Luke & the Revolutionaries
by Patrick Henry Reardon
During recent days when our worshiping congregations are obliged to deal with the ambient threat of violence and parish councils have added “security” as a line item in their agendas, it is comforting to recall former times when similar dangers forced Christians to meet in secret and to communicate in codes.
Indeed, cherished reader, next time you chance to look at a portrait of the event, remind yourself that even at the Last Supper security was tight. Two of those dining apostles were, in fact, armed: “Behold, Lord, here are two swords!” (Luke 22:38) One of them was Simon Johnson (“Bar-Jonah”), who later that evening found occasion to use his weapon—an incident recorded in each of the four Gospels. The other armed apostle? An intelligent and well-informed guess, I am confident, should identify him as the other Simon among the apostles. Luke the physician, the earliest Christian historian, calls this man “Simon the Zealot” (Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13).
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
subscription options
Order
Print/Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Order
Online Only
Subscription
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more from the online archives
27.5—Sept/Oct 2014
The Culture of Death's Campaign Against the Catholic Church by Brantly Millegan
24.1—January/February 2011
Ruminations on the Monstrous Envy of the Soul-Devouring State by Anthony Esolen
30.2—March/April 2017
Our Path to Holiness Runs Straight Through Calvary by Robin Phillips
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
