In this week’s passage, the Samaritans believe and are baptized (including a curious figure named Simon the Magician). When the apostles in Jerusalem heard this wonderful news, they sent Peter and John to validate and bless this new
work of the Lord by praying for the new Samaritan believers to receive the Holy Spirit. Things quickly go wrong when Simon, a man used to wielding power and intrigue, attempts to purchase the power of the Holy Spirit from them so that he can use it for his own purposes. Unfortunately, it appears that Simon was drawn to the gospel for what he could get out of it, reducing salvation to a commodity, and the power of God to something he could control.