According to Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, "a zealot was an uncompromising partisan." Today, we would consider this group as ultraconservative. They were religious extremists of their day. They felt that the only way .to keep their religion pure was to rid their country of all foreigners, especially the Romans. Josephus, in his writings, refers to them as the "fourth sect of Jewish philosophy."
Their founder was Judas of Galilee, who led them in an unsuccessful rebellion against Roman in 6 A.D. For years after the Zealots, as they were known, nursed the fires of revolt. Finally in 66 A.D. they rebelled again. This time the Romans decided to take care of the Jewish problem, once and for all, and so began the Jews wars, in which Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. just as Jesus had prophesied in Matthew 24.
It was from this group that Jesus chose Simon called Zelotes (Luke 6:15), to be one of His apostles. He stands as a reminder that Jesus can take any person, and if they are willing, can make them into a vessel fit for the Master's use. How about you? Have you answered the Master's call? Are a person that Jesus can use in His service?
© Copyright 2001. Paul D. Fisher. All rights reserved.
DO YOU HAVE ZEAL FOR GOD?
by Paul D. Fisher, January 20, 2002
We all admire those who have zeal,
people who seem to have a lot of get-up-and-go about them.
They always seem to be busy and happy about what they
are doing. In John 2:13-17, we read about
the zeal of Jesus, " And the Jews' passover was at
hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, And found in the temple those that
sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: And when
he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple,
and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew
the tables; And said unto them that sold doves, 'Take these things hence;
make not my Father's house an house of merchandise. And his disciples remembered
that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.' " Jesus
showed His zeal when He drove out the money changers and those selling
animals for sacrifices in the outer court of the temple. Jesus' zeal bordered
on indignation for what the Jews were doing to the temple of God. They
were making it a market instead of a place of worship.
In contrast, we read about the zeal
of the Jews in Romans 10:1-3, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer
to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record
that they have zeal of God, but not according to knowledge, For they being
ignorant of God's righteousness, trod going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of
God."
The Jews had zeal, they had get up and go, but they had
a different kind of zeal than Jesus had. Jesus' zeal was the kind that
God approved of, but the Jews had the kind that God did not approve! What
was the difference? Paul, by inspiration of God, explained the difference.
The Jews had a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. The Jews' zeal
was not only not according to the knowledge of God, they were not even
trying to gain correct knowledge. They had, instead, replaced God's righteousness
with their
own. In other words, they replaced what God's will
had revealed to them with what they wanted.
Today in the realm of religion, we find the same kind of zeal for God that the Jews had not according to knowledge. Many people are doing wonderful things in the name of God, but not according to His knowledge. They have replaced God's righteousness with their own! My friends, humals righteousness can never come even remotely close to replacing the righteousness of God. Zeal is great and is important and ought to be a part of every Christian's life, but it has to be zeal according to knowledge of God!",
© Copyright 2001. Paul D. Fisher. All rights reserved.