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The blasphemous demand of Simon:
v. 18. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, ha offered them money,
v. 19. saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
v. 20. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.
v. 21. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter; for thy heart is not right in the eight of God.
v. 22. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
v. 23. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.
v. 24. Then answered Simon and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.
v. 25. And they, when they had testified and preached the Word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
The faith of Simon the Magician had undoubtedly been real enough in the beginning, and he had not acted the hypocrite when he asked to be baptized. But here there were two factors which were too strong for the young plant in his heart. In the first place, he was not included in the number of those to whom the extraordinary communication of the Spirit's power was vouchsafed. And in the second place, his witnessing of this transaction had awakened the former love of money and influence over others in his heart. The combination of these facts was too strong for him, and he lost his faith. When he saw that Peter transmitted the miraculous gift of the Spirit by the laying on of hands, he brought forth money and offered it to the apostles, with the demand that they give him this power also, to impart the Holy Ghost by the imposition of hands. Simon was right in calling this gift a power, but he was wrong in thinking that it was a commodity of barter and sale. He may, in his former business, have purchased many a secret of sorcery from other masters, and therefore concluded that the same course might be followed in this instance also. But it was a blasphemous demand of covetousness, and his sin has ever since been known as simony. "This is simony, properly so called, if one buys or sells a spiritual office, possession, gift, or power for money, as Simon Magus did. When he saw that the Holy Ghost was given by the imposition of the hands of the apostles, he offered them money and said: Give me the power also, that, if I lay my hands upon someone, he receive the Holy Ghost; desiring thus that he might have the Holy Ghost, after having purchased Him for money, in his power, to have Him do what pleased him. " The infamous demand of Simon Magus aroused the impulsive resentment of Peter. Full of righteous indignation he calls out to him: Thy money with thee be into destruction! It is a violent expression of horror on the part of Peter that anyone would even think of desecrating the most wonderful gift in the world by such blasphemous thoughts. That Simon should have gained the idea that a free gift of God might be purchased with money showed that he mistook entirely the source and meaning of the power which he desired. Peter therefore tells him that he has neither part nor lot in this matter, that he could not hope to share either the possession of the gift with the faithful, nor its ministry with any of the disciples. The demand of Simon put him entirely outside the pale of the Church; it showed that his heart was not sincere in his profession of Christianity, it could not stand without blame in the sight of God. There was only one course advisable under the circumstances, namely, that he repent of this wickedness, change his heart to a condition which would be well-pleasing to God. Incidentally, he should pray the Lord, with whom only there is forgiveness, that He might forgive him the blasphemous idea of his heart.
The words of Peter do not make the matter of forgiveness after sincere repentance a doubtful thing, but he stresses the need for sincerity in regard to this grave offense. A mere lip repentance would not suffice before the eyes of the omniscient God. And the seriousness of the situation is further stressed when Peter says that he perceives Simon Magus to be in the intense, malignant, poisonous bitterness of gall and wormwood and held firmly in the bonds of unrighteousness. It seems to have been with Simon as in the story of the man that has turned out the unclean spirit, who returned with seven others worse than himself. Not the mincing of words, but the preaching of the Law in all its uncompromising severity was demanded by the situation, and Peter acted accordingly. Some effect this scathing speech of Peter certainly had, namely, that of thoroughly terrifying Simon, so far as the results of his sins, were concerned. He asks the apostles to pray for him that none of the things of which Peter had spoken might strike him. His words indicate fear of the results of sin, but no change of heart in true repentance. That is all the inspired record says of the matter, and although second century traditions have added much legendary material, this seems in no way trustworthy. The story as it stands contains some very earnest lessons. Simon Magus is a type of the temporary believers, of those that have turned to Christ in faith, but were not firmly established, and succumbed to the first temptation. The example of Peter shows how such persons must be dealt with when they are exposed. The wickedness and hypocrisy of their hearts must be rebuked with all severity in order that, by God's grace, true repentance may be worked in them for the salvation of their souls. After this disagreeable incident the apostles turned back to the real work for which they had come down. They bore witness to Christ in the most convincing manner; they spoke the Word of the Lord, thus performing the work of both testifying and teaching, according to the Lord's commission to them. And then, having accomplished the object of their journey, they started on their return to Jerusalem. But they made the trip in a leisurely fashion, which enabled them to preach the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans outside of the capital of the district. Their hearts were filled with true missionary zeal, which permits no opportunity for spreading the Gospel to pass by. It was a time of cheerful harvest such as the Lord had predicted, Joh_4:37. Such times of spiritual awakening and harvesting have been recorded since in more than one instance. In such cases it seems as though the Lord calls large masses of people simultaneously. The effect and the success of the preaching of the Gospel are in His hand, a fact of comfort to all workers in the vineyard of the Lord.