Simon the Zealot - a hater of the Romans and Taxes

Hello all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!  Jesu Jevu!

   Simon was 28 years old when you joined the apostles.  He was a fiery man and many times spoke without thinking.  He was a hater of the Romans and specially a tax-hater.  He was an active fanatical Jewish Nationalists.  He was a Canaanite and lived in Galilee.

  Simon was a loyal man, yet very material minded.  Jesus was quite patient with him, working with him until he became spiritually minded. A work in progress. Hmm! Does this sound like you---a work in progress.

   Simon admired Jesus for many reasons, a few of which was his calmness, his assurance, poise, and inexplicable composure.  This was a big change for Simon, who would have killed willingly to keep Israel pure; and now, he followed a man who did not use violence or force to share the word.

   Simon was a very effective teacher and preacher and follower of Jesus.  He enjoyed debates, when it came to dealing with the legalistic minds of the educated Jews or the intellectual nit picking of the  Greeks, the task was always assigned to Simon.

    It appears he and Matthew, the tax-collector, became close; whereas prior to Jesus, Simon had a strong hatred for taxes.  Simon, too, was martyred. It is not clear where he died and some authorities say he was martyred by either crucifixion or hacked to death.  Where? One authority says a governor in Syria had him killed or martyred.  Again, it is interesting that only John died of old age.

   Search all this out for yourself and see what you can find.  If you find more I would enjoy hearing from you. Love you all.

Soli Deo Gloria

Johnny