Someone recently remarked to me about the irony of the name Jesus Zealots. Why zealots, I was asked? In Jesus' time, zealots were fighting for a different kingdom, in a different way. I was asked why, if they had advocated violence and destruction to their enemies, why then would we, pacifist in belief and admonition, so aptly choose to align ourselves with them by a common name? Their are several reasons. The most important, is the Jesus with it. That's what makes all the difference. Until Jesus' time, there were no teachings to contradict social action by means of violence. The zealots of that day were fighting for a cause they sincerely believed in, for a God and a people they believed in. They were anxiously awaiting the promised Messiah, and they believed they were doing what they could to further His kingdom. However, unfortunate as this may be, they were wrong. Jesus' kingdom was not one of violence, it was one of love. It was not one to work through war and social action, it worked from the bottom up.
In closing, I apologize for another boring post. It covers mostly the same stuff as before. But when I have some more time, I will talk about other stuff. And so I remain, your brother in Christ,
Free Radical
