JOHN SHIRK – Today’s Person of Integrity from the Bible is Simon the Zealot.

We don’t know much about this man in the Bible, except that he was identified as one of Jesus’ disciples. According to Acts 1:13, he gathered with other disciples for prayer after Jesus ascended into heaven. He came from a radical background. The Zealots fiercely opposed Roman rule and were against payment of taxes to a Roman emperor.

The historian Josephus described Zealots as reckless persons, zealous in good practices and reckless in the worst kind of actions. Some zealots were willing to use violent tactics to overthrow Rome.

It was from this background that Jesus called Simon to follow Him. One implied lesson to learn from Simon the Zealot is not to rely on political aspirations to advance the kingdom of God. Rely on Jesus. Simon’s zeal would have been redirected this way so that he would be known for his love for Jesus rather than his hatred toward Rome.

The faithfulness of Simon the Zealot to redirect his zeal inspires us to embrace Jesus, reject the way of violence, and live a life of Integrity.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com