by Jilene Scherenske
There are two disciples named James. This lesson will be about the one who was John’s brother. Together they were nicknamed the Sons of Thunder (Mark 3:17)! James was the older brother, thus his name usually appears before John’s name. When we think of these two, do we not always say “James and John” and not “John and James”? Even though he was the elder, he usually seems to be in the shadow of his brother, John. As we study the life of James we will discover that, in the beginning, he was a hot head, prone to explosive temper outbursts (thus the name “Sons of Thunder”), full of zeal that very much needed to be directed into right channels, passionate, intense, fervent, but with selfish ambitions, even bloodthirsty! Surprisingly, he was one of the three who were part of Jesus’ inner circle. Regarding the inner circle: as I am studying these twelve men, it occurs to me that these three men, Peter, James and John, were perhaps the men with the strongest personalities of all the disciples. James and John were the sons of thunder and they, along with Peter were probably the most strong-willed. I wonder, were they in Jesus’ inner circle because they needed more teaching than the rest? More proof? More guidance? When a parent has a strong-willed child, does not that child require extra attentiveness? Extra training? Just a thought!
His name appears at least 18 times in scripture, but, except for one time, his name always appears with John’s name. They must have been very close-knit brothers, these sons of thunder! He was the son of Zebedee and Salome. From scripture we know that this family was well-to-do. In Mark 1:19-20 we read that Zebedee owned several boats and employed workers. Mr 1:19 And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. 20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him. Some think that the family had business connections in Jerusalem which would explain why John knew officials in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ arrest (John 18:15). Plus, at least six times scripture refers to James and John simply as the sons of Zebedee, indicating that Zebedee was a known man of prominence. There is also some evidence from church records that Zebedee may have been a Levite and closely related to the high priest’s family. That would also account for the family’s ties with the high priest’s household in Jerusalem. (John MacArthur, Twelve Ordinary Men (Thomas Nelson, 2002)