“But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:”
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great - Simon the sorcerer is established as a spiritual authority in Samaria, a practitioner of 'sorcery' (mageia, magic, sorcery, from which English 'magic' derives). He 'amazed' (existēmi, astounded) the people, establishing religious authority through spectacle. His boasting 'that he was someone great' (megale eimi, I am great) is spiritual self-promotion, the antithesis of gospel humility.
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