Zealotry and the Cause of Christ

He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter)... Simon the Zealot... Matthew 10:1,2 & 4

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter)... Simon who was called the Zealot... Luke 6:12-15

When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter... Simon the Zealot... They all joined together constantly in prayer. Acts 1:12-14

If you are spending time reading this, here's a guess. I bet this could be the first time you've read something regarding Simon the Zealot. Yes, Simon the Zealot. You may be asking yourself: "Who is this guy anyway?"

The above verses tell us some things about this Simon the Zealot.

(1) He was one of the 12 apostles. One of the pillars of the church -- part of the foundation with Jesus being the chief cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:20)

(2) Just like the other 11, he was not chosen haphazardly. Jesus had an all night prayer meeting to determine who would be chosen.

(3) Like all the apostles, Jesus had given this Simon authority -- to heal and to overcome the power of devils.

(4) He was obedient to Jesus. The Lord had instructed the disciples to wait for the promised Holy Spirit to be endued with power for ministry. (Luke 24:49 & Acts 1:4)

(5) He was a man of prayer. In obeying Jesus, he knew that praying was essential for being filled with the Holy Spirit.

But let us talk about how this Simon was referred to in scripture -- the Zealot. What does that mean? Some translations use the capitalized version - Zealot. But it is difficult to know for sure. Is it zealot, or is it Zealot. Let's look at zealot first. It is a word that speaks of one's fervency toward a cause or belief. In the Greek, it carries the idea of being "hot after something". If you are zealous for something, you must really want it bad!

Now, let us look at Zealot. If you were called a Zealot, what did that mean? During Jesus' day, there were 4 groups of Jewish philosophy: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and the Zealots. There were a few outstanding characteristics of note regarding the Zealots. Here are some of them.

First of all, they were probably the most passionate about God - the one true God. They believed that only God should be served, only God should rule over them, only God should receive their taxes and if anyone else were to occupy Israel, they would resist them. Why? Because it was unscriptural for foreigners to occupy the land!

Secondly, they believed in a coming Messiah. But the Messiah they hoped for was a powerful military leader who would lead them to victory over all their enemies.

Thirdly, the Zealots were political revolutionists who were zealous in their beliefs. They were not above using violence or even murder to further their cause.

So what might we learn of value from Simon the Zealot? More importantly, what might we learn about the power of the gospel?

One of the other apostles was Matthew. He was a tax collector. As a tax collector, he was considered to be the scum of the earth. Most Jews hated the tax collectors! Why? Because they were working together with Rome to exact taxes upon the populace. And they would often cheat the Jews for their own benefit. Get the picture. Tax collectors worked with Rome and taxation. Zealots hated Rome -- particularly their occupation of the land and their taxation techniques. The deduction is obvious! The Zealots hated the tax collectors maybe more than any group of Jews! And after much prayer, Jesus put a tax collector and a Zealot together as part of the original twelve!

You may ask: "Why would Jesus do such a thing?" I believe the answer is simple. It would provide a good demonstration of the power of the gospel! Paul makes it clear in Ephesians 2:14-16 that through the cross, people across the world who came to Him for salvation became what Paul referred to as "One New Man". According to this passage, hostilities were put to death by the cross! Hallelujah! Think about that during the next church meeting you attend where a believer is there whom you just don't like very much. Having Simon the Zealot and Matthew together is demonstration of the gospel's power to change hearts and to remove barriers!

Another point to be made is that the gospel brings about what I call a "sanctifying grace." What I mean by that is that often there are characteristics of a person before coming to Christ that are used to their detriment -- increasing their sin. But the gospel takes those traits and then begins using them for God's glory. Consider this: Simon the Zealot was zealous for his cause possibly to the point of being violent before he met Jesus. Once saved, that zealotry was turned into passion for the Savior and His cause -- the kingdom and advancement of the gospel. According to "Foxe's Book of Martyrs", Simon the Zealot went to faraway places -- Mauritania and Britain -- to share God's good news. And it was in Britain that he died a martyrs' death -- by crucifixion! He took it for the cause!

Lastly, and I cannot prove it, I suspect that Simon the Zealot may have been a mighty prayer warrior. He is listed in only 3 passges (quoted at the beginning of this short treatise). The Acts passage shows him as being a member of the large group that gathered for prayer in wait for the Holy Spirit's arrival. As we have learned, though they were misguided in their philosophy, Zealots were characterized by a: passion for God, zealousness for God's rule, willingness to submit to His reign and a fervency in their attitude. These were the Zealots' core values. But sanctified and placed under the blood of Jesus, these same core values provide the recipe for a powerful person of prayer!

But there is another thing about Zealots. They were willing to apply force -- even violence -- against the Romans whom they viewed as tyrannical and an unwanted occupier. Consider that Satan is a tyrant who enslaves. He comes to steal, kill and destroy. And he is an undesirable enemy who does not belong! He is to be resisted. The essence of a prayer warrior is He is passionate for God, ready for God to reign, willing to submit to His authority, fervent in attitude and believes that his praying has the capability of doing violence against Satan and his armies of demons!

Now look at the following three passages and view them in light of what you now know of Simon the Zealot:

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. Matthew 11:12

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16

The world has had its share of revolutionaries -- Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, etc. On a contemporary basis, many characteristics of the Zealots would describe the terrorists of today's world. But the power of the gospel can bring change, turn them into leaders and surprisingly unite them with strange bedfellows for the cause of Jesus like the Lord did with Matthew and Simon the Zealot. And they can become among the fiercest of prayer warriors!

Let us pray that some contemporary Simon the Zealots would hear and respond to the gospel and be transformed by its power!