Acts 8:20

Acts 8:20-21 . But Peter said, Thy money perish with thee — Not being able to conceal his indignation, upon hearing so infamous an offer. His words are not to be considered as an imprecation, but as a strong admonition to Simon of his danger, and an intimation, how much rather the apostle would see the greatest sum of money lost and cast away, than receive any part of it upon such shameful terms. With a horror like that with which Peter received the wicked proposal of Simon, should we look on the conduct of all those by whom sacred things are either bought or sold; an infamous traffic, about which an upright man cannot deliberate a moment, but will reject it at once with an honest scorn and indignation, like that of Peter in the present instance. “They,” says Beza, “who buy and sell sacred things, are the successors not of Simon Peter, but of Simon Magus.” A crime almost equally enormous with this is, that of prostituting the ordinances of Christ to secular ends. In vain is it for men to profess themselves Christians, in vain to submit like Simon to baptism, or like him to adhere constantly to the ministers of the gospel, while such hypocritical conduct proclaims aloud that they are in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

Because thou hast thought — Hast persuaded thyself; that the gift of God may be purchased with money — Thus, on the one hand, overvaluing the wealth of this world, as if it were an equivalent for any thing, even for spiritual and eternal blessings; and, on the other, undervaluing the gift of the Holy Ghost, and putting it on a level with the common gifts of nature and providence. Observe, reader, all the buying and selling of pardons and indulgences in the Church of Rome is the product of this same wicked thought, that the gift of God may be purchased with money; whereas the offer of divine grace is expressly made to all that will receive it, without money and without price. Thou hast neither part — By purchase, nor lot — Given gratis, in this matter — This gift of God; nor any interest in the important spiritual blessings to which all these extraordinary gifts of the Spirit are subservient; for thy heart is not right in the sight of God — Otherwise thou wouldst think far more honourably of his Spirit than to form a mercenary scheme to traffic in it in this scandalous manner. Probably Peter discerned that Simon’s heart was not right in the sight of God long before he declared it; although it does not appear that God gave to any of the apostles a universal power of discerning the hearts of all they conversed with, any more than a universal power of healing all the sick they came near.

Thy money perish with thee; a formal execration or curse, not only on his money, but also upon Simon himself; but always to be conditional, viz. unless he repented. Thou hast thought: our hearts are to be watched over; our thoughts may be exceeding sinful, as here, which made his words or desires to be so ill taken.

Acts 8:20 . Εἴη , may thy money be or go to destruction) An anathema of the person and of the thing. Peter exercises the ‘binding’ power.— τὴν δωρεὰν , the gift ) Matthew 10:8 , “ Freely ( δωρεὰν ) ye have received, freely give.”— ἐνόμισας κτᾶσθαι , thou hast thought to acquire or purchase ) νομίζω [statuo] is said of the understanding and the will. So 2Ma 7:19 , μὴ νομίσῃς ἀθῶος ἔσεσθαι . [Both sin and guilt especially belong to the heart: Acts 8:21-22 .—V. g.]

Verse 20. - Silver for money , A.V.; to obtain the gift of God for that the gift of God may be purchased , A.V. (rightly, κτᾶσθαι is the middle voice). Silver . This is a change of very doubtful necessity; ἀργύριον , like the French argent , is frequently used for "money" generally, without any reference to the particular metal of which it is made. Sometimes, indeed, it is used in opposition to "gold," as Acts 3:6 and Acts 20:33, and then it is properly rendered "silver." Here the Revisers' mason, doubtless, was to reserve "money" as the rendering of χρήματα (vers. 19, 20). St. Peter's answer is remarkable, not only for the warmth with which he repudiates the proffered bribe, but also for the jealous humility with which he affirms that the gifts of the Spirit were not his to give, but were the gift of God (see Acts 3:12-16 ). Acts 8:20

20 . But Peter said unto him, Thy money [silver] perish with thee ] It is clear from what follows that this terrible invocation of doom upon this offender is to be qualified by the condition supplied from Acts 8:22 , where repentance and prayer are pointed out as means whereby even so great a sinner may find forgiveness. And St Peter may have thus joined Simon in the same destruction as his money, because he foresaw that there was little or no hope that such a man could be brought to repentance unless the consequence of his sin were set before him in all its terror. because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money ] Better, because thou thoughtest to purchase , &c. Simon had given no heed to the prayer of the Apostles that the gift of the Spirit should be sent down. He thought not of it as a “gift of God,” but by the language which St Peter here employs of him, he considered that if it could be once secured by him it would be his own at all times and for ever.

(20) Thy money perish with thee. —Literally, Thy money be together with thee, for perdition. The same word is used as in the “son of perdition” in John 17:12 and in Hebrews 10:39 . The prominence of the word in 2Peter 2:1-3 ; 2Peter 3:7 ; 2Peter 3:16 , is interesting in connection with the question as to the authorship of that Epistle. Another coincidence presents itself in the “gold that perisheth” of 1Peter 1:7 . Because thou hast thought . . . .—Better, because thou thoughtest. The speaker looks at the thought historically, as at the moment when it rose up in the sorcerer’s mind. The Greek verb has a transitive not a passive sense, thou thoughtest to acquire the gift of God by money. Not so, Peter must have remembered, had he acquired that gift. The very word which he uses is that which our Lord had spoken to him and his brother Apostles, “Freely” (i.e., as a gift) “ye have received” (Matthew 10:8).

Acts 8:20-21 . Thy money be along with thee unto destruction; i.e. let perdition, Messianic penal destruction, come upon thy money and thyself! The sin-money, in the lofty strain of the language, is set forth as something personal, capable of ἀπώλεια . εἴη εἰς ἀπώλ .] a usual attraction: fall into destruction and be in it . See Winer, p. 386 f. [E. T. 516 f.]. Comp. Acts 8:23 . τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ Θεοῦ ] τὴν ἐξουσίαν ταύτην , ἵνα κ . τ . λ ., Acts 8:19 . Observe the antithetically chosen designation. ἐνόμισας ] thou wast minded , namely, in the proposal made. μερὶς οὐδὲ κλῆρος ] synonyms, of which the second expresses the idea figuratively: part nor lot . Comp. Deuteronomy 12:12 ; Deuteronomy 14:27 ; Deuteronomy 14:29 ; Isaiah 57:6 . The utterance is earnest . ἐν τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ ] in this word, i.e. in the ἐξουσία to be the medium of the Spirit, which was in question. Lange gratuitously imports the idea: in this word, which flows from the hearts of believers moved by the Spirit . λόγος of the “ ipsa causa , de qua disceptatur,” is very current also in classical writers, Ast, Lex. Plat. II. p. 256; Brunck, ad Soph. Aj. 1268; Wolf, ad Dem. Lept. p. 277; Nägelsb. on the Iliad , p. 41 f. ed. 3. Others, as Olshausen and Neander after Grotius, explain λόγος of the gospel , all share in whose blessings is cut off from Simon. But then this reference must have been suggested by the context, in which, however, there is no mention at all of doctrine. εὐθεῖα , straight , i.e. upright (comp.