Understanding the Twelve-James

“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” 20 They immediately left theirnets and followed Him. 21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.”

Matthew 4:18-22

We now come to our third disciple to discuss. James, the son of Zebedee and the older brother of John. In Matthew 4:18-22, we are introduced to James, who answers Jesus’ call willingly and without hesitation by leaving behind everything he had known to follow Him. This already gives us a glimpse into James’ personality. He was a man of great faith.

James was also one of the few to be present during some of the miracles that Jesus performed. He was there when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead (Mark 5:37), and he was there to witness Jesus’ transfiguration (Matthew 17:1). However, he was not a man who quietly brought others to Jesus like Andrew did.

In fact, James and John were both given the nicknames “Sons of Thunder.” He was often loud and boisterous, ambitious, and had a great sense of justice. We see these traits when he was among those questioning Jesus on the Mount of Olives (Mark 13). He asked Jesus if he and his brother should call down fire on the Samaritans in Luke 9:51-55. James and John, with their mother, asked Jesus to give them the prominent positions of sitting at His right and left when He would come into His kingdom (Matthew 20:20-24). However, even with these traits, which some might argue do not seem to fit with a man following Jesus, it is James who is among those who are asked to pray for Jesus in the garden.

James was witness to Jesus’ power; he saw His glory, His sovereignty, His agony, and he would become the first to be martyred. “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. 2 Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.” Acts 12:1-2. James’ death shows us that not all disciples walked quietly amongst the people. Some proudly stood up and demanded that their voices be heard in order to bring those around them to Jesus Christ. To be the first to be martyred, to attract the notice of Herod, James had to be active in sharing the gospel. He was loud and boisterous to attract notice, he was ambitious to share the gospel, and he sought to show everyone that the only true justice comes from God. James is an encouragement that we need today to stand up unafraid to share God’s word.

Seek the truth and encourage one another,

Alex