James, Son of Thunder
Matthew 10: 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
Have you ever known someone whose aggressive, ambitious personality just rubbed you the wrong way? Have you known someone who was so self-seeking that you couldn’t help but hope something humiliating would happen to them, just to teach them a lesson? Have you known someone whose pushy self-promoting got in the way of your own goals and ambitions, humble as they were? Have you ever known someone who was just plain loud about everything, especially about what they believed in? Well, that was how James and his younger brother John were seen by others, and especially James.
When we first meet these two together, they are mentioned as the sons of Zebedee, fishing together with , Simon and Andrew .Mark 1: 16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. There are some things that we can learn from this passage about the environment that James and John grew up in and how it helped to mold them. We see in these verses that they worked with and for their father, Zebedee, We know that James is the older brother of John, so that immediately gives him privileges in the Zebedee family . He was the one who would take over the family business … he would also be given a larger share of the inheritance. We also know that James came from a reasonably wealthy home. Zebedee was a successful fisherman . The extent of that business is seen when we read that he was wealthy enough to afford hired men. This was not the norm along the Sea of Galilee. Most of the fishermen worked as part of a family business, or as part of a cooperative . Zebedee of Galilee was unusual; he was a cut above the rest. & His boys were raised to see themselves in the same light. Their mother thought that they were quite special, too. Perhaps she was an even greater motivator for them to see themselves as above the rest.
Turn to Matt. and you will see what I mean. Matthew 20:20-28. 20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." 22 "You don’t know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?" "We can," they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father." 24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
In this passage , we find the mother of James and John approaching Jesus and asking Him to give places of special honor and recognition to her sons, places so lofty that her request caused a major stir among the disciples. When you first read this, don’t you find it reminiscent of the stories you’ve heard about mothers of child stars in Hollywood or what are known as “pageant moms”, the ladies who begin training and investing in their toddler daughters to become beauty queens? Ie –Jon Benet Ramsey
Salome – Mrs. Zebedee – seems to be cut from that same cloth. Forget the others that are around; forget what the Master may have planned. Surely He can see just how special and unique and gifted her boys are! There are character flaws and behaviors that are quite common among parents like her. They try to run everything, and they run them with an agenda that their children receive preferential treatment and special recognition, the key places in the spotlight.
They can be extremely mercenary in their approach to matters that affect their children, and all of this is usually fueled by their own desire to be recognized as the special power behind the “gifted one”. Life revolves around the success of their children. Notice that she says, “these two sons of mine.” Quite a telling remark in this context, don’t you think? Now, what do you think was the effect of this and their father’s business success in relation to how James and John viewed themselves? Probably pretty much the same way that most children who are spoiled & made to think they are God’s gift to mankind view themselves. We know that Salome was one of the women who gave aid and support to the ministry of Jesus and His disciples. Perhaps she thought that would help secure her sons a place of importance in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus tells her that she just doesn’t understand what the cost would be for such places of prominence. We must give her credit, however. Just as being with Jesus altered the character of almost everyone who came in prolonged contact with Jesus, Mrs. Zebedee became a devoted follower of Jesus. Mark makes note that she was there when Jesus was taken down from the cross and that she was one of the women who had spices prepared that Resurrection Morning to take to the tomb (Mark 15:47-6:1-8), and she even entered the empty tomb that day and was told by the angel that “He has risen.” Whatever she had been like, Jesus completely changed her into a gentle, dedicated servant, like her youngest son.
Glance over at the parallel text in Mark 10. Mark that, and then turn to Mark 10: 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. "Teacher," they said, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask." 36 "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked. 37 They replied, "Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory." In this account of the incident, it is the brothers themselves whom Mark tells us make the request of Jesus. Is this a contradiction? I think not. I think the lads heard their mother make the request, agreed that it was a great idea, and then took it up as their own request. My primary reason for saying this is the response the other ten have to the conversation.
I think it could have gone something like this: Mrs. Z. says “Jesus, You know how special my boys are – after all, everybody does. Command that they will be the vice-president and prime minister of Your kingdom someday.You won’t regret it, and they so deserve it.”“That’s right, Jesus; Mother’s right. We should have those places. We are the best and the brightest, a cut above the rest. We are the most qualified for and deserving of those positions.”Jesus, in both accounts of this conversation, very pointedly asks the brothers, “Are you able to drink that cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” “Sure we are, Jesus.” Oh, how easily self-promoting, ambitious people will promise anything to get their way!
Then Jesus says, “Oh, you’ll drink what I drink and be immersed in what I am immersed – you surely will suffer as I am about to suffer and be rejected as I am going to be rejected. But, even then, I will not give you the places you ask for. Those places have been reserved for others, and they will receive them from the Father Himself.” On hearing this request the other disciples become indignant. Peter and Andrew and the rest didn’t get upset with Mrs. Zebedee. They got agitated – indignant – with James and John.
Their conversation probably went something like this : “What?! Who do you two think you are?! I’m more qualified than either of you!” “Oh, yeah? Well, I’m more deserving than you three put together!”
“Bah! I’m better suited than the whole bunch of you!”
And so it went; each of them seeking the place of prominence , seeking the limelight, wanting to be seen by all that they were the greatest. Vying for position in the eyes of the Master. Now, most businesses use a pyramid to picture the climb of success, with fewer and fewer people on each level and greater and greater numbers of people falling below and beneath. Eventually one reaches that pinnacle of success and is in that position of special uniqueness and power and recognition that they have worked so hard for and are so deserving of.
The kingdom of God works more like an inverted pyramid, with the truly great being closest to the bottom, gladly serving greater numbers of people whom they place above themselves. Quietly serving alone many times, without need of recognition, glad that there are increasing levels of people above them who deserve greater recognition than they do, thankful to be a stepping stone for others; that’s God’s way. Paul tells us in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself.”
How do you see yourself at this moment? I’m probably more uncomfortable with this truth than you are. It is very convicting to see your own tendencies reflected in the character of those whom you know are behaving badly – those who have unrighteous attitudes or impure motives.
Back to the apostles…Are they indignant because James and John would dare to ask such a question of Jesus? Far from it. The disciples are indignant because they feel they deserve the position. Who are James and John to make such a claim to fame? We ten have done just as much to deserve such privilege. We have stood side-by-side with Jesus in these battles. Basically they were saying, “We ought to be there. And I am indignant because I didn’t think to ask first”. What a hopeless bunch! Jesus is less than two weeks away from His crucifixion and His band of disciples, who would be the foundation of the New Testament church, were almost self destructing because they had become side tracked by the issue of power.
Now I find it very interesting what Jesus does. Because, if I had been Jesus I’m sure I would have become frustrated and angry at the discovery that my followers who had been with me for nearly three years still didn’t understand what it meant\ to serve with humility. But Jesus doesn’t get frustrated and angry. Instead Jesus uses this power-struggle to give another life-lesson. Real power is not about exercising authority or claiming privilege. Real power means following in the footsteps “of the Master who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many”. That’s what this passage is about – learning to see how real power works. The question is, “Did the disciples understand the lesson?” We will answer that question by having a closer look at James.
The first thing we need to understand is the nature of the request James is making. And you sort of get the impression that he knew he wasn’t really asking for something kosher. “Teacher … we want You to do whatever we ask”. He is acting just like a child who comes to their Mom and says, “Mom, say “yes””. Mom says, “Yes”. Then the child says, “Thanks, I was going to ask if I could go to Jason’s house tonight”. That is what James is doing isn’t he. “Say “yes” to this question”.But Jesus doesn’t fall for it. His ministry is not about fulfilling personal favors. His ministry is all about building a personal relationship between people and God. That applies to the disciples. It applies just as much to us.
Jesus knows that the heart is deceitful. He will not put Himself into a position where He will grant badly-thought-out requests. And the request of James is a badly-thought-out request because it pictures the rule of Jesus in terms of an earthly king. Even though Jesus constantly taught them otherwise, the disciples continually got caught up in the wrong concept of the “Messiah”. They kept on coming back to the concept of power and a Messiah who would conquer the heathen nations. In their mind the disciples are still longing for the supremacy for the Jews.
Now because James is so caught up in this worldly kingdom concept he makes a poor request. James has to learn, and by this time should have …… that the kingdom of Jesus is not about rule and authority. In this earth recognition is important. The Jewish culture had a visual way of expressing that recognition in the way seating arrangements were organized around a table. The host would be seated at the middle of the table. Then the person to the right of the host would be the most important guest at the table. The person to the left of the host was the second most important. Then the order of importance would keep swinging from right to left as people were progressively seated further away from host. That is the seating arrangement they were fighting for. When it comes down to it this is a very self-centered request which comes because he wanted to elevate himself above the other disciples. . It also proves that becoming a disciple of Jesus doesn’t automatically make us into perfect people. Think about James’ life before Jesus came into it.James was a man who was used to privilege. That was true before he was a disciple … it was also true after he became a disciple. We see this by reading through the Gospels and discovering that there seems to be an “inner circle” of disciples.
You see it in Mark 5:35-37. The context is that Jesus is on his way to heal the daughter of Jairus. On the way there He is briefly distracted by the woman with the twelve bleeding who touched Jesus and was healed. And then we read:- He did not let anyone follow Him except Peter, James and John the brother of James”. That is the inner circle of disciples isn’t it. Peter, James and John. We see it the same thing happening again Mark 9:2-3:-“After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with Him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There He was transfigured before them.
It was an incredible moment – to see the transfiguration of Jesus. And only those who were of the inner circle got to see it. James was a definite member of the inner circle. He witnessed special events which were only witnessed by two other people. This ministry experience seems to have been translated by James into a greater cosiness with Jesus and higher estimation of himself. He thought that he was something special in the eyes of Jesus .But Jesus was helping him discover that such was not the case.
That is an important lesson for each one of us. For the place we have in the kingdom is not directly related to the importance Jesus places upon us. We are all important. We are an essential part of the body. Great ones are the servants. The blessed are the humble. The faithful are the ones who realize that their willingness for ministry has to be to follow Jesus who gave His life as a ransom for many. When it comes to ministry privileges Jesus sets the agenda in our lives. That is where the life of James the disciple challenges us the most. For the question becomes, “Are we allowing Jesus to set the agenda in our lives? Or are we expecting privilege because of our position?
It is so easy to come to the conclusion that we deserve to have privileges in God’s family. After all quite a number of us have given so much. There are many important and significant ministries being run by our church (mention a few from your congregation _____________). There are times which we can remember where we have made a great sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom (if possible give an example or two ______________). As a denomination we have had a great impact in our society (give a specific example ______________). Our lives … our ministries … our character … they all have an impact on our discipleship and they can bring us to the conclusion that we deserve a favor from Jesus.But just like James, these things can also mislead us. Our place in God’s family is dependant only upon the grace of God . We are not in the family of God because we deserve it. We are here because it has been given to us as a gift.
Whenever we speak about discipleship we have to come back to the basic issues. Those same basic issues which Jesus mentions as He teaches His disciples a valuable life lesson. Do you want to be great? Then act like a servant. Do you want to be first? Then take on the nature of a slave.
We need to be keenly aware of the precept: God has a purpose and a plan and it will be fulfilled, no matter what we think or want or do. Apparently the disciples had a lot of problems with this issue……..Go to bible for this:Look at Luke 9: 46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all--he is the greatest." 49 "Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us." 50 "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you." 51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56 and they went to another village.
Jesus has just settled another dispute among the disciples (all of them again) about which of them might be the greatest in the kingdom. Then John comes to Jesus, showing off about how discerning he is and how protective he is of what is right because he forbade someone who was casting out demons using Jesus’ name. John gets admonished. Then, a short time later, Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem and sends messengers ahead of Him through Samaria announcing His coming. There, villagers refuse to give any hospitality or any kind of welcome to Jesus or His followers. Look at the reaction of James and John in verse 54. "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"
You probably know the story of Elijah calling down fire out of heaven to consume two companies of Samaritan soldiers on two occasions, one right after the other, in 2 Kings 1:1-17. I believe, that this is what James and John are referencing by their question to Jesus here. They again are showing off: “See how knowledgeable we are about Your Word? See how knowledgeable we are about our history, especially between us and the Samaritans? See who our hero is?”
Jesus is not at all impressed, and tells them so. It seems that He frequently has to tell these two to take a second look at the spirit that they approach people with. It isn’t the Spirit of God; if it isn’t in a spirit of servanthood and humility; and if it isn’t in a spirit of help and comfort. They want to gather the unbelievers together and burn them to a crisp, to see them destroyed for their evil and unbelief. Ever feel like this? Hard to admit, but I must confess that I have. Is that the way of the Savior? Not at all. His way is to be at the very point of that inverted pyramid, absolutely alone, serving all of mankind in a way and at a level that no one else could ever attain to.Jesus knew what these men were like when he picked them: Let’s read Mark 3:17. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder); This is another of the lists of the Twelve disciples that we’ve spoken of before. We’ve been focusing on the raw materials that Jesus had to work with to create a group that would transform the entire world for the gospel. Here we see that Jesus gave James and John a nickname, just like He had to Simon. He called them Boanerges, which means “Sons of Thunder.” The word Boanerges can mean “Sons of Commotion”. This indicates that Jesus was well aware of these two young men’s personalities and reputations. In fact, they may have been His cousins, because the Scriptures tell us that their mother was the “sister of Mary”, and many comentaries believe that it is a reference to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
What comes to mind when you think of thunder? How does the sound of thunder make you feel? James and John are two young men who have fiery tempers, quick to assert themselves, and well known for being at the center of any commotion or trouble taking place in their vicinity. And, if they aren’t the cause of it, they’re definitely going to finish it. They added a high-spirited and headstrong flavor to the group of Twelve. Jesus was able to harness and focus their fiery personalities. James is always mentioned in connection with his little brother John. Very little is said about him outside of the gospels, except at the time of his death. That is in: Acts 12: 1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Here we are told that Herod Agrippa,( one of the grandsons of Herod the Great and the successor to the Herodwho had presided over one of the mock trials that Jesus was put through, ) had taken several of the Christians prisoner because he wanted to gain favor with the Jews. Luke notes that of all the captives at his disposal, Herod decided that James was to be put to death. And, not just put to death, but beheaded. We can imagine that James had spoken out about the vengeance of God once too often, once too loudly, and Herod wanted him shut up for good. In verse 3, Luke tells us that it “pleased the Jews”. That would indicate that they wanted him shut up.
Have you ever known someone whose demise, even socially, would have “pleased” the crowd? Someone who people would be delighted to see go away because they were so grating, so in-your-face and quick to point out what was out of order and out of God’s will? Then you’ve known a James – and a Jeremiah, and Isaiah, an Ezekiel, a Hosea, a Zephaniah, a Zechariah, and Amos, an Obadiah, a Moses, and a John the Baptist. James may have started out having a problem with the issue of authority and power – but in the end he understood what it meant to drink the cup that Jesus drank … and to be baptized with the baptism Jesus went through.
Jesus drank the cup of death - it was ultimate obedience to the Father. James drank the same cup, in ultimate obedience to Jesus. Instead of claiming privilege, James took responsibility. By being willing to put the will of the Master first James came to understand the bigger picture. And the big picture is not “who you are” it’s “how you serve”. We don’t serve Jesus as a means to an end. We don’t serve because we want some privilege at the end of the day. We serve Jesus because He owed us nothing, yet He was willing to give everything, including His life, to bring us into the eternal presence of God. We serve because a transformation is taking place. A transformation which sees my pre-Christian attitudes turned around. A transformation that helps change my character, and your character, so that it conforms more and more to the will of God. A transformation that continues to call us to humility, even when our ministry might cause us to feel we deserve an extra privilege. Jesus comes to us, as we are, and He transforms us into disciples who are willing to make the sacrifices so that the name of Jesus can go forward to others. Jesus comes and gives us the hearts of slaves and servants .
We really do need more James’ in our lives and in our fellowships. The Church has far too many who are afraid to warn people of the impending judgment that all unrepentance faces, far too many who are always being more careful of how they appear to others than of what the moment may require. James may be brash and prickly, but he has an unwavering strength that only once backed down. He, like the rest, ran away that fateful night in the Garden of Gethsemane.But, also like the rest, he returned and was restored in his place within the fellowship. This should give all of us hope… Real power is not about exercising authority or claiming privilege. Real power means following in the footsteps “of the Master who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many”.
