“Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.”
My Notes
What Does Acts 8:24 Mean?
"Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me." Simon the sorcerer — who tried to buy the Holy Spirit's power with money — responds to Peter's rebuke with a request: pray for me. The request is ambiguous: is it genuine repentance or self-interested fear? Simon doesn't pray himself; he asks Peter to pray for him. He doesn't repent; he asks for protection from consequences.
The phrase "none of these things come upon me" reveals Simon's primary concern: avoiding the consequences Peter threatened. He doesn't say "forgive me" or "cleanse my heart." He says: make sure the bad things don't happen. The concern is punitive, not relational. He fears the judgment more than he grieves the sin.
Simon's story has been debated since the earliest church: was he genuinely converted? His belief and baptism (verse 13) suggest some level of faith. His attempt to purchase the Spirit suggests a misunderstanding deep enough to question its quality. His response to rebuke — asking someone else to pray rather than praying himself — may indicate either humility or distance.
Reflection Questions
- 1.When confronted with sin, do you address the sin or manage the consequences?
- 2.What's the difference between genuine repentance and fear of punishment?
- 3.Do you pray directly to God about your failures, or ask others to handle it?
- 4.What does Simon's ambiguous response teach about the complexity of spiritual transformation?
Devotional
Pray for me. Not: I repent. Not: forgive me, God. Pray for me that none of these consequences happen. Simon's response to Peter's rebuke is focused entirely on avoiding the punishment, not on addressing the sin.
The ambiguity of Simon's request is instructive. Is he repenting? Or is he just scared? Does he genuinely want to be right with God, or does he want Peter to make the danger go away? The text doesn't resolve the question — which is itself the lesson. Some responses to spiritual confrontation look like repentance but might just be self-preservation dressed in religious language.
Simon asks Peter to pray rather than praying himself. This could be humility — recognizing that Peter's prayers are more effective. Or it could be distance — an unwillingness to approach God directly, preferring a mediator who can handle the transaction while Simon stays uninvolved.
The church has named the sin of buying spiritual power 'simony' after this man. His legacy is a warning label. But his final recorded response — asking for prayer — leaves the door open. Maybe the fear of consequences was the beginning of genuine repentance. Maybe the request for prayer was the first step toward the contrition he didn't yet fully express.
When you're confronted with your sin, what's your response? Do you address the sin, or do you manage the consequences? Do you pray yourself, or do you ask someone else to pray for you? The difference between genuine repentance and consequence-avoidance is the difference between Simon and Peter.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And they, when they had testified, &c. That is, Simeon (or Peter) and John, as the Syriac version expresses it; when…
Pray ye ... - Here remark: (1) That Simon was directed to pray for himself Act 8:22, but he had no disposition to do it,…
Pray ye to the Lord for me - The words of Peter certainly made a deep impression on Simon's mind; and he must have had a…
God had wonderfully owned Philip in his work as an evangelist at Samaria, but he could do no more than an evangelist;…
that none of these[the] things which ye have spoken come upon me Simon shews by the character of his petition that he is…
Cross References
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