Acts 8
1Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.
Persecution Scatters the Believers
A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria. 2(Some devout men came and buried Stephen with great mourning.) 3But Saul was going everywhere to destroy the church. He went from house to house, dragging out both men and women to throw them into prison.
Philip Preaches in Samaria
4But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went. 5Philip, for example, went to the city of Samaria and told the people there about the Messiah. 6Crowds listened intently to Philip because they were eager to hear his message and see the miraculous signs he did. 7Many evila spirits were cast out, screaming as they left their victims. And many who had been paralyzed or lame were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city.
9A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. 10Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as “the Great One—the Power of God.” 11They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic.
12But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized. 13Then Simon himself believed and was baptized. He began following Philip wherever he went, and he was amazed by the signs and great miracles Philip performed.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the people of Samaria had accepted God’s message, they sent Peter and John there. 15As soon as they arrived, they prayed for these new believers to receive the Holy Spirit. 16The Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them, for they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John laid their hands upon these believers, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given when the apostles laid their hands on people, he offered them money to buy this power. 19“Let me have this power, too,” he exclaimed, “so that when I lay my hands on people, they will receive the Holy Spirit!”
20But Peter replied, “May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! 21You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. 22Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, 23for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”
24“Pray to the Lord for me,” Simon exclaimed, “that these terrible things you’ve said won’t happen to me!”
25After testifying and preaching the word of the Lord in Samaria, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem. And they stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News.
Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
26As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go southb down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
29The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”
30Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.
32The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.
And as a lamb is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
33He was humiliated and received no justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”c
34The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.
36As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?”d 38He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. 40Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.
Simon was a powerful sorcerer. He was famous across the region for his power and miracles. However, when he heard Philip preaching, he was convinced of his message and gave his life to Christ.
The Apostles came to visit them and started to lay hands on people, praying for them to recieve the Holy Spirit in power. Simon saw this and immediately offered them money to bless him.
Peter was furious.
“May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God. Repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive your evil thoughts, for I can see that you are full of bitter jealousy and are held captive by sin.”
Acts 8:20-23
But what was the problem? Why was he so angry? They were offering this to others for free. They also would recieve gifts from churches for their ministry. So, why were they so cross with Simon?
The answer appears to be his heart. What is fascinating is that it was not greed or control that seemed to dominate Simon but bitterness and jealousy. He was always comparing his life to others, wanting what they had and resenting their success. He wanted to be the best. He wanted to be better than everyone else. This jealousy had created a bitterness inside of him and the Apostle Peter recognised it and would not pray for the Holy Spirit to fill him until he repented.
Have you ever had this? Your life was great but then you saw someone’s instagram feed and something ugly happened inside you. Suddenly, your job or home or finances were not enough. There was a root of bitterness.
There is a famous saying, “the fastest way to kill a god thing is to compare it to something else.” Whether you win or lose, you always lose. Comparison always leads to bitterness and disappointment.
We live in a wold of constant comparison. Not only does it rob us of our joy, it can also hold us captive. I met a leader of a church a while ago who had struggled with leading a church in a challenging area. He watched as other churches grew and flourished and never felt enough. He got trapped in this mindset, cursing other churches in his heart, never feeling that what God was doing was enough. Eventually he had a breakdown and left ministry altogether.
Bitterness poisons us from the inside out. It causes us to resent those we are called to love. It damages relationships. It robs God of the praise that he deserves and it traps us. God will not bless it.
The power of the Holy Spirit was withheld from Simon until he would recognise and repent of his bitter jealousy. The Bible does not tell us what happened to him next. However, tradition says that he never gave up his magic. He kept practicing sorcery and began a rival religion to convert people to his faith.
The key to defeating comparison is gratitude and generosity. Whenever you feel that root of bitterness, repent and start to pray blessings for them. Refuse to allow it to get into the depths of your heart. Fill the world with blessings and celebrate when someone else is blessed as if that blessing was your own. Fill your heart with light and you will discover joy in every day.
