Home Builders Community Group: Simon the Zealot and Thaddaeus

Simon the Zealot

qan’an looks like kananaios when transliterated with Greek letters so some early writings mistakenly call him Simon of Canaan or Simon the Canaanite.
We don’t know where Simon was from but he wasn’t necessarily from Cana.

While some of the apostles are listed by different names in the various lists, Simon is always listed as “Simon the Zealot.”

The biblical writers may have done this in order to distinguish this Simon from Simon Peter
He may also have been called the Zealot because it was such a defining characteristic of who he was.

Zeal is defined as “great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.”
When Jesus drove the money changers from the Temple, His disciples remembered what had been written in Psalm 69:9, For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
Paul often was confronted in his ministry by zealous Jews

Acts 21:18-21, And the day following Paul went in with us unto James [this would be James the Less]; and all the elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
Acts 23:12-13, And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.

Simon could have been someone who was simply driven by his commitment to his faith

There was also a Jewish sect of Zealots who were dedicated to the overthrow of Rome

It began as an unorganized, grassroots movement about the time of the first Roman census
It wasn’t formally called The Zealots until about 68 AD

This means Simon would not have been called Zealot during Jesus’ ministry
He might have been identified with this group by the time the gospels were written

The Zealots revolted in 66 AD and temporarily seized control of Jerusalem. In 70 AD, the Romans sacked the city and destroyed the Temple just as Jesus had predicted.
If Simon was a member of this group, it would be a testimony to the transforming power of the gospel that he would be associated with the publican, Matthew.

In Luke 6, the apostles are listed in pairs. Some suggest this was how the apostles were paired when they were sent out by Jesus

Ethiopian churches hold that he preached there and was crucified in Samaria
An Eastern tradition says he died of old age in Edessa
Foxe’s Book of Martyrs says, Simon “preached the Gospel in Mauritania, Africa, and even in Britain, in which latter country he was crucified, A.D. 74.”
A 16th century historian, Justus Lipsius, claimed Simon was sawed in half (lengthwise)!

THADDAEUS

Some translations have, Judas the son of James
The original Greek simply says Judas of James - the “son of” or “brother of” is implied

John 14:22, Judas, not Iscariot
Some scholars speculate that Judas was likely the name given to him at birth while Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus were possible nicknames

Judas means, Jehovah leads
Lebbaeus translates as “heart-child”
Thaddeus means “breast-child”
these nicknames suggest Thaddeus was a gentle soul with a tender, childlike heart

If he is the brother of James, and if James is a brother of Jesus, then Judas would also be a brother of Jesus

Jesus did have a brother named Judas
Matthew 13:55, Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
This could also mean that Judas is the author of The Book of Jude

Jude 1, Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.

John’s gospel tells us that His brothers did not believe in Him early in His ministry

John 7:3-5, His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.
Jesus had at least four brothers, and John doesn’t specifically say that all of them didn’t believe in him.

John 14:21-22, He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

He seemed to think Jesus was treating the apostles differently than the world
He seemed to have the same opinion as most Jews of his time - that the Messiah would reveal Himself in power to the world

Tradition holds that Judas preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Libya. Jude was beaten to death with a club and then beheaded post-mortem.

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