Friday, March 28, 2014

The Apostles Matthew and Simon: One Under the Gospel (2)



Matthew the Publican
He is mentioned by the name Matthew in five different verses. He is mentioned with Thomas in Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; and Luke 6:15. He is mentioned with Bartholomew in Acts 1:13. Matthew 9:9 mentions his call to follow Jesus. Matthew was his Grecian name. It meant “Gift of Jehovah.” Mark and Luke record his leaving the position of publican using his Hebrew name “Levi” (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27-29).

Matthew held the office of Publican. A publican was a tax collector for the Roman government. These individuals were about as respected as tax collectors for the American government. The Jews hated those who were publicans. The tax collectors were hates because the collectors were themselves, Jewish. They were viewed as the Benedict Arnolds of their time period. They were turncoats against their own people. No one could understand how someone could agree to exact money from their own people for a foreign government. Publicans were viewed as very dishonest individuals. This is because they were dishonest individuals. If there was an opportunity to cheat someone out of more money and get gain from the transaction, they would. Remember what Zacchaeus said when he stood before Jesus. “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” (Luke 19:8) He is, in essence, saying that he will right any wrong he has committed against his fellow man. Theocritus, a Greek poet, being asked which was the cruelest of all beasts, answered, “Among the beasts of the wilderness, the bear and the lion; among the beasts of the city, the publican and the parasite.” It is even said that the publicans were not allowed to enter into the temple, synagogues, engage in public prayers, or give a public testimony in a court of justice.

It is unknown exactly where Matthew preacher later in his lifetime. Some say that he preached in Ethiopia, Persia, or in other places. While history records the fact that he was martyred, we do not know how. Some say that he was burned, stoned, or beheaded.

Simon the Zealot
Simon in mentioned for times in the New Testament. None of these verses give us any idea of his character. Matthew 10:4 mentioned him as “the Canaanite” and he is mentioned with Judas Iscariot. Mark 3:18 refers to him as “the Canaanite.” This does not mean he was from the land of Canaan. Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13 give us a better idea of its meanings. In these two verses he is mentioned as “the Zealote.”

Simon was part of a group who called themselves “The Zealotes.” Josephus, a Jewish historian, referred to this group as the “fourth philosophical sect” of the Jews. These were individuals who hated the Roman government. They thought it was a high crime for a Jew to pay tribute to the Romans. Judas, a Gaulonite thought that “taxation was no better an introduction to slavery.” They believed that rebellion was the act of every patriotic Jew. The group started out well enough with moderate actions but grew to an extremely violent group of individuals who were thought as being no better than assassins. In fact, the actions of these men became so extreme that it is thought by some that the Zealotes were one of the reasons Rome destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70.

There is not much known about Simon. We do not know the areas where he preached later in life. We know nothing of his death or his early life.

These are two men whom Christ chose to be His apostles. While they are extremely different in character there is much we can learn from their lives.

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