Luke 6:12-16
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Acts 1:12-17
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.
15 In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) 16 and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus— 17 he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.”
One of the original Twelve Disciples that Jesus recruited was Simon who was called a Zealot...A Zealot, according to the first century historian, Josephus, was anyone who rebelled against Rome with force...Simon would be one who would fight the Roman opposition with a zeal...So Simon was one who was ready to fight the Romans with a zeal, and would not be afraid of confrontation with them...Simon's beliefs no doubt, would have him at odds, with Matthew, who was a tax collector for the Roman Empire...He would work and be with Matthew for the next three years listening and learning from the Messiah...No doubt as Jesus looked into Simon the Zealots' eyes, Simon would have seen something different, yet something very great, and almost maybe divine (and later he would find out the He was Divine)..And he would be one of the Twelve that Jesus recruited to spread the good news of His teachings after His death...
Simon would stay throughout Jesus' ministry and would be written about in the Acts of the Apostles, when the Eleven remaining disciples would need to replace Judas...Jesus chose unlikely disciples and people to follow Him...He knew exactly who He was choosing to spread His word, and He knew the consequences of having such a group around Him...It is so interesting (at least to me) that Jesus could have gone to the Temple where there were many great worshipers and men with knowledge of God, yet He chose this group, which included a Zealot, who opposed the Roman Empire...Such a diverse group of Disciples, and one that I would have never picked, or even would have guessed our Messiah would have chosen....