The Unlikely Selection of Simon As A Disciple
Who Were the Zealots?
The word Zealot, or the Fourth Philosophy, is used many times throughout the New Testament in reference to a sect of Judaism. With a surface level reading, this religious sect can often get lumped into the many other contemporary religious sects of Jesus’ day, such as: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. However, something was significantly different about the Zealots that separated them and made them extremely distinct from any other religious sect during Jesus’ day.
Many people assume that Matthew was the most unlikely selection as one of Jesus’ disciples. Matthew was a tax collector who sold his soul, heritage, culture, people and faith for financial security by teaming with the Romans. Though this is a highly unlikely choice for the Messiah of Israel to choose as his representative, a deeper study into who the Zealots were might bump Simon up to number one as the most highly unlikely selection as a disciple of Jesus.
the Zealots according to Josephus
The first century Jewish historian Josephus mentioned the Zealots as a Jewish political movement, not religious sect, started by Judas of Galilee and Zadok the Pharisee. Gamiliel, Paul’s lifelong rabbi, mentions this Judas in Acts 5: 35-39 when encouraging the Pharisees to treat the Apostles wisely and justly:
“And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice”
Judas was the son of Hezekiah, who was executed by Herod in 46 BC. Herod was only half Jewish and was put into power by the Romans. Judas clearly developed a hatred for anything influenced by Rome, and out of misguided emotions, he birthed the Zealots that, like most extremist groups, would radicalize many other young men that were emotionally affected by Rome.
On the surface, they associated with and aligned mostly with the Pharisees in most of their worldviews. However, what separated the Zealots from even the Pharisees was that they further believed that God should be the leader of the nation rather than the Roman government. That belief was so fundamental and pivotal to their worldview, that they would go to violent extremes to make this happen. Josephus also noted that “Judas of Galilee called the Jews cowards if they continued to pay taxes to Rome.”
This was the heart and tension behind the Pharisees question in Matthew 22:15-22:
Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?”
The Violence of the Zealots
From extra-biblical writings, we know that the Zealots held closely to the religious teachings of the Torah, aligning them more with the Pharisees then with the Sadducees; being that the Sadducees only believed in the first five books to the Torah. However their unique interpretations of the Torah separated them from each of these groups.
Just like The Zealots, The Essenes agreed that there was something fundamentally wrong with how Judaism was being practiced in Jerusalem. They believed that it was almost impossible to follow the Torah faithfully in Jerusalem when it was so heavily influenced by Roman oppression and Hellenistic Jewish culture. With this in mind, they fled to the wilderness and believed that life outside the city was the best way to practice their faith. Many Essenes fled to the caves of Qumran, and the Essenes were responsible for writing and preserving the Dead Sea Scrolls, arguably on of archaeology’s most greatest discoveries. The Zealots believed that it was their duty to enforce the views and laws of the Torah through activism, not fleeing, which was in stark contrast to the Essenes. This “activism” quickly led to violence.
Some have looked at the attitudes and actions of the Zealots in this period and noted their similarities to modern-day terrorists. However, this label is only partly correct since the Zealots were fighting to defend their own homeland rather than another nation. Amongst their contemporaries, however, they were most certainly looked at with the same stigma of today’s terrorists. Barabas, who often only gets labeled as a robber, was actually a Zealot Rebel. He is named a “notorious prisoner”, and in both Mark and Luke, he was known for being in prison with the zealots that committed murder and led the insurrection against the Roman occupying forces. The same word used to describe Barabas is the same word Josephus used as the Zealots.
The Sicarrii
Within The Zealot sect was a sub-sect called The Sicarrii (Latin for Sicarius, or short dagger); men with expertise in ancient Krav Maga, weaponry, and stealth. The Sicarrii got their name from the short, retractable dagger that they carried in disguise. They were responsible for killing the High Priest Jonothan, Roman officials, and single handedly held off Rome’s military at Masada from 70AD - 73AD. They were so against Rome that when Rome finally penetrated the fortress of Masada, the Sicarrii Jews committed mass suicide to not let the Romans get the pleasure of killing them.
The Zealots Responsible for the Fall of Jerusalem
Once imperial worship was officially introduced in Israel, the Zealots had had enough and drew their line in the sand. The famous military revolt against the Romans in AD 66 was initiated and led by the Zealot sect. They were initially successful, yet their power could not compete with the Romans and Rome would eventually destroy the city of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70 to fulfill Jesus prophecy in Matthew 24:
And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
The Re-learning of Simon
An understanding of the Zealots helps to highlight the oddity of Simon the Zealot as one of Jesus’ choices. It is easy to see why Matthew might have been the most controversial choice for Jesus, however, in the midst of teaching about being peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) and about a Kingdom that’s not of this world, Simon might prove to be equally if not more of an odd choice for Jesus. The Zealots were brainwashed with false doctrine and intensive training to be deadly assassins. Simon would have to unlearn everything he was taught and relearn how Jesus would usher in God’s true Kingdom through peace and martyrdom. Training on how to kill one’s enemies would soon be replaced by a doctrine of love, even loving one’s enemies, as our main means of ruling alongside the Messiah.