Lk 6:12-16
12In those days [Jesus] departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. 13When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named apostles: 14Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, 16and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
SIMON CALLED A ZEALOT: The Greek zelotes (“zealot”) refers to one who shows zeal and enthusiasm. One of the disciples of Jesus, Simon, is called by this name not just because he is a “zealous” observer of Law but, as most biblical scholars believe, because he is a member of the sect called the Zealots.
Like the majority of the people, the Zealots believed in the coming of the Messiah but mostly for the recovery of Jewish independence from Roman power. Acceptance of foreign domination and payment of taxes to a foreign ruler were, for them, an abomination to Yahweh. They attacked foreigners and Jews whom they suspected of collaboration with the Roman officials. Some of them were called Sicarii (“stabbers”) from their practice of concealing a dagger underneath their garments and stabbing their enemies in crowded areas. They were chiefly responsible for the outbreak of rebellion against Rome in 66 AD, and forced the moderates to side with them even against their will. Jerusalem fell in 70 AD, but the Zealots survived long enough to break out again in the Jewish Second Revolt of 132-135 AD.
Whether he was one of the Zealots or had zeal for the Mosaic Law, Simon would have no love for Matthew, a tax collector, a collaborator of the Romans. Yet, in following Jesus, the disciples “leave everything behind,” including their affiliations and their outlook. Now, they must learn from Jesus, live together despite their differences, and focus on the proclamation of the kingdom.