Zealot

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Luke 6:13-16

And when it was day, he called to him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;…

s: — Simon called Zelotes has apparently two surnames in Scripture, but they mean the same thing. He is called Simon the Cananite in Hebrew — not because he was an inhabitant of Cana or a Canaanite, but that word, when interpreted, means precisely the same as the Greek word Zelotes. He was called Simon the Zealot. I suppose that he had this name before his conversion. It is thought by some that he was a member of that very fierce and fanatical political sect of the Jews, called the Zealots, by whose means the siege of Jerusalem was rendered so much more bloody than it would have been; but this does not seem very probable, for the sect of the Zealots had scarcely arisen in the time of the Saviour, and therefore we are inclined to think with Hackett in his exposition of the Acts, that he was so called because of his zealous attachment to his religion as a Jew, for there were some in the different classes of Jewish society who were so excessively full of zeal as to gain the name of Zealot. But it strikes me that he must have been a zealot after conversion too, for within that sacred circle which surrounded our Lord, every word was truth, and the Master would not have allowed any of His disciples to have worn a surname which was not expressive or truthful. May we so act and live that we might truthfully wear the title of Christian Zealots.

I. LET US POURTRAY THE UNCONVERTED ZEALOT.

1. Zeal frequently expends itself on other things than religion. Politics. Science. Business.

2. The unconverted zealot, should his zeal expend itself upon religion, is generally exceedingly boastful. Jehu.

3. The unconverted zealot is generally an ignorant zealot (Romans 10:2). Probably there is more zeal to be found among the professors of false doctrine than among the followers of the truth.

4. The zeal of unconverted men is generally partial. It may be a zeal for something good, but not for everything that is good. Zealous he is for sect and party when the whole that the sect may hold is not of more value than the gnat, and yet great fundamental doctrinal truths are forgotten, as though they were of no value whatever. Brethren, may we be earnest men of God, but I pray that we may be zealous for all truth.

5. The zealot, again, while unconverted, is generally (if it be in his power) a persecutor. "concerning zeal, persecuting the Church."

6. His aims are often sinister. Let us beware of a zeal for lifting up ourselves. Zeal must be pure — fire off the altar.

7. The unconverted zealot is generally but temporary in his zeal. "When he was sick," says an old legend, " the devil a monk would be"; but when he got well — you know how he gave up his fine intentions.

II. THE TRUE CHRISTIAN ZEALOT.

1. How his zeal manifests itself.

(1) In his private dealings with God. He is zealous in repentance — his tears come welling up from his heart. Sin is not a little distasteful, but is exceedingly disgusting to him. His faith, too, is not merely a trembling recognition of truth, but it is a firm grasp of everlasting verities. The Christian zealot, when he is alone with God, throws his whole heart into His service.

(2) In his prayers. He prays like a man who means it, and will take no denial.

(3) In his jealousy for God's honour. Elijah. Phineas. Up with truth, and down with falsehood. A man is no zealot and cannot be called Zelotes, unless he has a holy jealousy for the honour of Christ, and His crown, and His truth.

(4) In the abundance of his labours and gifts. Zeal. labours for Christ. For a picture of zeal take St. Paul. How he compasses sea and land! Storms cannot stay him, mountains cannot impede his progress. O that we could live while we live; but our existence — that is all we can call it — our existence, what a poor thing it is! We run like shallow streams: we have not force enough to turn the mill of industry, and have not depth enough to bear the vessel of progress, and have not flood enough to cheer the meads of poverty. We are dry too often in the summer's drought, and we are frozen in the winter's cold.

(5) By the anguish which his soul feels when his labours for Christ are not successful. Zeal must move not merely the tongue, or the foot, or the hand, but also the heart.

(6) In a vehement love and attachment to the person of the Saviour. Nothing can make a man zealous like attachment to a person. When Napoleon's soldiers won so many victories, and especially in the earlier part of his career, when against such deadly odds they earned such splendid triumphs, what was the reason? The "little corporal" was there, and whenever it came to a desperate rush he was the first to cross the bridge or charge the enemy, always exposing himself to danger; and their attachment to his person, and their love and admiration of his valour, made them follow at his heels, swift to victory. Have not we heard of those who threw themselves in the way of the cannon ball to save his life? There could not have been such triumphs if there had not been a man who knew how to govern men by attaching them to himself. And oh, the person of the Saviour! What attachment can there be equal to that which binds a Christian to his Lord?

2. This brings us now, in the next place, to think awhile of how this zeal is maintained and kept up. To keep up a good fire of zeal we must have much fuel, and the fire will partake of the quality of the fuel, so that it must be good firing to make holy zeal.

(1) If I understand aright, zeal is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and genuine zeal draws its life and vital force from the continued operations of the Holy Ghost in the soul.

(2) Next to this, zeal feeds upon truths like these. It is stirred by the ruin of sinners. The very sight of sinners makes a right-hearted man zealous for their conversion. The wants of the age are enough, if a man has any sense of what eternal realities are, to make us zealous to the highest pitch.

(3) And next, Christian zeal feeds itself upon a sense of gratitude. Look to the hole of the pit whence ye were digged, and you will see abundant reason why you should spend and be spent for God.

(4) Zeal for God feeds itself upon the thought of the eternal future. It feels that all it can do is little compared with what is wanting, and that time is short compared with the work to be done, and therefore it devotes all that it has to the cause of its Lord.

(5) Above all, zeal for God feeds itself on love to Christ. Lady Powerscourt says somewhere, "If we want to be thoroughly hot with zeal, we must go near to the furnace of the Saviour's love."(6) Above all, Christian zeal must be sustained by a vigorous inner life.

3. I have to close by commending zeal. In commending zeal, let me say, methinks it should commend itself to every Christian man without a word of mine, but if you must have it, remember that God Himself is zealous. "The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this." Christ was zealous. We read of Him that the zeal of God's house had eaten Him up, and when He took the scourge of small cords and purged the Temple, John tells us that it was written of Him, " The zeal of Thine house hath eaten Me up." A prophet tells us that He was clothed with zeal as with a cloak. He had not zeal over a part of Him, but was clothed with it as with some great cloak covering Him from head to foot. Christ was all zeal.

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