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Quick Summary
Simon the Zealot was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He is named only four times in the New Testament, always in the lists of the Twelve (Matthew 10:4, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15, and Acts 1:13), and he never speaks a recorded word. Luke and Acts call him "Simon, who was called the Zealot," while Matthew and Mark call him "Simon the Cananaean," from an Aramaic word that also means zealous. The title tells us he was known for intense zeal, either for God's law or for Israel's freedom from Rome. That makes him a striking choice for Jesus, who also chose Matthew, a tax collector who worked for Rome's system! Later Christian tradition says Simon preached in Egypt, Persia, or the region of the Black Sea, and that he died as a martyr, though the accounts disagree.
Who Was Simon the Zealot?
Simon the Zealot was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, the inner group Jesus chose after spending a night in prayer on a mountain (Luke 6:12-16). His nickname distinguished him from the more famous Simon among the Twelve, Simon Peter. Two apostles named Simon, two named James, and two named Judas made nicknames necessary.
Everything the Bible tells us about Simon fits in a single sentence: Jesus chose him, he was called the Zealot, and he was among the believers praying in Jerusalem after the ascension. The rest of his story comes from the meaning of his title and from church tradition.
Simon the Zealot in the Bible
Simon appears in all four New Testament lists of the apostles.
| Passage | Name used | Place in list |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew 10:4 | Simon the Cananaean | 11th |
| Mark 3:18 | Simon the Cananaean | 11th |
| Luke 6:15 | Simon, who was called the Zealot | 10th |
| Acts 1:13 | Simon the Zealot | 10th of the eleven |
Luke's Gospel and the book of Acts, both written by the same author (see who wrote Luke), translate his title into Greek as zēlōtēs, "Zealot." Matthew and Mark keep the Aramaic-based form, Kananaios, "Cananaean."
His final appearance comes in Acts 1:13-14. After Jesus ascends, the eleven apostles return to Jerusalem and gather in an upper room. Luke lists them by name, including "Simon the Zealot," and says they "were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers." Simon was there when Matthias was chosen to replace Judas, and he was presumably among the apostles filled with the Spirit at Pentecost.
What Does "Zealot" Mean?
The Greek word zēlōtēs means "a zealous one," someone burning with devotion. In Jewish tradition, zeal had heroes. Phinehas the priest was praised for being "zealous for his God" when he killed an Israelite who brought idolatry into the camp (Numbers 25:10-13). Elijah said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord" (1 Kings 19:10). When the priest Mattathias launched the Maccabean revolt against the Greek king Antiochus IV, he cried out, "Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!" (1 Maccabees 2:27).
So "Zealot" could describe two overlapping things:
Personal zeal for God's law. The apostle Paul described himself before his conversion as "zealous for the traditions of my ancestors" (Galatians 1:14). In this sense, Simon may have been known for fierce religious devotion.
Political zeal against Rome. By the 60s AD, "Zealots" was the name of a revolutionary party that fought Rome in the Jewish War, which ended with the destruction of the Second Temple. If Simon belonged to an earlier form of that movement, he was committed to freeing Israel from Roman rule, by force if necessary.
Scholars still debate which meaning Luke intends. (For how Luke portrays Roman power more broadly, see Acts and the Roman Empire.) The Jewish historian Josephus describes the Zealots as an organized faction only during the revolt of AD 66-70, decades after Jesus' ministry. But the impulse behind them was older. In AD 6, a man known as Judas the Galilean led an uprising against a Roman census, teaching that Israel should have no master but God. Luke mentions him in Acts 5:37. Josephus calls his movement the "fourth philosophy," alongside the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. Simon may well have shared that outlook.
Simon the Cananaean or Simon the Canaanite?
The King James Version calls him "Simon the Canaanite" in Matthew 10:4 and Mark 3:18. That translation causes confusion, because the title has nothing to do with Canaan or the ancient Canaanites.
The Greek word is Kananaios, which comes from the Aramaic qan'ana, "zealous one." Matthew and Mark kept an Aramaic nickname, and Luke translated it for his Greek-speaking readers. "Simon the Cananaean" and "Simon the Zealot" are the same title in two languages. Some readers also connected Kananaios with the town of Cana in Galilee, which is why Eastern Christian tradition sometimes identifies Simon as the bridegroom at the wedding where Jesus turned water into wine (John 2:1-11). The language itself does not support that link, though the tradition is old.
Simon the Zealot and Matthew the Tax Collector
The most remarkable thing about Simon may be the company he kept. In Luke's list, Simon the Zealot appears just two names after Matthew. Matthew, also called Levi, had been a tax collector (Jesus calls Levi in Luke 5:27-32). Tax collectors worked inside the Roman system, collecting money for Herod Antipas or for Rome, and many Jews saw them as collaborators.
If Simon carried any of the Zealot spirit, he would have despised everything Matthew represented. Yet Jesus chose them both, and they spent years walking the same roads, eating at the same tables, and sleeping by the same fires. Jesus built his community from people who disagreed deeply. He called a collaborator and a zealot and made them brothers.
It is worth noticing what Jesus taught right after choosing the Twelve. In the same chapter, he says, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Luke 6:27-36). For a man whose zeal may have been aimed at Rome, those words would have landed hard. Jesus let Simon keep his zeal and gave it a new direction.
Was Simon the Zealot Jesus' Brother?
Mark 6:3 lists the brothers of Jesus as James, Joses, Judas, and Simon. Because the names overlap with the apostles, some later writers tried to identify Simon the Zealot with Simon the brother of Jesus. A related tradition, preserved by the church historian Eusebius, identifies Simon the Zealot with Simeon son of Clopas, the second leader of the church in Jerusalem, who was martyred under the emperor Trajan.
Most scholars think these are different men. Simon was one of the most common names in first-century Judea, and John 7:5 says that Jesus' brothers did not believe in him during his ministry, which would rule out an apostle. The New Testament gives no hint that Simon the Zealot was related to Jesus.
What Happened to Simon the Zealot?
The New Testament says nothing about Simon after Acts 1. Later Christian traditions fill the gap, but they do not agree with one another.
Persia, with Jude. The best-known Western tradition says Simon traveled with the apostle Jude (Judas son of James, also called Thaddeus) to Persia, where both were martyred. That is why Simon and Jude share a feast day in the Western church on October 28.
Egypt and North Africa. Some early accounts place his preaching in Egypt and across North Africa.
The Black Sea region. A tradition in the Republic of Georgia says Simon preached in the Caucasus and died there. A cave and a church at New Athos in Abkhazia are traditionally associated with him.
Britain. A few late medieval writers claimed Simon reached Britain, but historians regard this as legend.
How Did Simon the Zealot Die?
The traditions about Simon's death disagree as well. The most famous says he was sawn in half in Persia, which is why Christian art often shows him holding a large saw. Other accounts say he was crucified, and at least one tradition says he died peacefully in old age. Sean McDowell, in The Fate of the Apostles, rates the evidence for Simon's martyrdom as among the weakest of all the apostles, simply because so little early testimony survives.
What we can say with confidence is what Scripture says: Simon followed Jesus through his ministry, remained faithful after the crucifixion, and was praying with the church in Jerusalem when the Spirit came.
Simon the Zealot at a Glance
Also called: Simon the Cananaean; Simon the Canaanite (KJV)
Role: One of the twelve apostles
Bible references: Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13
Recorded words: None
Feast day: October 28 (Western, with Jude); May 10 (Eastern Orthodox)
Symbol in art: A saw, sometimes a fish or a book
Death: Unknown; traditions point to martyrdom in Persia or the Caucasus
What Simon the Zealot Teaches Us
As a pastor, I am drawn to the apostles we know least about. Simon never preaches a sermon in Scripture, never asks a question, never appears in a story by himself. He is a name on a list. Yet Jesus chose him, and his name is written among the foundations of the church.
Most of us will live lives more like Simon's than Peter's. We will not be quoted or remembered by history. Simon's place in the Twelve says that faithfulness can do its work without an audience.
Simon also reminds us that Jesus can redirect our passions without extinguishing them. Zeal is a gift when it is aimed at God's kingdom and a danger when it hardens into hatred. Paul's zeal once drove him to persecute the church, and Christ turned that same fire toward spreading the gospel. For more on what Scripture says about this kind of passion, see these Bible verses about zeal.
And finally, Simon challenges the way we build communities. Churches today are often divided along political lines. Jesus put a man who may have wanted to overthrow Rome next to a man who collected Rome's taxes, and he asked them to love each other. The church has always been at its best when it looks like that table. These Bible verses about unitycarry that same call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Simon the Zealot? Simon the Zealot was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. He is named in Matthew 10:4, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15, and Acts 1:13, and he is called "the Zealot" to distinguish him from Simon Peter.
Why was Simon called the Zealot? The title means "zealous one." It may describe his fierce devotion to God's law, or it may mean he was associated with the Jewish movement that opposed Roman rule. Scholars are divided.
Is Simon the Zealot the same as Simon the Canaanite? Yes. The KJV's "Canaanite" translates the Greek Kananaios, which comes from an Aramaic word meaning "zealous." It does not mean he came from Canaan.
Is Simon the Zealot the same as Simon Peter? No. Simon Peter was the leader of the Twelve. Simon the Zealot was a different apostle, which is why the Gospels use nicknames to tell them apart.
Did Simon the Zealot write any books of the Bible? No. No New Testament book is attributed to him.
How did Simon the Zealot die? The Bible does not say. Traditions claim he was martyred in Persia, possibly by being sawn in half, or that he died in the Caucasus region. Other accounts say he was crucified or died of old age.
Was Simon the Zealot related to Jesus? Probably not. Some later traditions linked him with Simon the brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3) or with Simeon son of Clopas, but most scholars see these as different people.
Why did Jesus choose both a zealot and a tax collector? The Gospels do not explain the choice, but it shows that Jesus formed a community across deep political divides. A man who may have opposed Rome and a man who worked within Rome's tax system became fellow apostles.
What is Simon the Zealot's feast day? October 28 in the Western church, shared with Jude. The Eastern Orthodox Church remembers him on May 10.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Works Consulted
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I-IX (Anchor Bible)
Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (New International Commentary on the New Testament)
Martin Hengel, The Zealots
Richard A. Horsley and John S. Hanson, Bandits, Prophets, and Messiahs
Sean McDowell, The Fate of the Apostles
