Skip to main content

Waiting for the Messiah... the Zealots


While the Pharisees and Sadducees were generally limited to the religious class, there was another significant group within first century Judaism that wasn’t primarily theological; the Zealots. While the term “zealot” can technically be applied to anyone who is an extremist of their group, here it refers to something specific. The Zealots were the rebels of their day.
            
For the Zealots, the greatest enemy on the planet was the Roman Empire. Their entire life was devoted to the overthrow Roman rule and the independence of Israel, usually by any means necessary. This meant kidnappings, uprisings, murder, and more. Zealots hunted down Roman officers, politicians, and soldiers. They considered anyone who collaborated with the Romans an enemy (tax collectors, for example) and therefore fair game. In modern terms we would call them terrorists.
            
When we think of what first century Jews were looking for in the Messiah, it is usually the Zealots’ picture that comes to mind. They sought a military leader who would lead a bloody war against the Roman Empire and establish Israel as a global superpower. Their grand vision was the Messiah, sword in hand, standing over the groveling Caesar of Rome. While most of the Jews in Judea weren’t Zealots, most did support this view. When the Sadducees and Pharisees bring Jesus before Pilate they accuse him of being a Zealot (aka attempting to overthrow Rome). Barabbas, who is released instead of Jesus, was a Zealot charged with attempting an uprising.
            
What the Zealots got right about the Messiah is that he would come and defeat their greatest enemy. What they got wrong was the enemy. Jesus did indeed come to wage a war, and to win it. But as Paul tells us in Ephesians 6, this war isn’t against flesh and blood. It’s a spiritual war. Jesus did defeat our enemies, but it wasn’t the Romans. Jesus defeated sin and death.
            
Today it may seem that there are no Zealots in our midst. After all, few Christians are calling for the overthrow of the government and the establishment of a new superpower. However, the impulse of the Zealot is alive and well. How many Christians view some other group of people (be it Democrats, Republicans, Muslims, etc.,) as the enemy that needs to be overcome? More than we’d like to admit. Jesus did not come to destroy people, but to save them. Did he come to wage a war? Oh yes, but against he dark spiritual powers and against sin and death itself.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thankful

Today is Thanksgiving, the day that we are supposed to celebrate all the things we are thankful for. It is a time of family reunions, football, and turkey eating. I sincerely pray that each and every one of you has a good day today. I'll admit that being thankful has not been easy for me this year. As pretty much all of you know, my mother passed away December of last year. Though she had been in the hospital for months, we were not expecting it. In fact I was sure she would be finally able to come home within a matter of weeks. Instead she peacefully passed on into the arms of Jesus, whom she loved more dearly than anyone else. As you can imagine, the entire family was heart broken. After what can easily be described as the worst Christmas ever, I returned to home to Illinois. It was here that I finally broke down. I spent the next months doing everything except being thankful. I cursed God, wept, screamed, begged to have her back, and was generally not the nicest person to be...
3 comments
Read more

We Need More Images

What is your favorite way to describe God? Is there a particular name of God in scripture that you are drawn to? What images and pictures come to mind when you think of God? These are questions I don't think we ask often enough. We all have an image of God in our heads that we work with. It may not be a literal picture, though it might be, but ideas and concepts we tend to associate with who God is. Some of those images and associations may come from the Bible, but some may not. These things are influenced by our upbringing, Bible reading habits, personalities, relationships, culture, and more. The way we picture God has a dramatic impact on the way we live our lives. For example, if the primary idea you have of God is "Healer," when you hear or read that you are made in God's image you will likely feel called to heal, be it physical ailments or spiritual wounds. But, if your primary image of God is "Judge," that changes things. You very likely might tend to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Augustine of Hippo: Historical Friday

We pause our overview of the history of Christianity to talk about an extremely influential figure, whether we realize it or not. Augustine of Hippo, so called because he lived in the town of Hippo Regius, has had a tremendous amount of influence on Christianity in the western world. Many of the theological conversations we have in our churches today have been directly shaped by this man. Many of the terms and ideas we throw around originated with Augustine.  Today we are going to look at SOME of the ideas that Augustine has shaped. In reality this man has touched in some way or another every aspect of Christian thought. If I had to choose the most influential people on Christianity outside of Jesus and the Apostles, Augustine might very well be number one alongside Martin Luther. Before we get into the theological ideas, a brief biography is in order. Brief Biography Augustine's story is actually very interesting, one I cannot hope to do justice here. If you are intereste...
Post a Comment
Read more