Simon the Zealot (died 65 AD) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Saint Simon the Apostle, also called Simon the Zealot, (flourished 1st century ad died, Persia or Edessa, Greece? However he was imprisoned on the island of Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Simon the Leper (Greek: , Smn ho leprs) is a biblical figure who lived in Bethany, a village in Judaea on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives. This disunity with other sects of Judaism confined Zealotry to its birthplace in Galilee. How Did Simon The Zealot Die by Ibrahim Smile June 16, 2022 Simon the Zealot was a Jewish priest and a member of the early Christian community. Another tradition says, he was stoned by Jews in Jerusalem and then beheaded. Simon was transformed by the Jesus and his message. John Shelby Spong (Jesus for the NonReligious) points out that Mark's Gospel did not actually call Simon "the Zealot" - it called him . Days prior to the siege of Jerusalem, Eleazar ben Simon was betrayed by John of Gischala. Your email address will not be published. Zeal is behavior motivated by the jealous desire to protect ones self, group, space, or time against violations. Dear Lord, we thank You for giving us Your Apostle, St. Simon, as an example of holiness. The church, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone cannot have other apostles any more than it can have another cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20) because no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corintians 3:11). By 69 CE, with the support of most Idumeans, Simon captured Jerusalem and reduced Eleazar and John to a powerless state confinement in the Temple and inner court. 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. Zealots were shunned by the High Priesthood in Jerusalem prior to the revolt. Once again, very little is known about him inside or outside of the Bible. Since a zealot was a fanatic and eventually resorted to violence, Simon would have left this cause when he gave up all to follow Jesus. All Rights Reserved. Simon was born in Judea, and he was baptized in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. It's thought that he became a missionary to Africa and died of old age. In the context of the New Testament, the Zealots were a party zealous for Jewish independence and throwing off Roman rule. [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. To him be glory for ever and ever. He is thought to have preached in Egypt and then to have joined St. Jude in Persia. His feast day is October 28th. Saint Bartholomew lived in the first century AD and was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. It was there that he was staked or impaled to the earth by spears and then beheaded. Listen to the heartbreaking last words of Paul as he awaited his execution in 2 Timothy 4:16-18: At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. John The only one of the apostles generally thought to have died a natural death from old age. They assumed he was from Canaa town within Galileeor possibly Canaan, an ancient region in the near east which was frequently mentioned in the Bible. 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.. Simon may have been crucified or hacked to death. This must have meant that he was tilted to one side or the other and was not crucified vertically or horizontally. Precious little else is known about the process but it is enough to know how he died. Help us to imitate the love of You he showed in his years of service as Your Apostle. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. The title Zealot tells us much about Simon. Simon, the Zealot As the story goes, he ministered in Persia and was killed after refusing to sacrifice to the sun god. Although Titus Flavius, the son of Emperor Vespasian, and his army were nearing Jerusalem, Eleazar and the other two leaders did not unite to prepare for the attack and were severely weakened by 70 CE. . For many Jews, the Messiah was no longer a spiritual Savior but an earthly Conqueror. So what does this title mean? Simon the Zealot's death is disputed amongst scholars. Following the defeat of Eleazar's Zealots and subsequent destruction of the Temple, the lack of centralized worship created a spiritual vacuum within the Jewish community that was filled with the spread of synagogue as the center of Jewish life. With complete control over the city, Eleazar and John exploited their power and slaughtered the remnants of Ananus' moderate party in Jerusalem in a misguided attempt to unite the city. Feast Day: October 28 ST. SIMON is surnamed the Cananaean or Canaanite, and the Zealot, to distinguish him from St. Peter, and from St. Simeon, the brother of St. James the Less, and his successor in the see of Jerusalem. As a Zealot, Eleazar ben Simon's radical anti-Roman beliefs prevented him from pursuing any peaceful coalition with Rome. Apostolic Identity. And John mentions Thaddeus, calling him Judas (not Iscariot) (John 14:22). His relics reside at Saint Peter's in Rome, at Rheims, and at Toulouse, France. However, in 68 CE, John of Gischala, the hero who escaped Roman conquest in Galilee, joined forces with Eleazar ben Simon at Jerusalem and undermined the moderates' power. He usually has a small flame above his head and he often carries a pen. Jack has written 1277 articles on What Christians Want To Know! so Simon includes an identifying name: the Zealot. People are attracted to people who get on fire for a cause. 2010 3 May. PETA, Greenpeace, and NOW might all be considered organizations that are filled with zealots. Due their fear that Ananus would betray the nationalist cause and surrender to the Romans in order to solidify his position of power, the Idumeans invested their support in Eleazar and John's coalition in hopes of establishing a more radical government to counter the inevitable Roman attack. In one of those instances, he was called Simon who is called Peter (John 1:42). [citation needed], The Zealot control of Jerusalem was confined to the inner court of the city and the Temple itself. Simon, a Zealot, to be one of his disciples. Read them in the archive below. The example of Simon the Zealot reminds us of three things. This post is also available in: He was crucified but he thought himself unworthy of the same type of death that Jesus suffered and so asked to be hung upside down which was done in Rome. Mary Magdalene as Jesuss wife One of these texts, known as the Gospel of Philip, referred to Mary Magdalene as Jesuss companion and claimed that Jesus loved her more than the other disciples. The Apostle Jude was crucified in Persia. Few pseudepigraphical writings were . He is ironically crucified as a revolutionary between two revolutionaries, and yet his revolution is one built on the power of love, not violence. Some scholars believe that Eleazar's victory at Beit-Horon imbued the Jewish people with a false sense of hope for liberation from Rome. Foxes Book of Martyrs claims that in India, He was at length cruelly beaten and then crucified by the impatient idolaters.. Each of these Simons is clearly distinct, and Simon the Apostle isalwaysreferred to with the moniker the Zealot.. The apostle Jude, who wrote the next to the last book in the New Testament by the same name, went all the way to Persia and it was there that he was crucified by the Magi. TheNew Testamentlists all twelve apostles four timesMatthew 10:2-4,Mark 3:14-19,Luke 6:13-16, andActs 1:13-16. Every apostle was a disciple but not every disciple is an apostle. This is the disciple that replaced Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:12-26) that betrayed Jesus and then hanged himself (Matthew 27:5). At the onset of the war, John of Gischala, Eleazar's future ally, disobeyed Josephus' orders not to attack a Roman granary, thus sparking a bitter hatred between the two leaders. Why were the books of Kings included in the Bible. While there are some variations in the order the apostles appear and even the names they went by, Simon is listed in all of them. James was far from any reliable historical writers or church historians but it is thought that he was beheaded by King Herod near Palestine and not far from where he was a local missionary to the Jews in Judea. The apostle named Simon the Zealot was mentioned only four times in the Bible, and the Synoptic Gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke) named him as one of the Twelve (Matt. Simon the Zealot was one of Jesus' disciples. Cambridge University Press, 1999. As a result of this despotic leadership and their insufficient representation in the government, many Idumeans defected to a violent extremist group outside the city walls known as the Sicarii, led by Simon b. Gioras. However, the New Testament records the death of only two of the apostles Judas Iscariot and James the son of Zebedee. And is not Galilee a hotbed of these messianic and nationalist rebels? This event has been called the Dispersion of the Apostles. During the summer of 67, Eleazar ben Simon and his Zealots attempted to dismantle the moderate government of Ananus by imprisoning officials who remained from the procurator period before the revolt and spreading the fear that the moderate Temple aristocracy would undermine the Jewish nationalist cause. Matthias was the apostle that was selected to replace Judas who hung himself. If thats what the Zealot refers to, then likeMatthew the Tax Collector, the Apostle Simons presence among the Twelve represents a powerful picture of the gospel. Simon the Zealot is a most difficult disciple to trace the history of, as he appears to have travelled under various names - or perhaps just been confused with many other people? 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. Researchers believe this is a form of the title sicarii, meaning "dagger-men," a group of ultra-Zealots who carried a knife with them at all times to be prepared to assassinate . His apostolic symbol is a fish lying on a Bible, which indicates he was a former fisherman who became a fisher of men through preaching. If you like what you're reading, you can get free daily updates through the RSS feed here. During this period, John had distanced himself from Eleazar and the Zealots in order to avoid association with their tyrannical behavior and claim sole leadership. The Acts of Philip document gives an account of his martyrdom. Most historians, both secular and church, say that he was beheaded. Anyone associated with a known Zealot would fall under the suspicion of Roman authorities. 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. 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). Jude Thaddeus, patron saint of of desperate and lost causes, partnered with Simon the Zealot and they preached in Judea, Persia, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Iran and Libya. We know that Judas was probably a Zealot by his surname, Iscariot. From the onset of the war in 66 CE until the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, he fought vehemently against the Roman garrisons in Judea and against his fellow Jewish political opponents in order to establish an independent Jewish state at Jerusalem. Some sources say he was buried either in Northern Persia or the most accepted version that his remains are buried . He was one of the 12 main disciples of Jesus Christ, but he plays no particular role in the gospels and is only mentioned by name in lists of the apostles (Matthew 10:2-4,Mark 3:16-19,Luke 6:14-16,Acts 1:1-13). During his three years of ministry with Jesus, Simon the Zealot matured into an apostle empowered to spread the gospel in truth and love to all nations. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 20 Bible Verses About Success: Study From Scripture, 25 Encouraging Bible Verses About Strength, Words of Encouragement: 30 Uplifting Quotes, Are You a Disciple of Christ? As the Roman general Vespasian's armies terrorized the countryside of Judea and Galilee, thousands of Jewish refugees joined Eleazar's ranks. We think of Jesus' disciple, Simon "the Zealot" or "Canaanite", and of Josephus's account of Judas the Galilean in 6 CE apparently responsible for what became the Zealot party and a widespread "nationalist" movement against Roman rule. 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. Luke replaces the name Thaddeus with Judas son of James (Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13). Nearly every image of him depicts him wearing a medallion with a profile of Jesus. Simon ben Gioras' control of Jerusalem rendered Eleazar and John's alliance useless and the Zealots split from John and barricaded themselves in the Temple. Both . This Apostle is said to have suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was then subject to Persia. 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