Generally speaking, a zealot is anyone who fervently supports a particular cause. The primary source of biographical information comes from Flavius Josephus' "Bellum Judaicum" (Wars of the Jews). This year was marked by bitter civil war between the three factions under Simon, John, and Eleazar. Zealous defenders of the Law and of the national life of the Jewish people; name of a party opposing with relentless rigor any attempt to bring Judea under the dominion of idolatrous Rome, and especially of the aggressive and fanatical war party from the time of Herod until the fall of Jerusalem and Masada. According to Tacitus, "there were three generals and three armies, and between these three there was constant fighting, treachery, and arson" (Histories 5.12.3). Despite the Zealots' failure to achieve political and religious liberation, Eleazar ben Simon helped cultivate the idea of an independent Jewish state and ingrained a sense of fear in future Roman leaders in the Middle East. And yet something we know is that Simon by his radical background would [1], Although the First JewishRoman War was doomed to fail against a seemingly insurmountable Roman Empire, the monumental death and destruction from 66 to 70 CE could have been avoided. The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First JewishRoman War (6670). You follow Me., whoever would be my disciple must follow after me, For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. Required fields are marked *. Despite his rejection from power, Eleazar remained in Jerusalem promoting the Zealot cause from his headquarters at the Temple. Rhoades concludes that the term zealot is ambiguous enough for there to be more than one valid interpretation: Some scholars assume that citations to zeal and zealots in the 1st century, such as the NT references to Simon the zealot, refer to a Jewish sect of Zealots dedicated to revolution against Rome. 5. In the biblical tradition, human acts of zeal punished idolatrous violations of Gods right to exclusive allegiance from Israel. Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us Your Apostle, St. Simon, as an example of holiness. We will now examine the historical evidence of how these men died. 10:4; Mark 3:18; and Luke 6:15).Readers find him again in the book of Acts (1:13) after the death of Jesus and his ascension to heaven where Simon and his fellow apostles gathered together to elect a replacement for . From the first of these surnames some have thought that St. Simon was bom at Cana, in Galilee. Sts. Here, he was supposedly martyred by being cut in half with a saw, a tool he is often depicted with. The titles may refer to him being "zealous", or to his membership of one of the Jewish revolutionary movements known as Zealots. Bible Study, Little is known about the post-Pentecost life of St. Simon, who had been called a Zealot. The cause of his death in unclear because of the existence of two versions: (1) He was crucified in Edessa, Turkey; (2) He was clubbed-to-death and his body was either sawed or axed in pieces after (together with Simon the Zealot). Copyright 2010-2023 Telling Ministries LLC. Although he had proven his devotion and leadership at Beit-Horon, Eleazar ben Simon was given no office "because of his tyrannical temperament" (B.J 2.564). Apostle Simon I included Paul among the apostles since he was perhaps the greatest apostle and evangelist the world has ever known and most certainly deserves to be included among the apostles. His relics reside at Saint Peter's in Rome, at Rheims, and at Toulouse, France. The moniker the Zealot comes from the Greek wordzlts, which theApostle Lukeused in bothhis gospeland Acts to distinguish this Simon from Simon Peter. during the Roman-Judean War that one of the revolutionary factions came to identify itself formally as the Zealots. The East claims Simon died a peaceful death at Edessa. Required fields are marked *. Therefore, it is anachronistic to view people acting with zeal before 68 C.E. What happened to the disciples after Jesus died? With growing support, Eleazar successfully appointed a puppet High Priest in Jerusalem to usurp power from Ananus and seized control of the Temple. He was present when Jesus performed miracles, such as walking on water (Matthew 14:22), healing lepers (Luke 5:12), feeding thousands with five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 15:32), raising people from the dead (Luke 7:11), and raising Lazarus from death after four days (John 11:1-44). Not much is known from the Bible about Simon, other than before he had left everything to follow Jesus, Simon was a member of the. Regardless of whether the prophecy was about Matthias, he was apparently stoned and then beheaded late in the 1st century. All that is known about his death is that he was also was crucified. Simon the Zealot (died 65 AD) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Subscribe to the CompellingTruth.org Newsletter: There are nine Simons mentioned in the New Testament: Simon the brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3), Simon Iscariot the father of Judas Iscariot (John 6:71), Simon the Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner when the sinful woman poured perfume on His feet (Luke 7:40), Simon the leper who had Jesus over for dinner in Bethany (Mark 14:3), Simon from Cyrene who was forced to help Jesus carry His cross (Mark 15:21), Simon the sorcerer who tried to buy the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:924), and Simon the tanner who hosted Peter when he had the vision of unclean food (Acts 9:43). Simon the Zealot was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is thought to have preached in Egypt and then to have joined St. Jude in Persia. Yet prior to this encounter, little is known about his early life and rise to power. Eleazar found himself in a similar situation of helplessness. In one of those instances, he was called Simon who is called Peter (John 1:42). As we mentioned earlier, Rhoades argues that Josephus work makes it clear that there was no formal group called the Zealots until about 68 AD. 2010 3 May. The apostle Simon, called Simon the Zealot in Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13; and Simon Kananaios ("Simon" signifying "hearkening; listening", Standard Hebrew imon, Tiberian Hebrew imn ), was one of the most obscure among the apostles of Jesus; little is recorded of him aside from his name. Thus , both names for Simon mean the same thing; the first simply refers to his political background, the The failure in ancient manuscripts to distinguish formal nouns allows for differing interpretations regarding the use of the term zealot. It seems clear, however, that Jewish and Christian writings of the period refer to a wide variety of offenses against which private individuals or groups might act in zeal on behalf of the community, some of these actions being revolutionary and others not.. Probably Christ Himself must have told him and he was preparing Timothy to take over for him. Although there are various versions of his death, it is likely he served with zeal as a missionary in Persia and eventually died a martyr's death. Syrian Christian tradition postulates he was martyred in Mylapore on July 3, 72 AD. The Golden Legend says he was martyred in Persia in 65 AD. In fact, whenever he is listed in the Gospel writings it is with the designationSimon the Zealot. Yet when the revolt broke out in 66 CE, the Galilean zealots fled the Roman massacres and sought refuge in the last major Jewish stronghold: Jerusalem. Eleazar ben Simon and his Zealots' radical anti-Roman policies and eradication of the moderate temple aristocracy from Jerusalem in 67 CE also prevented any peaceful agreement with Rome to avoid the death and destruction which ensued in 70 CE. We remember him October 28 in Roman Church, andJune 19 in Eastern Church. All Rights Reserved. [citation needed]. Any time that Jesus said truly, truly or verily, verily He was putting great emphasis on a truth and Jesus must have known, with certainty, how Peter would die and that they will stretch out your hands and carry you where you do not want to go clearly implied crucifixion. He was married, had three children, and lived at Bethsaida, near Capernaum. One wonders how Simon felt about Matthew, who would have been considered a traitor by the Jews because he was a tax-collector for Rome. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. Simon and Jude, Apostles. Every apostle was a disciple but not every disciple is an apostle. However he was imprisoned on the island of Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Hammond and Grotius think that St. Simon was called the Zealot, before his coming to Christ, because he was one of that particular sect or party among the Jews called Zealots, from a singular zeal they possessed for the honour of God and the purity of religion. Quick Answer: How Old Was The Apostle Paul When He Became A Christian? Simon would have considered Matthew a Jewish sell-out, a traitor to the cause of Israel. In this guide, well dig into the ambiguities surrounding this lesser-known biblical figure, address some common confusions, and look at how he may have died. James the Less was martyred in a fashion similar to James, the half-brother of Jesus, who was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and then beaten to death. How will you diein your sins? the causes of the war were many and complex: incompetent and corrupt roman governors, deteriorating roman policies toward jews, a determined jewish opposition to foreign domination, economic exploitation of peasants (the war was also a peasant revolt against the jewish elites), widespread banditry, apocalyptic expectations, the conviction that Repent today, confess your sins, see your need for a Savior and put your trust in Jesus Christ and you too will be part of that which is being built today by God and which has as its foundation, the saints of God, the apostles and the Chief Cornerstone, Jesus Christ. Matthew and Mark give him the titlekananaios, which most scholars believe comes from the Aramaic wordqanan, meaning zealous one.. It is possible that Judas Iscariot, another member of the Twelve and the one who went on to betray Jesus, was a former Zealot as well. The Zealots were anti-Rome and were politically motivated. 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simon the zealot cause of death