("[God] has heard")
1. See PETER SIMON.
2. Simon the zealot. One of the twelve apostles of Jesus; he received the authority to cast out unclean spirits and to heal every kind of ailment and disease (Matt 10:1-4; Mark 3:14-18; Luke 6:15). Simon was a member of the Zealot party, Jewish nationalists willing to resort to violence against Roman rule rather than violate the Torah. Mark (3:18) calls Simon "the Cananean", (sometime incorrectly translated as "Canaanite"), the Aramaic term for Zealot, but as Greek readers would not have associated Cananean with Zealot, the evangelist was avoiding any association between Jesus' disciples and the Zealots. Some Christians found it hard to accept that a Jewish nationalist and militant patriot could be among the disciples of Jesus, whose kingdom, they believed, was not of this world and would certainly not come through man's power or violence.
3. One of the brothers (or kinsmen) of Jesus, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
4. Simon the leper, Jesus' host in Bethany. It was in his home, a few days before Passover, that a woman washed Jesus' feet and anointed his head with oil (Matt 26:2-7; Mark 14:1-3). Some scholars suggest that Simon invited Jesus to his home after being healed by him.
5. Simon of Cyrene. A Jew who was pressed by the Romans into helping Jesus to carry the cross to Calvary (Matt 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26). According to the Gospel of Mark, Simon, a native of Cyrene in North Africa, was the father of Alexander and Rufus who became Christians. It was not uncommon for the Roman ruler to order pilgrims to carry out certain services, sometimes connected with keeping order among the people, especially during the festival seasons.
6. A Pharisee who invited Jesus to eat with him. During the meal, a woman who had been living an immoral life entered the room and anointed Jesus' feet. Simon failed to understand how Jesus could permit her to act in this way and in response Jesus told a parable to show that one should be willing to forgive repentant sinners (Luke 7:36-50).
7. Father of Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus.
8. Simon the tanner. A Christian of Joppa (modern Jaffa) in whose house by the sea Peter lodged for some time (Acts 9:43). Here Peter received messengers from the Roman centurion Cornelius, who had been instructed in a vision to send for a man named Simon, lodging with Simon, the tanner in Joppa (10:1-8).
According to an ancient tradition, the bouse of Simon the tanner is located in Jaffa, close to the monastery of St. Peter.
9. Simon the magician (Simon Magus). A man who practiced magic, to the amazement of the natives of Samaria who came to regard him as "the great power" (Acts 8:10). Simon was converted to Christianity by the preaching of Philip, whom he joined in evangelistic activities (Acts 8:9-13). When Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem to Samaria, they prayed for the local people "that they might receive the Holy Spirit" (8:15). Observing that the Holy Spirit was conveyed through the laying on of the apostle's hands, Simon offered them money in order to acquire the same power (8:18-19) (hence the term "simony"). In response Peter castigated him so severely that Simon begged him to pray to God to avert the threatened punishment (8:20-24).
Concordance
SIMON 1:
Matt 4:18; 10:2, 16:16-17; 17:25. Mark 1:16, 29-30,36; 3:16; 14:37. Luke 4:38; 5:3-5, 8, 10; 6:14,22:31; 24:34. John 1:40-42; 6:8, 68; 13:6, 9,24, 36; 18:10,15, 25; 20:2, 6; 21:2-3, 7, 11,15-17. Acts 10:5, 18, 32; 11:13; 15:14. II Pet 1:1
SIMON 2:
Matt 10:4. Mark 3:18. Luke 6:15. Acts 1:13.
SIMON 3:
Matt 13:55. Mark 6:3
SIMON 4:
Matt 26:6. Mark 14:3
SIMON 5:
Matt 27:32. Mark 15:21. Luke 23:26
SIMON 6:
Luke 7:40,43-44
SIMON 7:
John 6:71; 12:4; 13:2, 26
SIMON 8:
Acts 9:43; 10:6, 17, 32
SIMON 9:
Acts 8:9, 13,18, 24
