Luke 6:15

Because in truth he was of Cana in Galilee, which is interpreted zeal; and this is added to distinguish him from Simon Peter. It follows, Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

Matthew, whose name is interpreted as gift, by whom it is suggested that doctrine ought to be edifying unto action. For after devotion has been attained, it is necessary that one fulfill the saving word heard through good works: this is especially from him from …

James, and John, Philip, and Bartholomew, Matthew and Thomas. Luke fittingly and reverently, in the catalog of apostles, uses the name Matthew, but in the account of the calling from the tax office, as I previously noted, he preferred to call him Levi. He indeed …

Matthew and Thomas,.... The first of these was a publican, and who also was called Levi; and the latter had besides the name of Didymus, and was he that was so unbelieving of Christ's resurrection: James the son of Alphaeus; sometimes called James the less, and the brother of our Lord: and Simon called Zelotes; or the Canaanite; See Gill on Mat 10:4.

Called Zelotes - Some Jews gave this name to themselves, according to Josephus, (War, b. iv. c. iii. s. 9, and vii. c. viii. s. 1), “because they pretended to be more than ordinarily zealous for religion, and yet practised the very worst of actions.” “But this (says the judicious Bp. Pearce) Josephus says of the zealots, at the time when Vespasian was marching towards Jerusalem.

SIMON called the Zealot has apparently two surnames in Scripture but they mean the same thing. He is called Simon the Canaanite in Hebrew—not because he was an inhabitant of Cana or a Canaanite, but that word, when interpreted, means precisely the same as the Greek word, Zelotes. He was called Simon the Zealot. I suppose that he had this name before his conversion.

These verses describe the appointment of our Lord Jesus Christ's twelve apostles. That appointment was the beginning of the Christian ministry . It was the first ordination, and an ordination conducted by the Great Head of the Church Himself. Since the day when the events here recorded took place — there have been many thousands of ordinations. Myriads of bishops, elders, and deacons have been called to the office of the ministry — and often with far more pomp and splendor than we read of here. But never was there so solemn an ordination as this. Never were men ordained, who have done so much for the church and the world as these twelve apostles. Let us observe, firstly, in these verses — that when our Lord ordained His first ministers, He did it after much prayer. We read that He "went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. When morning came, He called His disciples unto Him, and He chose twelve of them, whom He named apostles." We need not doubt that there is a deep significance in this special mention of our Lord's praying upon this occasion. It was intended to be a perpetual lesson to the Church of Christ. It was meant to show the great importance of prayer and intercession on behalf of ministers, and particularly at the time of their ordination. Those to whom the responsible office of ordaining is committed, should pray that they may "not lay hands on anyone hastily." Those who offer themselves for ordination, should pray that they may not take up work for which they are unfit, and not run without being sent. The lay members of the Church, not least, should pray that none may be ordained — but men who are inwardly moved by the Holy Spirit. Happy are those ordinations, in which all concerned have the mind that was in Christ, and come together in a prayerful spirit!

SIMON called the Zealot has apparently two surnames in Scripture but they mean the same thing. He is called Simon the Canaanite in Hebrew—not because he was an inhabitant of Cana or a Canaanite, but that word, when interpreted, means precisely the same as the Greek word, Zelotes. He was called Simon the Zealot. I suppose that he had this name before his conversion. It is thought by some that he was a member of that very fierce and fanatical political sect of the Jews called the Zealots, by whose means the siege of Jerusalem was rendered so much more bloody than it would have been. But this does not seem very probable, for the sect of the Zealots had scarcely arisen in the time of the Savior. And therefore we are inclined to think with Hackett in his exposition of the Acts, that he was so called because of his zealous attachment to his religion as a Jew. There were some in the different classes of Jewish society who were so excessively full of zeal as to gain the name of zealot. But it strikes me that he must have been a zealot after conversion, too, for within that sacred circle which surrounded our Lord, every word was truth and the Master would not have allowed any of His disciples to have worn a surname which was not expressive or truthful. He was Simon the Zealot while in the darkness and blindness of his mind he knew not the Messiah. He surely could not have been less Simon the Zealot when, gifted with the Holy Spirit, he went forth to cast out devils, heal the sick and to proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven was at hand.