Atos 8
Marvin Vincent · Citado em PreceptAustin
Atos 8
Vincent on mageuo - Only here in New Testament. One of the wizards so numerous throughout the East at that time, and multiplied by the general expectation of a great Deliverer and the spread of the Messianic notions of the Jews, who practiced upon the credulity of the people by conjuring and juggling and soothsaying. Here is the question - was Simon simply an illusionist, a man with artfully crafted sleight of hand, etc? If we compare Simon with "a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus" (Acts 13:6) also known as "Elymas the magician" (same word as the root magos here in Acts 8:9) in Acts 13:8-10 notice that Paul fixes his gaze on him and declares "“You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord?" (Acts 13:10). The first point to note is that Elymas was opposed to the Gospel as it began to spread abroad (this was Paul's first missionary journey - Acts 13:4). Secondly, note that Paul calls him a "son of the devil" which would strongly support the premise that the magic was satanic in origin. Adrian Rogers agrees that Simon "he had established a relationship with demonic powers." We know that the future Antichirst's coming "is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders" (2 Th 2:9) Rogers goes on to add that "There is demonic power. The missionary told me of some gourds that had been used by the witch doctor. Pharaoh's magicians seemed to have the power to do devilish miracles. Don't be dazzled, don't dabble and don't be deceived." And astonishing the people of Samaria - Astonishing is in the present tense picturing Simon's magic as continually amazing the people. Here Simon astonishes the people but in Acts 8:13 Simon himself is astonished by supernatural phenomena associated with the ministry of Philip. Astonishing (KJV = bewitched, Acts 8:11)(1839) (existemi from ek = out + hístemi = to stand) literally means to stand out from or to stand outside oneself (and thus to be beside oneself). Existemi describes "the feeling of astonishment mingled with fear, caused by events which are miraculous, extraordinary, or difficult to understand." (BDAG) It can describe one who is so astonished almost to the point of failing to comprehend what one has experienced. Luke uses this verb 3 times in Acts 8 - Acts 8:9, 11, 13. Claiming to be someone great - Claiming is literally "saying" but the context is that he was saying with arrogance or pride. And so the NIV renders it "He boasted that he was someone great." Simon is focused on himself and is full of pride and ego, which is the foundation of all false religion. Recall that it was pride that made a beautiful angel into a devil (cf Isa 14:12-14 - note 5 "I will" statements!). Criswell observes that "This is Christianity's first sharp confrontation with the occult. Moses had listed no fewer than 10 "abominations" of the nations, particularly of Canaan. He strongly warned the Israelites just before crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land (Deut. 18:9-14). Sorcery is literally "magic arts," from mageuo (Gk.), the root for the English word "magic." Moses warned the Israelites that Canaan would be filled with the practitioners of wizardry, necromancy, and divination. He then indicated to the chosen people that God was instituting prophecy precisely to teach and warn the Israelites about such things. Sorcery and its like were wholly unacceptable to the God of Israel (Lev. 20:6, 27; Dt. 17:2-5). Moses indicated that the prophets God would send, apparently beginning with Joshua, would teach the people to resist such practices. Prophecy would be established alongside the priesthood (Dt. 18:15ff.). This may be an instance of double futuristic application of prophecy because Peter treated this prediction as having been fulfilled by the coming of Christ (Acts 2:22-24). In Christianity's first encounter with the Samaritan culture, Simon stubbornly resisted and apparently never actually became a Christian (Acts 8:18-24). Just as Christianity was victorious in its first confrontation with sorcery in the spread of the gospel into Judea and Samaria, so in the final segment of the Great Commission (cf. Acts 1:8), the sorcerer Elymas vigorously tried to stop Paul and Barnabas from witnessing to the proconsul Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:8, 12). The missionaries demonstrated that the victory of the infant faith in its homeland would be repeated abroad. (Believer's Study Bible) Adrian Rogers gives an interesting True/False question - Satan is against religion - true or false? Satan is not opposed to religion. He is in the religion business up to his ears. The first temptation was a religious one - to be like God. "Let me tell you how to be godly." It was a temptation to fall up, not down. Satan's chief weapon against the Gospel is false religion. God has been working in revival power and now there comes a conflict (Acts 8:8-9). There was great joy in that city. Heaven comes down and glory fills the soul. Revival brings joy and it also brings opposition. If you have never met the devil, it's because you and the devil have been going in the same direction. Satan's chief weapon against the Gospel is false religion. A T
Atos 8
Vincent adds that theoreo "was more than simple seeing. The verb means looking steadfastly, as one who has an interest in the object, and with a view to search into and understand it: to look inquiringly and intently." (Ed: And even with a sense of amazement.) He was constantly amazed - The present tense indicates Simon was continually in a state of astonishment at what took place presumably in association with Philip. Notice Simon's focus was on signs and great miracles, not saints experiencing miraculous conversions as they received the Gospel from Philip! Simon expresses no interest or desire in "gospeling" the Gospel like Philip, but he did like Philip's signs and miracles! Peterson notes that "Obsession with the spiritual power of the apostles would soon prove to be the dominant issue for him (Acts 8:18–19)." (Ibid) Constantly amazed (1839) See previous note on existemi which means to put out of place and hence, to be out of one’s senses as in Mk 3:21 where they accused Jesus saying "He has lost His senses." This meaning gives us a striking picture of Simon's reaction! This is Luke's third use of existemi in chapter 8 (Acts 8:9, 11, 13 with only 17 total uses in NT) which clearly indicates it is a "key word" in this section. This present use marks a significant contrast with the previous two uses in which Simon's supernatural feats were amazing the masses, but here we see that the "amazer" is himself amazed! Simon as a sorcerer was familiar with the supernatural and he knows superior supernatural power when he sees it. But he will see even greater things yet when the apostles come down from Jerusalem! NET Note - Now Simon, the one who amazed others, is himself amazed, showing the superiority of Philip's connection to God. Christ is better than anything the culture (ED: OR THE DEVIL!) has to offer. John MacArthur has some sobering thoughts in his introduction to comments on Acts 8:9-24 - One of the most fearful realities in all of Scripture is that some who think they are saved will be eternally lost. Thinking they are on the narrow way of saving truth that leads to heaven, they are in reality on the broad way of religion that leads to destruction (cf. Matt. 7:13-14). They will one day hear from the Lord Jesus Christ the most shocking, terrifying words any human could ever hear: "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23). To their horror, they will discover too late that there is an entrance to hell at the edge of the very gates of heaven. Whenever the gospel is preached, it will inevitably produce both genuine saving faith and false faith. The seed of the Word will fall on good soil and bad soil (ED: cf Lk 8:13 and Lk 8:15). There will be branches who abide in the vine, and those that are cut off and burned (ED: Jn 15:2, 5). There will be those with working faith and those with demon faith (ED: James 2:14-22). There will be those to whom Jesus discloses Himself and those to whom He does not entrust Himself. There are those who "have faith to the preserving of the soul" and those who "shrink back to destruction" (Heb. 10:39). There will be wheat and there will be tares (ED: Mt 13:25-30). (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Acts) Charles Swindoll - Faith that Saves - Simon the Magician believed and was baptized, yet his attitudes and actions demonstrate that he clearly was not born again. Obviously, God expects something more than mere intellectual assent in conversion. So what kind of faith is “saving faith”? Saving faith—the kind of belief God accepts as genuine and for which He grants the gift of His Spirit—is more than accepting as fact the historical personage of Christ. To accept the fact that a man named Jesus lived at some point in time and later died on a cross is merely a starting point. Furthermore, genuine belief must do more than admire Jesus or emulate Him or follow His teachings. It’s not even enough to venerate Jesus as more than human. Those kinds of belief make for a good beginning. But the kind of belief to which we have been called encompasses much more. First, the Greek term pisteuō means “to believe,” that is, to acknowledge the truthfulness of a claim—that it corresponds with reality. When I say that I believe the book of Luke, I mean to say that I accept its content as truth. To believe in Christ is, first, to accept what He says as truth. Second, and more importantly, pisteuō means “to trust,” “to rely upon,” or “to derive confidence in” something or someone. When I say I believe in Jesus Christ, I declare that I trust Him, I rely upon Him, I have placed my complete confidence in Him; everything I know about this life and whatever occurs after death depends upon His claims about Himself and my positive response to His offer of grace. That is what God accepts as genuine faith, the kind that grants a person eternal life, fills him or her with the Holy Spirit, and begins an internal transformation. (Swindoll's Living Insights) The Almost Christian Discovered; Or, The False Professor Tried By Matthew Mead, 1661 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 The Christian Professor John Angell James, 1837 THE DANGERS OF SELF-DECEPTION Form or Power? Spurgeon, "The Form of Godliness Without the Power" "Having a form of godliness but denying its power." A mere form of godliness joined to an unholy heart is of no value to God. The swan, although its feathers are as white as snow, yet its skin is black. God will not accept that 'external morality' which conceals 'internal impurity'. There must be a pure heart as well as a clean life. The power of godliness must work within, or else God will not accept our offering. There is no value to man or to God in a religion which is a dead form. Sad is that man's plight who wears the name of Christian but has never been quickened by the Holy Spirit. There is no use in a mere formal religion. If your religion is without spiritual life, what is the use of it? Could you ride home on a dead horse? Would you hunt with dead dogs? Is false religion any better? In the depth of winter, can you warm yourself before a 'painted fire'? Could you dine off the 'picture of a feast' when you are hungry? There must be vitality and substantiality, or else the form is utterly worthless; and worse than worthless, for it may flatter you into deadly self conceit. How shameful will such a fruitless, lifeless professor be in eternity, when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed! What shame and everlasting contempt will await him when his falsehood shall be detected, and his baseness shall fill all holy minds with horror! What will be the hell of the false professor! "Having a form of godliness but denying its power." Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, KJV Acts 8:14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: when Acts 8:1; 11:1,19-22; 15:4; 1 Th 3:2 received Acts 2:41; 17:11; Mt 13:23; John 12:48; 1 Th 2:13; 2 Th 2:10 Peter Acts 3:1-3; Gal 2:9 Acts 8 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries APOSTLES SEND PETER AND JOHN TO SAMARIA Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God - As Kenneth Gangel quips "Time to bring in the first team!" Obviously someone returned to Jerusalem and related the events in Samaria to the apostles. The Word of God in this passage is clearly the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mk 1:1). Received (1209)(dechomai) means more than simply to get something, but conveys the sense of a welcome reception of that which is offered! These Samaritans who heretofore had expressed hostility toward their Jewish neighbors in the south, now in a very real sense "put out the welcome mat" (cf Col 4:10, Heb 11:31 = "welcome") for Philip and his proclamation of the Gospel. This in itself is a supernatural work! The hearts of the Samaritans was soil that God's Spirit had prepared that they would gladly receive the seed of the Word. Paul describes a similar reception of the Word of God by the Jews in Thessalonia writing... For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received (paralambano) the Word of God (THE GOSPEL) which you heard from us, you accepted (dechomai) it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the Word of God, which also performs its work (cf Ro 1:16+) in you who believe.(1 Th 2:13+, dechomai also used in 1 Th 1:6+) They sent them Peter and John - Why? Luke does not say, but it seems very reasonable to conclude that Peter and John as apostles had a stewardship to assure as far as possible the Body of Christ remain composed of genuine believers, thus in a sense they came as "fruit inspectors" (cf Mt 3:8, Acts 26:20+, Lk 8:15+, etc). In addition, recall that these believers are from the previously detested Samaritans, so sending the leaders of the new movement (Christianity) would signal a "truce," so to speak and foster unity between the Jewish church in Jerusalem and the Samaritan church (an answer to Jesus' incredible prayer - Jn 17:11, 21, 22) .