Very little is also known about Simon the Zealot. More is known about the nationalist party of which he was a member of called the Zealots than there is about Simon himself. Simon is always used synonomously with, "the Zealot" (Luke 6:15) to easily distinguish him from Simon Peter. Simon the Zealot is additionally referred to as Simon the Canaanite (Matt. 10:4; Mark 3:18), obviously implying that he is from the land of Canaan in which almost all Jews were at one time or another. As previously mentioned, the Zealots were a Jewish nationalist party or sect who were famous for their fierce advocacy of the Mosaic ritual and were strong and loyal enforcers for Jewish autonomy and sovereignty. This party loosely formed what Josephus called "the fourth philosophy", i.e., the fourth group in Judaism, distinguishing themselves from the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes. According to the early Jewish general and historian Josephus, "the fourth philosophy" was simply an unorganized movement consisting of Jewish patriots who were discontented with outside political control. This group was first formed under the guise of John of Gischala who began the reign of terror against the occupying Roman strongholds known as the First Jewish Revolt in 66 A.D. It is supposedly this band of Zealots that instigated Rome's sacking of Jerusalem and ultimately led to the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 A.D.

It is perhaps because of these reasons that Simon sought after Jesus in hopes that he would be the great political leader that would liberate Jerusalem from the restraining hold of Rome. However, it is interesting to note that much of Jesus' teachings including the Sermon on the Mount and other prominent speeches clearly forbade and spoke out against the the Zealots' advocacy of armed resistance against the overthrow of the Roman occupational forces and administrators.

Not much else is known about Simon the Zealot. It is assumed as being a born-again Christian that he abandoned his involvement with the Zealots and instead redirected his focus and agenda in spreading the gospel. It is believed that he eventually journeyed to Egypt, North Africa, Carthage, and as far north as Britain. However, these are only speculative assumptions.