The Holy Apostle Simon the Zealot
Acts 17:1-15; 1 Corinthians 4:9-16; John 11:47-57; Matthew 13:54-58
Polyeleos Feast
Read John 11:47-57
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
In His prayer to the Father, Jesus states, “I pray not only for them [the apostles] but also for those who will believe in me through their word so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me” (Jn 17:20-21).
Jesus’s saving death on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead, indeed brought redemption and unification for all the dispersed children of God, in all generations, whether Jew or Gentile, who choose to believe in Jesus as Christ.
For God shows no partiality, as apostle Peter reminds us in Acts 10:34-35: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears Him and acts uprightly is acceptable to Him.”
The apostles were witnesses of this and it was impossible for them not to speak about what they have seen and heard, as, once again, we read in the book of Acts: “We are witnesses of these things, as is the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who obey Him” (5:32); “It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard” (4:20).
Therefore, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, keeping in mind that we are of those who believe in Jesus through the apostles’ and their successors’ word, let us firmly profess that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and conquered death by His death, and to those in the tombs, he granted life.