“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.” (Matthew 10:1–4 ESV)
We continue our profile of the Twelve Apostles. Today’s study concerns the Apostle Simon, known as the Zealot. Simon is also called the Canaanite, which is the Aramaic word for “zealot.”
There were four primary Jewish people groups within first century Israel distinguished by religious and political ideologies. They included the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, and the Zealots. It is the Jewish people group known as the Zealots that is the focus for today’s study.
Jesus’ eleventh apostle, Simon, belonged to the Zealots. (Luke 6:15). The Zealots were political extremists. In other words, they were terrorists against Rome. The Zealots used terrorism to oppose the Roman occupation of Palestine. This was coupled for their zeal for the Mosaic Law.
He is mentioned again in Acts 1:13 as one of the eleven apostles in Jerusalem after Jesus’ ascension. Beyond that, the New Testament says nothing else about Simon.
Simon is an excellent example of an individual who was presumably and actively involved in the political struggles of his day. He, along with others, opposed Rome’s occupation of Israel. Perhaps, he even took up arms against Rome and used violence to accomplish the Zealot’s goals.
“The zealots made up, for the most part, the mass of Jews who retreated to Masada. Under the Roman attack, they were finally driven to throwing themselves off the mountaintop to commit suicide. Some have described the zealots as ancient terrorists, like the Al Qaeda that we deal with even today,” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
“It is one of the strange acts of providence that Jesus would select for His inner core of Apostles both a tax collector, who was raising tribute to support the Roman cause, and a zealot to work side-by-side—talk about a miracle of public relations. Jesus got these two men on His team and got them to work together.”
However, as a believer and apostle of Jesus Christ Simon became a member of another kingdom; the kingdom of God. As such, he acquired new weapons and armor to serve an eternal king (Eph. 6:10-20).
2 Corinthians 10:1-6 (ESV) says, “I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away! — 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
I encourage you to keep this in mind as we serve the Lord in politically, culturally, and spiritually turbulent times. Have a God-honoring day.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 