Bible movies & shows like The Chosen provide us with fresh eyes to see the significance of the Bible and the beauty of the Gospel. "[14], In later tradition, Simon is often associated with Jude the Apostle as an evangelizing team; in Western Christianity, they share their feast day on 28 October. Only the first person to reach the stirring waters was healed. St Simon is surnamed the Canaanean or Canaanite, and the Zealot, to distinguish him from St. Peter, and from St. Simeon, the brother of St. James the Less, and his successor in the see of Jerusalem. Since Simon is commonly identified with the Jewish sect known as the Zealots, its worth unpacking who they were. Although The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 did livestream on YouTube and Facebook, new episodes are now only being left up for 24 hours before being taken down. (Plots & Theme), Episode 2 Guide: Philip, Nathanael, & Matthew, Episode 3 Guide: Life Among the Disciples of Jesus, Episode 4 Guide: Simon the Zealot & the Man at the Bethesda Pool, Episode 5 Guide: Mary's Demons & the Destiny of John the Baptist, Episode 8 Guide: Judas, Matthew, & the Sermon on the Mount, Episode 1 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Lilith, and the Redeemer, Episode 2 Guide: Mary Magdalene, Nicodemus, and Shabbat, Episode 3 Guide: Depicting Jesus in Art, Film, and TV, Episode 4 Guide: When Jesus Met Simon (Peter), Episode 6 Guide: Jesus, Shmuel, & the Pharisees. In any case, the gospel writers used this description to distinguish this Simon from Simon Peterand the other Simons in the New Testament. Season 2 Reflection P2: What was The Chosen Season 2 about? In The Chosen, during Season 2 Episode 4, Simon the Zealot is depicted as being the brother of the paralyzed man Jesus heals by the Pool of Bethesda, who is named Jesse in the show. May 10, 2012 . Its also unclear whether they were a serious threat, or just convenient scapegoats. The Bible gives us very little information about Simon the Zealot and Nathanael - two of the more significant disciples The Chosen introduces in Season 2. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Its unclear when the group formally became known as the Zealots. When his assassination attempt is thwarted, however, it seems like Simon's dream of justice will also be thwarted. When Simon joins the Zealots, we understand that he is being driven by his longing for justice. So The Chosen has made Nathanael an architect in order to make this image of Jesus as a stairway/ziggurat particularly relevant to his character. What kinds of things do people today put their hope in? Vespasian became emperor and granted Josephus Roman citizenship. That said, this is an adaptation and that means it's their telling of these stories, so I won't be too bummed if they've taken reworked this relatively minor story. I hope you enjoy them! [18] According to Caesar Baronius and Hippolytus of Rome, Simon's first arrival in Britain was in the year A.D.44, during the Roman conquest. Episode 7 Guide: Did Nicodemus Follow Jesus? Have my posts about Bible adaptation helped you learn more about the Bible and explore it with your ministry or family? As it has been suggested that Jude is identical with the Apostle Thomas (see Jude Thomas), an identification of "Simon Zelotes" with Thomas is also possible. In these lay a multitude of invalidsblind, lame, and paralyzed. Called the Elohai Neshamah (the first two words of the blessing), it goes like this. by Ryan Nelson | Aug 7, 2019 | Bible characters. In the place of the pool, what does he discover is a much better hope? Nathanael's aspiration to build great things for God becomes a kind of excuse/justification that allows his arrogance to grow out of control, until it finally lands him in tragedy. Berean Literal Bible Did Simon the Zealot have a brother? Some might have family members carry them back and forth from home and help them when needed, but others were basically homeless people who had to beg in order to get food and care. Simon the Zealot was one of Jesus' disciples. Remember that, during the time of the New Testament, the land of Israel was occupied by the Roman Empire, which had conquered it several decades earlier. And they took offense at him. During his three years of ministry with Jesus, Simon the Zealot matured into an apostle empowered to spread the gospel in truth and love to all nations. The Catholic Encyclopedia suggests that Simon the Zealot may be the same person as Simeon of Jerusalem or Simon the brother of Jesus or both. This version is the one found in the Golden Legend. Either "Zealot" is about the apostle's passionate faith, or his membership in a New Testament group called the "Zealots," or both. But Jesus did indeed heal with the power of God, and he used those healings as . Regardless of why this line was included, we know nothing else about the angel described - if he even existed. In The Chosen, during Season 2 Episode 4, Simon the Zealot is depicted as being the brother of the paralyzed man Jesus heals by the Pool of Bethesda, who is named Jesse in the show. Simon's mother died in childbirth, so Simon was taken care of by his father and brother, Jesse, who was a paralytic. His painful backstory and longing for justice serve as an excuse/justification for him to engage in acts of violent vengeance. He suggests that the Zealots were a fourth which sprung up as a result of Judas influence and caused the problems which led to the First Jewish-Roman War: For Judas and Sadducus, who excited a fourth philosophick sect among us, and had a great many followers therein, filled our civil government with tumults at present, and laid the foundations of our future miseries, by this system of philosophy, which we before were unacquainted withal.. In Season 2, Episode 5, Simon seeks out Jesus and joins the disciples. Zeal is behavior motivated by the jealous desire to protect ones self, group, space, or time against violations. While the conflict among the disciples and their struggle to come together temporarily takes the backseat, this miracle-of-the-week storyline is one of the most intricately constructed episodes of The Chosen so far. You are the King of Israel! Jesus answered him, Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? By the time the Gospels mention Simon (e.g. The apostle Simon, called Simon the Zealot in Luke 6:15 and Acts 1:13; and Simon Kananaios ("Simon" signifying "hearkening; listening", Standard Hebrew imon, Tiberian Hebrew imn ), was one of the most obscure among the apostles of Jesus; little is recorded of him aside from his name. But humans are complex creatures. I was half-right. ad 10 Maij, t. vi. The Bible itself never explains Simon's relationship to the Zealot movement. (John 5:1-13 ESV), Although The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 did livestream on YouTube and Facebook, new episodes are now only being left up for 24 hours before being taken down. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. We know almost nothing about Simon the Zealot. If Josephus account is reliable, its possible that Simon the Zealot did belong to this groupwhether or not it was formally known as the Zealots at the time he was involved or the time the gospels were written. Matthew 10:1-4), he appears to have already been established as a disciple of Jesus. The Bible gives us very little information about Simon the Zealot and no information about his family. At first glance, this may seem like a rather minor structural detail. A note is Jesse's last reminder of his brother. Barbara Thiering identified Simon Zelotes with Simon Magus; however, this view has received no serious acceptance. It was most likely an underground hot spring. The Bible tells us only a couple things about the man that Jesus healed at the Pool of Bethesda: He went to the pool in order to be healed by its reported power. He died after being crucified in Jerusalem during the First Revolt against Rome (also known as the Great Revolt). Some Bible translations preserve Jeromes mistake out of respect for tradition, calling Simon the Cananite or the Cananaean in Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18. As we mentioned earlier, Rhoades argues that Josephus work makes it clear that there was no formal group called the Zealots until about 68 AD. Because Season 2 of The Chosen is more focused on the drama of the budding Jesus community, however, the pre-Jesus backstories of its major new characters (Nathanael, Simon the Zealot, and Judas) have to be condensed and delivered in the episode prologues. There are two possible explanations for this. While the Chosen depicts Simon the Zealot as the brother of Jesse, the invalid Jesus heals by the Pool of Bethesda, this detail does not come from the Gospels. While watching The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4, I make occasional comments through the chat but I try to not do too much teaching. Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. This mistake led to the idea that Simon was present at the wedding in Cana in John 2, where Jesus performed his first miracle and turned water into wine, and that he was the same person as Simon, the brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55). Jesus really did know a Zealot named Simon. Certain Old Latin translations of the Gospel of Matthew substitute "Judas the Zealot" for Thaddeus/Lebbaeus in Matthew 10:3. As a result, there's a lot of latitude for how they can be depicted in Bible adaptation. The Zealots (as The Chosen shows) were a group of religious insurgents, who sought to push back against the oppressive practices of Rome through violence, terrorism, and assassination. The second explanation is that the show wanted this story to have a happy ending and so it significantly changed it to end in the desired place. Some have suggested that Jesus is cryptically alluding to the fig leaves of Genesis 3. Older adaptations of the Gospels tended to depict Simon the Zealot and Nathanael in this way, if they depicted them at all. And Jesus saw in him the potential to spread the kingdom of heaven throughout the earth, not by force, but with the revolutionary power of love. In his commentary on Matthew, Jerome mistakenly interpreted kananaios as an indicator that Simon was from Cana, which led to other errors: He was surnamed Peter to distinguish him from another Simon who is called the Cananean, from the village of Cana of Galilee, where the Lord turned water into wine.. The Bible does not tell us anything about Simon the Zealot before he met Jesus. What do you think it looks like to stop putting hope in things that disappoint us, like the Pool of Bethesda, and to instead focus our hopes around Jesus? In the context of the New Testament, the Zealots were a party zealous for Jewish independence and throwing off Roman rule. Ethiopian Christians believe he was crucified in Samaria. Matthew 10:1-4), he appears to have already been established as a disciple of Jesus. Or he may have simply been zealous for the Mosaic Law. Appearances Season Two The Perfect Opportunity Spirit Others like you also viewed Simon Z. Nathanael Thaddeus John Big James Andrew Simon Peter Judas Iscariot Philip Matthew Thomas Little James Gaius Tamar Categories There are numerous accounts of Simon the Zealots death, but the earliest records come centuries after his death. Weaknesses prevent characters from appearing over-powered and instead provide a hook that helps connect them to viewers. For each passage that you read, you will still take notes on important literary features like plot and theme, but you will also have space to respond by sketching, doodling, or writing something inspired by the passage. In the cultural context of the time, the idea of a stairway between heaven and earth would have evoked the image of a Babylonian ziggurat - one of the architectural wonders of the ancient world. And it was in Gessius Floruss time that the nation began to grow mad with this distemper, who was our procurator, and who occasioned the Jews to go wild with it by the abuse of his authority, and to make them revolt from the Romans.. In the Bible, when Jesus says he saw Nathanael under the fig tree (John 1:43-51), there is no indication what Jesus saw Nathanael doing under the fig tree or why this phrase was so significant. in: Simon, brother of Jesus. And this nickname "Zealot" was given to him to distinguish him from Simon Peter. Did you have any questions about what happened? Most scholars today believe kananaios comes from the Aramaic word qanan, meaning zealous one, which effectively makes Simons moniker the same in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Acts. Eastern tradition says Simon died peacefully at Edessa. Why do you think The Chosen made Simon the Zealot and Jesse the Invalid brothers? After John was arrested by Herod the Great, Simon joined the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and informed them of John's arrest. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Instead, Jesus shows up and provides Simon with a new vision of justice and of how to make things right - not through violence but through the healing hand of the Messiah. We don't see any signs of Jesse responding to his healing in a sketchy way in Episode 4 of The Chosen Season 2. Many think that St. Simon was called the Zealot, before his coming to Christ, because he was one of that particular sect or party among the Jews called Zealots, from a singular zeal they possessed for the honor of God and the purity of religion. and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?" So what does this title mean? Statue of St. Simon in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran by Francesco Moratti. Contents 1 Life 2 Identifications That being said, the show hasn't created Nathanael's vocation out of whole clothe. In this account, in his second mission to Britain, he arrived during the first year of Boadicea's rebellion (60 AD). While there are some variations in the order the apostles appear and even the names they went by, Simon is listed in all of them. While the Chosen depicts Simon the Zealot as the brother of Jesse, the invalid Jesus heals by the Pool of Bethesda, this detail does not come from the Gospels. The most widespread tradition is that after evangelizing in Egypt, Simon joined Jude in Persia and Armenia or Beirut, Lebanon, where both were martyred in 65 AD. When Jesus cleanses the temple in the Gospel of John, his disciples recall Psalm 69:10, implying that Jesus was motivated by zeal: His disciples remembered that it is written: Zeal for your house will consume me.. The sketchiness of the invalid is further highlighted by how his healing in John 5 is closely mirrored by the healing of the man born blind in John 9 and the much more faithful response of the blind man. Simon the Zealot, one of Jesus Christ 's 12 apostles, is a . By making Nathanael an architect, The Chosen has assigned his character a unique (albeit rarely needed) skill (building/design). Simon was surnamed the Zealot for his rigid adherence to the Jewish law and to the Canaanite law. The Zealots. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed. But he answered them, The man who healed me, that man said to me, Take up your bed, and walk. They asked him, Who is the man who said to you, Take up your bed and walk? Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Simeon is sometimes identified with Simon, brother of Jesus, and has also been identified with the Apostle Simon the Zealot . While The Chosen Season 2 Episode 4 closes on a happy note, with Jesse joyfully dancing on his new legs full of gratitude to Jesus, the original account of this story in the Gospel of John ends much more ambivalently: The ending of this story in the Gospel of John seems to suggest that the invalid, after getting healed by Jesus, turns into a snitch, reporting Jesus to the Pharisees. In The Chosen, Nathanael is portrayed as an architect in order to give his character depth and perhaps because the biblical story that features him contains a reference to Jacob's ladder. They also do not value dying any kinds of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their relations and friends, nor can any such fear make them call any man lord. The scribe copying the passage may have added this line to explain why the waters brought healing, since it was confusing to readers in his day. Do you remember his name? The show also is also trying to distinguish his personality from the other disciples - his role as an architect suggests precision, intelligence, and creativity, while his encounter with Jesus suggests that he is honest and candid. In Acts, a man known as Simon the Sorceror attempted to buy the power of the Holy Spirit from Peter (Acts 8:9-24). There's no evidence to suggest Nathanael was a failed architect. After all, when we see a glaring vice in a character, most of us can either see it in ourselves or in other people we know. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. The Chosen recognizes this. Read Scripture Like an Artist is a Bible journal that will help you engage with Scripture through your imagination and respond to what you are reading through art and/or creative writing. What has Jesse the Invalid put his hope in to bring salvation? If so, this sheds slight on James, son of Alphaeus and Simon Zealot as brothers. Or maybe he simply had a personality that resembled that of the Zealots. Who Was Herod? Just as it's important for every character in an ensemble to contribute in a meaningful way, it's also important for each of them to have unique weaknesses, vulnerabilities, or vices. A Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus over for dinner, where a sinful woman famously poured perfume on Jesus feet (Luke 7:40). (John 5:4, KJV). PROUDLY CREATED WITH WIX.COM. In a modern screen adaptation, however, audiences expect more. 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