Reply #54: I agree - by the way as to the question- Zealots as a group did not exist until the war (67 -73 CE) [View All]

[papau]

But setting himself up to be executed as a a person with Zealot ideas is a possibility since the meaning of "enough" Luke 22: 28 may well be that 2 swords are enough for the Romans to go nuts over his presence.

But back to whether he was a leader of Zealots for real.

From the internet two historians (Richardson and Donaldson) have separably pointed out that there was no identifiable GROUP known as the 'Zealots' until the Jewish War (66-73 CE.), and even then it was only one of several rival groups.

Making your thought that Jesus was leading a group in rebellion a little hard to establish.

So it seems the word in the Bible was most likely used to meant someone who was zealous (and perhaps a Zealot in their past - a person who refused to pay taxes to Rome nor acknowledge the authority of the Roman emperor and often actually engaged in acts of resistance to Rome) whose zeal Jesus refoucused on changing the world by spreading Jesus's teaching - thus we have a Zealot, Simon (Luke 6:15) as a zealous disciple.

Indeed while John died of old age, 10 of the 11 disciples died, were martyred, because of their belief in Jesus - and none are recorded as using or suggesting violence at anytime. So perhaps he called Simon the Zealot, refocused his zeal, and used him to impact the world. Acts 1:13

Then there is Flavius Josephus (37-98 CE) who had been a Jewish zealot fighting against the Romans until Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE. He changed sides and became the Roman Emperor's adviser on Jewish affairs. I like the history he wrote 'Antiquities of the Jews' which describes Palestine in the time of Jesus. In his writings, Josephus mentions the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Herodians. He mentions Caiaphas, Pontius Pilate, John the Baptist, Jesus (twice) and James the brother of Jesus. He also mentions the Essenes - the strict religious sect within Judaism that founded the Qumran community, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

While historians think one part that talks about Jesus has been added to, when these extra bits are taken away we have from Josephus:

"About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, for he was a performer of wonderful deeds, a teacher of such men as are happy to accept the truth. He won over many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. When Pilate, at the suggestion of the leading men among us, had condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him at the first did not forsake him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct to this day."
Antiquities, Book 18, 63-64.

He also said that the High Priest Ananias had:

"Convened the Sanhedrin (the highest Jewish religious court / governing body). He had brought before them the brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, who was called James, and some other men, whom he accused of having broken the law, and handed them over to be stoned."
Antiquities, Book 20, 200.

And I am told Historians do not believe this second passage has been added to or changed.

Josephus was a Jew who was not a follower of Jesus and tells us:

He was a real historical person.
He was a teacher.
He was a worker of wonders (miracles).
He gathered a band of followers, who continued to follow him after his death.
He had a brother called James.
James was executed by the Jewish leaders in CE 62.
There were claims that Jesus was the Messiah (that is, the Christ).

And he does not tell us that Jesus was into violence of any sort for any reason.

Of course as the Jewish war (67 to 73 CE) drew nigh, it is likely that there were followers of Christ that joined the Zealot group.

Putting Jesus in a pigeon hole in first century B.C. social/religious parties/sects means choosing among the Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, since he never acted like the Zealots. He certainly was not in the upper stratum of Jewish society - a Sadducees - where there was a strict interpretation of Mosaic Law and the perpetuation of temple ceremonies. He has some similarities with the Essenes, establishing a semimonastic community that believed in a physical resurrection of the body tied to the immediate coming of God's kingdom. However, in my opinion, he fits better the 4th group, the Pharisees, with their more flexible attitude toward Mosaic Law that depended on discussion and allowed for varying interpretations of the Law with some authority given to oral tradition as well as to written Scripture, and with their belief in an afterlife.