Now
when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me also this power, that whomever I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God. Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that none of the things which you have spoken happen to me.” They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the Good News to many villages of the Samaritans.
Acts 8:18-25
Acts 8 [9.] But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city, and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one, to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is that great power of God.” They listened to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching good news concerning God’s Kingdom and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself also believed. Being baptized, he continued with Philip. Seeing signs and great miracles occurring, he was amazed.
Acts 8 [14.] Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit; for as yet he had fallen on none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of Christ Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me also this power, that whomever I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 8 [20.] But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart isn’t right before God. Repent therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”
Acts 8 [24.] Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that none of the things which you have spoken happen to me.”
Acts 8 [25.] They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the Good News to many villages of the Samaritans. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise, and go toward the south to the way that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a desert.”
Acts 8 [27.] He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship. He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.
Meaning:
Peter and John had come from Jerusalem, prayed for the new believers in Samaria and laid their hands on them, “and they received the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14-17). Simon, the former sorcerer who had believed and been baptized (Acts 8:9-13), watched closely.
- “he offered them money”
Simon saw the gift of the Spirit as a power he could acquire, like the secrets of his old trade. His request was not to receive the Spirit himself but to be able to give it: “that whomever I lay my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” His name lives on in the word “simony,” the buying or selling of church offices and spiritual privileges.
- “May your silver perish with you”
God’s gifts cannot be bought. Isaiah had invited the thirsty to “buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1), and Jesus told the twelve, “Freely you received, so freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Long before, Elisha’s servant Gehazi had tried to profit from God’s work and heard, “Is it a time to receive money?” (2 Kings 5:26).
- “your heart isn’t right before God”
Peter looks at the heart. His words echo the psalm about Israel in the wilderness: “For their heart was not right with him, neither were they faithful in his covenant” (Psalm 78:37). Having “neither part nor lot” is the language of inheritance, used of the Levites who had “no portion nor inheritance” in the land (Deuteronomy 12:12).
- “Repent therefore of this, your wickedness”
Even after such a rebuke, the door is open. Peter calls Simon to repent and pray. The words “if perhaps” do not question God’s willingness to forgive but the reality of Simon’s repentance. “The gall of bitterness” recalls Moses’ warning against “a root that produces bitter poison” (Deuteronomy 29:18), the same picture Hebrews uses of a “root of bitterness” that defiles many (Hebrews 12:15).
- “Pray for me to the Lord”
Simon asks Peter to pray that the judgment will not fall. Luke does not tell us what became of him. Some readers hear sincere fear and the first step of repentance. Others note that he asks to escape the consequences rather than for a changed heart, as Pharaoh did when he begged, “Pray to Yahweh” (Exodus 9:28).
- “preached the Good News to many villages of the Samaritans”
On the way home Peter and John preached in village after village. John had once asked whether to call down fire on a Samaritan village (Luke 9:54). Now he brings it the Good News.
The Significance of Acts 8:18-25
- Grace is not for sale
God’s gifts cannot be bought, earned or used for personal advantage. Paul warned against those “who suppose that godliness is a means of gain” (1 Timothy 6:5). Spiritual gifts are entrusted for service, not for profit or prestige.
- The door of repentance
Peter’s rebuke was severe, but it ended with a call to repent and pray. Whoever recognises a wrong motive can still turn to God and ask forgiveness.
Cross-References:
Isaiah 55:1: “Come, he who has no money, buy, and eat! Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” God’s free invitation.
Matthew 10:8: “Freely you received, so freely give.” Jesus’ rule for his messengers.
2 Kings 5:26: “Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments?” Gehazi’s greed exposed.
Hebrews 12:15: “lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and many be defiled by it.” A warning to guard the heart.
Conclusion: Simon tried to buy the power to give the Holy Spirit, and Peter rebuked him sharply: God’s gift cannot be obtained with money, and Simon’s heart was not right before God. Peter called him to repent and pray, and Simon asked for prayer, though Luke does not say how his story ended. Peter and John then returned to Jerusalem, preaching the Good News in many Samaritan villages on the way.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible