What does First B Jackson teach about simon the sorcerer?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on Simon the sorcerer works through Acts 8:1-25 as one of the more complicated moments in the early chapters of Acts. The story begins with Philip arriving in Samaria and preaching Jesus, with real signs following: evil spirits cast out, paralyzed and lame people healed. Into that setting, Simon was already there, a man who had built a long reputation on dark arts and who had let people call him the great power of God. When Philip preached, Simon believed and was baptized. But the teaching has always pressed on what Simon was actually watching for. He followed Philip everywhere, drawn to the mechanics of the miracles, looking for the formula. The contrast the teaching keeps returning to is this: Philip's ministry pointed entirely away from himself toward Jesus, while Simon's had always pointed back to Simon.
When Peter and John came from Jerusalem and the Samaritan believers received the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, Simon offered money to buy that ability. Peter's rebuke was sharp and direct. The pastors at First B Jackson have treated that moment as an exposure, not a surprise. Simon was, as Pastor Carl once put it, looking at the finger rather than at what the finger was pointing toward. He wanted the power for himself, not Christ. Pastor Josh has noted that the early church document known as the Didache specifically warned against admitting sorcerers, and that this episode sits near the roots of why.
The visit of Peter and John is also taught here as significant in its own right. Pastor Carl has pointed out that nothing else in Acts quite matches it. If the gospel had reached Samaria only through a Hellenistic Jewish believer, with no confirmation from the Jerusalem apostles, there was a real danger of two separate churches forming along ethnic and religious lines. God handled that by bringing Peter and John to witness it themselves. The whole episode, from Philip's arrival to Peter's rebuke of Simon, is treated as the mission of Acts 1:8 advancing exactly as Jesus said it would, even through uncomfortable and complicated circumstances.
Taught from Acts 8:1-25 · Acts 1:8 · John 4 · Luke 10 · Acts 6
The passage taught · Acts 1:8
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- January 19, 2025 This weeks Sermon from First B Jackson January 12th Philip preaches in Samaria, crowds believe, and Simon the sorcerer tries to buy the Holy Spirit. A sermon on what it really means to trust Jesus.
- January 12, 2025 Scattered to Spread the Good News Philip preaches in Samaria, a sorcerer believes but reveals a corrupt heart, and Peter confronts the sin of seeking God's power for personal gain.
- August 4, 2013 The Blood of the Martyrs Is the Seed of the Church Philip scatters the gospel into Samaria, a sorcerer's heart is exposed, and Peter and John make an unusual visit in Acts 8:1-25.