The Zealots were an early Jewish sect opposed to Roman rule of Judea. The Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus do not depict him as a Zealot, since he is recorded as on good terms with a number of Romans and approved payment of the Roman taxes.
Some say the Jesus movement may have emerged from another early Jewish sect, the Essenes.
Others, such as Burton L. Mack (Who Wrote the New Testament) see Jesus more closely associated with the Cynics. Anecdotes of the kind attributed to Jesus were common within the Cynic traditions. Opponents would attempt to catch a Cynic in some inadvertent inconsistency, but the Cynic would then take the opportunity to expose normal expectations as ridiculous. They used mildly humorous put-downs, erudite observations and insights, as well as biting sarcasm, to make their points.