) they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles ( F) he saw.ġ4 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria ( G) had accepted the word of God, ( H) they sent Peter and John ( I) to Samaria. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God ( D) and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, ( E) both men and women. He boasted that he was someone great, ( B) 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” ( C) 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. He believed in the Spirit, but not so much in God, so he offered to pay money for what Philip had.9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery ( A) in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. Simon believed in the Spirit, but not so much in God, so he offered to pay money for what Philip had.īut Simon did not believe in God. His followers were impressed with him and called him “Simon the Great,” believing that he had the Holy Spirit inside him they also thought their leader Philip was some sort of magician because he had performed miracles similar to Simon’s (Acts 8:6).

He was a powerful figure who could do things like heal people and cast out evil spirits. The fact that people were calling Simon the Great Wizard means he had some popularity with the people who followed him.Īccording to Acts, Simon the Sorcerer was one of the most popular members of the Christian community. In fact, even after he was exposed as a fraud by Peter and John, some of his followers still refused to accept the truth (Acts 9:11).

Those who knew Simon well were already aware that he was a magician, but this didn’t stop them from calling him “Simon the Great Wizard.” The Bible records that many people believed in him and respected him. Simon was already considered by people to be someone “great” - that’s why everyone called him “Simon the Great Wizard.”
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This resulted in Jesus turning him away from His teaching because it was clear that Simon wanted power over others rather than learning about how to use it wisely himself (see Acts 8:9-24). However, after just a few days, he realized that Jesus had more power than him so he tried to buy it with money by using his magic powers on Him. Simon then went on to follow Jesus and became one of His disciples. Simon the Sorcerer was originally a follower of John the Baptist until he heard about Jesus from Philip. He was also known for being able to speak in different languages. The book of Acts describes that he was a magician and used his powers to try to become famous. In the Bible, Simon the Sorcerer is a man who lives in Samaria and is described as being a disciple of Jesus.
