Jewish Zealots of the First Century

In last week's blog post I referenced how the origin of Judas' epithet (Iscariot) has been debated by scholars, and its possible correlation to first-century Jewish Zealotry.  In response, a good friend of mine posed an excellent question on my Facebook wall:

You mention that Judas was an extremist zealot.  I wonder why Jesus would have included such a figure to his party of  Twelve disciples if this were the case.  Could you explain?

My friend expounded upon this question in a follow up message:

 I guess it just seems weird to think of a character like Jesus associating with individuals who could be considered religious extremists.

Excellent question. The main issue at play here isn't that Jesus potentially added religious extremists to his group of twelve disciples.  The issue is that the ancient and modern worlds are dramatically different from one another.  I simply did not explain this fact very well in my post on Judas.  I hope to remedy that mistake today.

From the perspective of the modern world a religious zealot (small "z") is akin to a terrorist bomber, or at the very least somebody who accepts the word of scripture to the studies of science.  For Jews of Late Antiquity, to be a Zealot (large "Z") was something different entirely.  To better explain this important distinction let's take a ride into the past.

Imagine if you will that we have arrived at Twin Pines Mall at 1:00 a.m. to meet the great Dr. Emmett Brown. There we see Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly), sitting in the driver's seat of a DeLorean that will catapult us into the past.  Marty inputs the year "30" into the time computer with a destination that reads "Judea."  We sit back as the car rockets to a speed of 88 miles per hour.  The Flux Capacitor works its magic and...PRESTO!  We find ourselves magically teleported to a random Jewish community of the first-century.  One of our companions on this trip is a modern day Evangelical Christian (he just happens to be fluent in Aramaic so we can communicate with the locals) who insists that our first order of business is to track down some fellow Christians, in the hopes that they might be able to direct us to Jesus and his traveling band of twelve disciples.

Suddenly we discover a massive problem.  No, the problem isn't that the DeLorean couldn't have gone 88 MPH to begin with (though that would be an issue).  The real dilemma comes when our Evangelical friend begins asking locals, "Where can I find fellow Christians?"

"Christians?" Reply the locals.  "What is that?"

From behind us we hear Dr. Brown mumble under his voice, "Great Scott! Christianity is anachronistic in the first century."

"Anachronistic?"  Replies our Evangelical friend.  "I don't understand.  Tell me more?"

I'm glad you asked.

The word "anachronism" means something or someone that is outside of its correct historical or chronological timeline.  For instance, the following picture would be considered anachronistic for obvious reasons:

Abe Lincoln holding an iPhone is akin to Jews of the first century knowing what a "Christian" was.  It's a foreign concept for that particular time.  This is significant when we discuss the Zealot movement of the first century because we must seek to understand historical people and events on THEIR terms, without injecting modern concepts into the past.  So when we read of ancient zealots/zeal, we must seek to understand how they (of the past) defined that term.  To inject a modern definition of religious zealotry/zeal onto the past would be as anachronistic as Lincoln with an iPhone.  Perhaps it isn't as obvious but the anachronism is the same.  This must be our starting point, long before the DeLorean has arrived in ancient Judea.

Two things stand out to us as we continue our quest to find "Christians" in ancient Judea.  First is the ever-present reminder that Rome, the empire of all ancient empires, is very much in charge.  Second is the fact that local Jews, though accepting of their Roman occupation, are anything but pleased with the current state of affairs.  And though the Jews were anything but thrilled with their Roman overlords, living under the rule of Caesar wasn't all bad.  For example, Roman society admired and even approved of the Jewish faith.  Jews received a special exemption from having to pay homage to Caesar on account of their very old (even by this time) religious traditions.  This is another surprising difference from our world today.  In the modern world we typically give greater credibility to the newest innovation or technology, whereas the exact opposite was true of the ancient world.  This played into the hands of the Jews because the ancient nature of their faith made it more credible to their Roman overseers.  As a result, they were given more freedom of religion than many of their neighbors.

But not everything was well in Zion.  As we make our way though the various small towns/communities of Judea we quickly take note of the many subgroups of devout Jews, each providing its own interpretation on how the One True God expects His commandments to be interpreted and followed.  Groups like the Essenes (fathers of the Dead Sea Scrolls), Pharisees and yes, our Zealot friends, are seen passionately advocating for their respective interpretation of the law. Each of these groups is well versed in the Torah, spending virtually every day since childhood in remembrance of their all-important Jewish heritage.  Despite this shared emphasis on Jewish heritage, each group is at odds with one another in many respects.  Essenes are furious with the Jewish aristocracy and eventually separate themselves from society, while the Zealots are quick to remind everyone that Jewish freedom is a matter of both spiritual purity and absolute fidelity to the Law.  Historian N.T. Wright expounds upon this point when he writes:

The tradition of "zeal" is part of the freedom story...There were brief flashes of glorious history: David beating the Philistines, Solomon teaching wisdom to the whole world.  That's how it was supposed to be.  But clinging to this story meant struggling to retain hope in the face of experience.  Long ages of disappointment and disaster seemed to be the norm: ten tribes lost, and the remaining two dragged off into captivity, weeping by the waters of Babylon.  

Why did this happen?  The prophets made it clear.  It was because Israel sinned.  That was the deal God established in the first place: "Now that I've rescued you, stay loyal to me and you'll live in the land.  Turn away from me, worship other gods, and I'll kick you out" (Pp. 30).

In other words, absolute obedience and fidelity were the only surefire way to safeguard Israel's continued prosperity and protection.  For the Jewish Zealot, ensuring that fellow Jews understood this mantra and fell in line was akin to David slaying Goliath.  Complacency had no place among God's chosen people.  The scriptures were full of examples of the kind of "zeal" that was to be emulated by all Jews who sincerely sought to defend God's one true path.  Whether it be the tale of Phinehas, grandson of Aaron, who slew with a javelin a man caught a-whoring with a Moabite woman in a tent (Numbers 25: 1-9), or the Prophet Elijah, who successfully lured the worshipers of Baal into a showdown with Israel's God (1 Kings: 18 and 19), the message was the same: those who stand to defend the One True God, with zeal, can be counted with the ranks of Israel's greatest heroes.

But our Evangelical friend doesn't care about "Zealots."  As he quickly reminds us, we aren't on this voyage to hang out with Jews.  We are here to track down the followers of Jesus.  Surely they would have nothing to do with these Jewish radicals!

This is where the story gets messy.  What our Evangelical friend fails to recognize is that the earliest followers of Jesus saw themselves NOT as Christians (as explained above, this is anachronistic to the time), but rather as devout Jews who saw in Jesus fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the coming of the Messiah.  Jewish Zealots were not exempt from this belief.  They too longed for the coming of the Messiah who would save God's people from the bondage that seemed to surround them.  Men like Simon (the Zealot) and (as mentioned in my post from last week) Judas, found in Jesus the fulfillment of the Messianic prophesy.

The best example of Jewish Zealotry is found in Saul of Tarsus.  The man who would eventually become one of the most zealous defenders of the risen Christ was originally a Zealot who saw in the earliest followers of Jesus the same perversion that Phinheas had seen in his day.  This helps us to understand why Saul was more than happy to persecute (in his mind it was no persecution but righteous zeal) men like St Stephen, who was stoned to death for his "blasphemy."  After his conversion experience, Saul (Paul) reminds us that he was a successful Jew precisely because he was "more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers" than others (Galatians 1: 14)  Paul's devotion to Zealotry was the motivation for both his hatred of, and later conversion to, the Jesus movement.  The same can be said of Judas but in reverse.     

In conclusion, Zealotry was not some word meant to simply emphasize a person's devotion to Jesus or Judaism.  It was a movement that invoked a religious, political and social passion for change.  Those Zealots who found in Jesus the fulfillment of the Jewish Messianic prophecy used that passion to vehemently defend the cause of Christ (Paul) or oppose it (Judas), even to the death.  Thanks to Dr. Brown and Marty McFly, our journey back in time has helped us to better understand the truth.

Now if we could only get a hold of that sports almanac and make some money!

Next blog post: Was Jesus a Zealot?