Acts 8:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The sickness had long been in Simon. Therefore even in this baptism he is not freed from it.

How, then, did they baptize him? In the same way that Christ chose Judas.

Seeing the signs that were being performed, he was amazed. Yet he still did not dare ask for the grace of signs, because he saw that the others had not yet received it.

“Simon,” says the writer, “having been baptized, did not depart from Philip.” He remained not for faith, but in order to become such a man himself.

“Seeing the great powers and signs being performed, he was amazed,” thereby showing that all his own works were false.

It is not said that he approached, but that “he was amazed.” Why did he not do this before?

“Then Simon himself also believed.” He believed not for the sake of faith, but so that he too might perform miracles. How did he think miracles were performed? He himself deceived people and also subdued the possessed. Therefore he thought that the Apostles, like himself, used some art. This is why he offered money. For the same reason, so as not to be deprived of this gift, he stayed constantly with Philip.

The good baptized the evil, as, for example, Simon Magus was baptized by Saint Philip. Therefore, my brothers, four cases are known. See, I repeat them again. Remember this, enumerate it, and use it. Beware of the evil; cling to the good. From the good are born the good, when saints are baptized by saints. From the evil are born the evil, when both those who baptize and those who are baptized all live impiously. From the evil are born the good, when those who baptize are evil, but those baptized are good. From the good are born the evil, when those who baptize are good, but those baptized are evil.

This Simon pretended to believe, thinking that the Apostles worked healings by magic and not by the power of God.

Simon the magician once approached the font. He was baptized, but he was not illumined. He washed his body with water, but did not illumine his heart by the Spirit.

His body entered the font and came out of it, but his soul “was not buried with” Christ and “did not rise with Him” (Col 2:12; Rom 6:4).

I mention falls so that you may not fall. For this happened to them as a figure, and it was written for the instruction of those who approach even now.

Let none of you dare to tempt grace. Let no “root of bitterness springing up cause trouble” (Heb 12:15).

Let none of you come in saying, “Let us see what the faithful do. I will go in and watch, so as to learn what happens among them.”

You expect to see, but you do not think that you too will be seen. You imagine that you know what is taking place, but does God not know your heart?

He either truly believed in the Lord, conquered by the word and virtue of blessed Philip, or, as is more likely, he pretended to believe until he should be baptized.

For he was so greedy for praise that, as it is reported, he proclaimed himself to be Christ.

He wished to learn from Philip those arts by which, as Simon supposed, Philip performed miracles.

The same thing is reported to have been done by his successors. They learned the evil arts of their founder and entered the Church by every kind of trickery.

They became accustomed to receiving Baptism by deceit.

Here the baptism of the Samaritans by the deacon Philip is narrated (Acts 6:5). He, however, did not impart the Holy Spirit to them.

Therefore the apostles Peter and John were sent to Samaria to impart the Spirit to them. They “came and prayed for them,” the Samaritans, “laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

In the same chapter, verses 36-39, the baptism of the Ethiopian man is recounted. The baptism was performed by the same Philip.

It followed the preaching of Christ (Acts 8:35), which produced in the hearer a sincere faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Acts 8:37).

After this, Philip and the Ethiopian both went down into the water, and Philip baptized the Ethiopian.

Simon saw that his sorceries could no longer deceive the people, who had recovered from spiritual blindness. He therefore decided to receive baptism himself, hoping through it to obtain a new power for deceiving the people.

Yet the power of the evangelist Philip’s preaching about Christ and the new kingdom of God founded by Him on earth was so great, and the miracles performed by him were so striking, that the people believed Philip’s preaching and were baptized.

This happened despite their fascination with the magician. Both men and women were baptized, and not only the people, but Simon himself believed and was baptized.

The power of Philip’s preaching is striking. Simon claimed to be something great. Philip, of course, like the other apostles, considered himself nothing, attributing everything to the crucified Jesus.

The power of his word overcame the boastful pride of the magician.

The preaching of the Apostle Philip about the Kingdom of God, as a harmonious system of God’s eternal love for mankind and His care for salvation through His Only-begotten Son, had, of course, nothing in common with Simon’s fragmentary ravings.

Simon attributed various great acts to himself alone. He undoubtedly understood this, and also understood that apostolic signs and miracles had no foundation in the preparations, as modern magicians and sorcerers say, or the vile methods that he practiced.

And so, seeing that many were being baptized while believing in Jesus Christ, he also believed in Him as the giver of new methods for sorcery.