The Sons of Thunder
James and John were sons of a man named Zebedee (Mark 1:19). Zebedee was a fisherman and prospered enough at his trade that he had hired servants (Mark 1:20). The Greek word for “boat” (ploio) refers to a vessel large enough to hold several men. Thus, we conclude that Zebedee was well off. He was well enough known that his sons are usually introduced as being his sons.
Zebedee’s wife’s name was Salome. We deduce this by comparing Matthew 27:55-56 with Mark 15:40-41. Matthew mentions that two women named Mary and the mother of James and John were at the crucifixion. Mark also mentions the two women named Mary but gives Salome as the name of the third woman. If there were more than three women there, then the conclusion is not absolutely certain, but it is very likely. She was among the women who traveled with Jesus and took care of him and his disciples (Mark 15:41).
The common practice in the past was to name the older sibling first. Matthew and Mark always name James first. Luke switches the order at various times. From that, we would conclude that James was most likely older than John. Sometimes John is mentioned as being the brother of James (Mark 5:27), which again indicates that he is younger. The only time James is named as the brother of John is when Luke records his death (Acts 12:2).
James and John were partners in the fishing trade with two other disciples, Peter and Andrew (Luke 5:10; Mark 1:16). Peter, Andrew, and John had traveled down to Bethany (John 1:28) to another man also named John, a prophet who was teaching and baptizing people in the Jordan River. They are referred to as disciples of John (John 1:35), so they had been following John for a while.
After Jesus’ baptism and his temptation in the wilderness for 40 days, he returned to where John was baptizing people. John recognized Jesus and announced who Jesus was (John 1:29-34). On the following day, John was standing with Andrew and John when he saw Jesus again (John 1:36). Andrew and John left John the Baptist to see where Jesus was going (John 1:37-39). Jesus noticed them following him and invited them to come to where he was staying. They then traveled with Jesus back up Galilee and witnessed the miracle Jesus did at the wedding feast in Cana (John 2:11). They eventually reach Capernaum which is the hometown of Peter and Andrew and likely the hometown of James and John as well (John 2:12).
Jesus began attracting a large crowd due to his teachings and miracles. On one particular day, he asks to borrow Peter’s boat to use as a pulpit to address the crowds from a short distance from the shore (Luke 5:1-3). Notice the mention of two boats next to each other. The second boat was the one that belonged to James and John. They were nearby washing out their nets after a night of fishing.
After Jesus finished speaking, Jesus suggests to Peter that they pull out into deeper water and let down their nets. The request was strange because fishing on the Sea of Galilee is usually done at night with lanterns hanging out to attract the fish toward the nets. But this was during the day, near the shore, and besides last night’s fishing was poor. Yet, Peter did so out of respect for the teacher (Luke 5:4-5). The resulting catch was so large that Peter signaled for James and John to come and help. The load of fish began to break the nets and the boats were so loaded that they threatened to sink (Luke 5:6-7). After bringing in their haul of fish, James and John began to mend their nets (Mark 1:19). Peter and Andrew were casting their nets into the sea again, perhaps wondering if they would be able to snag more fish or, perhaps, to wash out the nets. Jesus, however, comes by and invites them to follow him and become fishers of men (Mark 1:16-20). The four immediately left everything (the largest haul of fish they had ever seen, half-mended nets, and their business and family) to follow Jesus.
It was Peter, James, and John who became Jesus’ closest companions. When the daughter of a synagogue official died, only Peter, James, and John accompanied her parents to witness Jesus raising her from the dead (Mark 5:35-37). When Jesus was transfigured on a mountain, it was Peter, James, and John who were there to see it (Matthew 17:1-9). And when Jesus was in deep grief prior to his crucifixion, it was Peter, James, and John who accompanied Jesus when he prayed in the garden (Matthew 26:36-46).
Jesus nicknames James and John the “sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). The Bible never really explains this interesting title, but we can see the cause of it in their lives.
It was John who was upset that someone was casting out demons in Jesus’ name without being a part of their group. He and some of the other disciples tried to prevent the person from casting out demons (Mark 9:38-41).
As Jesus was making his last journey to Jerusalem, a village of Samaritans declined to allow these Jews to stay in their village. James and John were upset by the insult Jesus received and suggested that they should call down fire to wipe out the village (Luke 9:51-56).
They had strong zeal but, like the Jewish people as a whole, their zeal was not founded on knowledge (Romans 10:1-3). Their mother wanted her sons to be in positions of great power in Jesus’ kingdom (Matthew 20:20-28). It wasn’t just their mother. They often argued with the other disciples about who would be the greatest in the kingdom. Yet, we must note that they were willing to suffer with Jesus and Jesus granted that they would suffer.
Peter and John were the first to be arrested and threatened after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 4:13-21). And it was James who was the first apostle to die for the faith (Acts 12:1-2). I suspect that it was the son of thunder who stood out, making him an easy target. But also consider how close James and John were as brothers. John was the last of the apostles to die and he spent his long life without James at his side.
God put James and John to work, correcting their lack of knowledge, and aiming their zeal in a productive direction. Isn’t it ironic that one of the sons of thunder heard the booming voice of the Lord while living in exile on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9-10)?
God’s people are to be volunteers (Psalms 110:3). We need to be on fire in doing what is good (Titus 2:11-14). We must love God with our whole being (Matthew 22:37). As Israel learned, only through complete devotion can we find God (Jeremiah 29:12-13). Yes, sometimes the bold make mistakes, but that must not stop us from having the courage to stand for the Lord (Philippians 1:27-30).
