The name itself sounds wild-eyed. Simon the Zealot (died 65 AD) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. how did 12 apostles die, Jack Wellman is a father and grandfather and a Christian author and pastor of Heritage Evangelical Free Church in Udall, KS [https://modelchrist.org/] & also a Prison Minister. I realize that the brother of Jesus, James, was not an apostle but he was one of the early church leaders and the account of his death is horrific. Join in praying the St. Simon Novena. Amen. How heartbreaking. To distinguish him from St. Peter he is called (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18) Kananaios, or Kananites, and Zelotes (Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). Apostolic Identity. After Jesus' death, Simon and Jude Thaddeus became an evangelizing team, and they were both martyred in Beirut in 65 . Inspired by Eleazar and the Zealots' victory, rebellions arose in Galilee, only to be crushed in 67 by Roman forces. 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. A second-century apocryphal text called Acts of Peter claimed that Peter was crucified upside down, at his request for he didnt feel worthy to die as Jesus did. Tagged as: On Pauls third missionary journey, Jews and Jewish Christians who were zealous for the Law wanted to kill Paul (Acts 21:20;23:1214). Known for: Little-known apostle of Jesus Christ. And John mentions Thaddeus, calling him Judas (not Iscariot) (John 14:22). The name of Simon occurs in all the passages of the Gospel and Acts, in which a list of the Apostles is given. In this history of the Jewish revolt, Josephus portrays Eleazar ben Simon as a murderous and impulsive Zealot who regarded his own personal ambitions above the well-being of the Jewish people. 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. Simon the Zealot was one of the original Apostles . The Cambridge History of Judaism. Although the Jewish defeat at Jerusalem cannot be entirely attributed to Eleazar ben Simon, his inability to establish unity with John of Gischala and Simon bar Giora resulted in a bitter civil war that weakened the Jewish resistance against Rome. 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. It records that he led a proconsuls wife to the Lord. Since the Apostle Simon is onlylistedamong the apostles (and hes completely absent from theGospel of John), theres not much we can say about him. We are sent out as sheep among . Simon is mentioned occasionally in early church writings, but centuries after the gospels were written, Saint Jerome and others mistranslated Simons title, believing that Matthew and Mark referred to him as Simon the Cananite or Simon the Cananaean. 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. The New Testament calls him Simon the Canaanite and 2 other places call him Simon. Copyright 2011-2023 Got Questions Ministries - All Rights Reserved. Probably Christ Himself must have told him and he was preparing Timothy to take over for him. This alliance was rooted in their mutual dependence upon each other. How did the Apostles die? Eleazar ben Simon's radical anti-Roman ideology derived from a lifetime of oppression in Israel under Roman rule. Founded by Judas of Galilee, the Zealots kindled anti-Roman sentiment throughout Galilee and Judea. Amen.. Since Eleazar was placed in command of a large army of Jews in the battle against Cestius' Legio, he had already risen to a position of power in the priesthood prior to his military success. Simon as a Member of the Zealot Party . TheNew Testamentlists all twelve apostles four timesMatthew 10:2-4,Mark 3:14-19,Luke 6:13-16, andActs 1:13-16. The three Synoptic Gospels recount how Peters mother-in-law was healed by Jesus at their home in Capernaum (Matthew 8:1417, Mark 1:2931, Luke 4:38); this passage clearly depicts Peter as being married. Previous post: 10 Arguments for the Existence of God, Next post: 20 Bible Verses About Success: Study From Scripture. Because Gods holiness will not tolerate idolatry or other violations against the covenant (Exod 20:5;Deut 5:9), God will punish the whole nation for such offenses unless someone acts on behalf of Godzealous with Gods jealous angerto kill or root out the offenders.. As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, called Peter and his brother Andrew. Although not vindicated from misguided leadership, Eleazar (and for that matter most of the Zealots) are no longer seen as violent tyrants who destroyed the city before the Romans got to Jerusalem. Later, during Domitians persecution in the middle 90s, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. What happened to the 12 disciples after the ascension of Christ? The apostle was murdered in Rome by Emperor Nero around 64 AD, after the Great Fire of Rome. Contrary to the radical anti-Roman agenda of the Zealots, Ananus and the other moderate leaders of Jerusalem wished to stabilize the conflict and reach equilibrium with Rome. 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). 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). The fall of Jerusalem also spurred a Jewish Diaspora throughout the ancient world because of enslavement and a large number of fleeing refugees. Edited by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe. After his resurrection, Jesus sent eleven of them (minus Judas Iscariot, who by then had died ) by the Great Commission to spread his teachings to all nations. 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. We read about his death in the book of Acts: It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. It is believed that most of the apostles died in the middle or late 1st century. Yet prior to this encounter, little is known about his early life and rise to power. Real Questions. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1886.) Josephus fought against the Romans in the First Jewish-Roman War. Simon and Jude, Apostles. [citation needed], Yet only until later that year did Eleazar and John seize control of the entire city. Just as Ananus' forces had surrounded him, in 69 CE. In the biblical tradition, human acts of zeal punished idolatrous violations of Gods right to exclusive allegiance from Israel. He died early in the church history while the New Testament was still being compiled. 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. All that is known about his death is that he was also was crucified. 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. One tradition is that he first preached in Egypt, before joining Jude and travelling to Persia, where both were martyred. According to most historians, Philips death was exceedingly cruel. It is believed that while he hung on that cross and was dying, he called to the crowds and taught them about Jesus Christ and how they might be saved, thus he was sharing the gospel up until the very time of his death on the x-shaped crossbeing loyal to the very end. Profile. Sts. By association with John, Eleazar inherited much of Josephus' hatred of his political partner and became a victim of harsh and bitter desecration in Bellum Judaicum. 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. The Bible lists the names of the twelve disciples in Matthew 10:24, Mark 3:1619 and Luke 6:1316. Like many of the Zealots, it is probable Simon had initially followed Jesus for political reasons . We begin with perhaps the most well-known of Jesus apostles, and that would be Peter. 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. 1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! (Simon Kananaios; kanna'i, "the Jealous (or Zealous) One"): One of the Twelve Apostles. Also, the Ethiopian Christians claim he was crucified in Samaria. Eleazar found himself in a similar situation of helplessness. However, the 4th-century St. Jesus preached a message of nonviolence (Matthew 5:39, 43-44; 26:52). In the fifth century, Moses of Chorene recorded that Simon the Zealot was martyred in the Kingdom of Iberia. John The only one of the apostles generally thought to have died a natural death from old age. For example, some of the Zealots under Eleazar burned large stockpiles of food that would have lasted the Jews several years in order to "remove the security blanket" and force everyone to fight (Goodman 195). [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. In order for there to be other apostles, we would have to tear down the building again and add to the foundation. He allied himself with the moderate Jewish leaders under Ananus ben Ananus. Accessed 8/08/2013. Jack has written 1277 articles on What Christians Want To Know! Simon He was from Cana and was called Simon the Canaanite or Simon the Zealot (the Zealots were Jewish revolutionaries who opposed . Another says he was beheaded, stoned to death, crucified upside down or hanged. How did Jesus meet Simon Peter? When he emerged unharmed, the entire coliseum converted to Christianity. Judas is often identified as a Zealot, an attribute held by only one other disciple, Simon the Zealot. pp. From Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. He was crucified, tied upside down in an x-shaped cross from where he preached for two days before he finally died. Once again, most historians agree that Andrew was also crucified but he was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Greece. 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. Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men. At once they left their nets and followed him. But the group known as the Zealots may not have existed at the time the gospels took placepossibly not even when they were written. And he had a double name; he was said Simon Zelotes, and Simon Cananean of Cana a street that is in Galilee, there whereas our Lord converted the water into wine.. And in the sixteenth century, Justus Lipsius recorded that he was sawed in half. 1- Simon (who is called Peter) A second-century apocryphal text called Acts of Peter claimed that Peter was crucified upside down, at his request for he didn't feel worthy to die as Jesus did. And after saying this he said to him, Follow me. (John 21:18-19). . One thing is sure that all the disciples suffered greatly for their witness and in most cases met cruel deaths (see also What happened to the 12 disciples after the ascension of Christ?). After the fall, he was somehow still alive and when they discovered this, his enemies circled him and beat him to death with clubs. More than 1,000 copies ofThe Golden Legendsurvive today, showing how deeply embedded this mistranslation was in the church. Matthew, like most of the apostles late in their lives, became a missionary and was arrested in Ethiopia. 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 Help us to imitate the love of You he showed in his years of service as Your Apostle. Here, he was supposedly martyred by being cut in half with a saw, a tool he is often depicted with. Finklestein, Louis, William Horbury, William David Davies, and John Sturdy. The titles may refer to him being "zealous", or to his membership of one of the Jewish revolutionary movements known as Zealots. Perhaps surprisingly, one of Christ's own disciples, Simon, was a member of the Zealots prior to meeting Jesus. It is unlikely that the Magi mentioned in the New Testament who were searching for the child King, Jesus, and the ones who crucified Jude were one and the same. Our most detailed descriptions of who they were, how their movement started, and what they stood for comes from Flavius Josephus, a Jewish-Roman historian who lived during the first century. Peter was a Jewish fisherman in Bethsaida (John 1:44). Although this is pure speculation, it is certain that Eleazar ben Simon's inability to establish unity with Simon bar Gioras and John of Geschala during the period of the independent Jewish state severely exacerbated and expedited the fall of Jerusalem. Now this may seem like not a very big thingJesus we surmise simply chose a variety of people as his disciples. Amen. Because of this, we have no reason to disbelieve these accounts as the vast majority of them agree on the method of the apostles deaths. 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