simon the zealot

Zeal wasn’t just passion. In first century Judea, it was closer to violent outrage. 

The Zealots were a group of people who hated the Roman occupation so much, they were prepared to take all means necessary to free their land. Zeal was super-political. And right among His disciples, Jesus chose a zealot to help change the world.

I wonder what Simon made of Jesus throwing the market sellers out of the temple...

“In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money. So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. To those who sold doves he said, ‘Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!’ His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’” - John 2:14-17

Sometimes our passions can run away with themselves. Here, Jesus shows Simon the Zealot that the primary passion of a believer is for the house of the Lord. Whatever our political inclination, whatever our thoughts on how things should be done, zeal is always for the Kingdom first.

Today, ask God to help you see the world through the lens of how He sees things. Let zeal for His house consume you first.