Acts 8:13

Then Simon himself believed also; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

Luke here adds a bit of local history which makes the victory of the Gospel stand out all the more strongly. A certain man there had been before these events had transpired in Samaria, whose name was Simon, and who had practiced magical arts and had had the people of the city and of the region impressed to the point of stupefaction with his tricks and diabolical jugglery. He advertised himself, with the humility characteristic of the people of his type, as being something great, as possessing enchantments and powers beyond natural ability. He practiced the charms and incantations so extensively employed in the Orient by both quacks and true sorcerers, that are able to perform feats that have the appearance of miracles, by the aid of the devil. So deeply impressed were the people that they regarded Simon as a manifestation of the divine power in human form. They therefore called him "Power of God which is called Great," one that was very prominently great and divine, possessing powers which are peculiar to God. All this the Samaritans had done, because for a long time Simon had bewitched them with his magical tricks. They had put their own construction upon his acts, and they had believed his words. All this was changed with the coming of Philip. For when he preached the Gospel concerning the kingdom of God and of the name of Jesus Christ, when he brought to these benighted people the one message which could give them peace of mind and the blessed assurance of salvation, the Samaritans believed, faith in the Savior was wrought in their hearts, and they sought and received Baptism, the Sacrament which seals to both men and women the forgiveness of sins gained by Christ. Note: All magical tricks, even such as are performed with the aid of the devil, serve no beneficial purpose, being made only to excite idle curiosity. The miracles, on the other hand, both those that are narrated in Scriptures, and those which the Lord performs to this day, are in every case beneficent and worthy of the divine power. When Simon lost his former following so abruptly and thoroughly, he went to see and hear Philip, and was himself brought to faith. With the rest of the people, also, he was baptized and the promise of God thus sealed to him. There is no reason, from the account of Luke, to doubt the reality of Simon's conversion at this time. It was a very striking proof of the superior power and of the divinity of the Gospel concerning Jesus the Messiah. And Simon, he that had caused astonishment in others, was here himself almost overwhelmed with stupefaction when he became an interested spectator of the signs and of the great wonders which were performed before his eyes. Note: The devil may often, by God's permission, succeed in seducing men by means of his false miracles and tricks of jugglery, bat whenever the power of God looms up by way of contrast, he and all his servants are brought to shame before the Mightier One.