Before, during, and after the life of Jesus, the land of Israel was a hotbed of Jewish resistance against Rome. Located just northeast of the Sea of Galilee, the city of Gamla was a stronghold for a group called the Zealots. These were religious extremists who believed the kingdom of God came by force, and who were willing to kill Romans, Jewish collaborators, and themselves if needed. Despite their brutality, the Zealots were often admired as heroes who preserved the Hebrew tradition of zeal for God, but they totally missed the heart of God. By the end of this episode, you’ll learn two specific ways Jesus put an end to the cycle of violence in an angry, polarized world.

• What was your biggest takeaway from the teaching? 
• Having watched/listened to this episode, is there anything you feel you can admire about the Zealot mindset? If so, what and why? 
• Jesus lived at an extremely polarized moment in Jewish history. How do you see or experience polarization in the world around you? 
• By calling Simon the Zealot and Matthew the Tax collector together in discipleship, Jesus showed that in His kingdom persons matter more than their positions and politics. Who is someone very different from yourself in terms of “positions or politics” whose story you know and whose heart you have come to love? 
• How will you begin living out the truths of this teaching this week?  

• Josephus’s Description of the Siege of Gamla 
• The Jesus Way by Eugene Peterson — Chapter 10 
• Love Your Enemies – A sermon by Martin Luther King Jr. 
• Teaching Series Episode 122 – Rabbis & Disciples Pt 6: Jesus’s Occupation 

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