JAMES, THE SON OF ZEBEDEE

"Honor and shame from no condition rise;
Act well thy part, there all the honor lies."

"Honor is not a matter of any man's calling merely; but rather of his own actions in it."

Among the devoted women who followed Jesus in Galilee, who ministered unto Him, and watched with anxious care and sorrow the progress of the trials in Jerusalem, was a noble mother named Salome. With Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of Jesus and Joses, she stood "beholding afar off" the crucifixion of the Savior.

She was one who would not forsake her Lord even at the cross. She was also one who, with spices and perfumes, went early to the sepulchre Sunday morning, to participate in the embalming of Jesus' body. To her and others, the Savior appeared, that morning, saying, "Be not afraid; go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me."

Tennyson Quoted.

"Happy he with such a mother! faith in womankind beats with his blood, and trust in all things high comes easy to him, and though he trip and fall, he shall not blind his soul with clay."

Proud of Her Boys.

Such was the faithful, devoted woman whom James and John, the sons of Zebedee called mother. And she was as proud of her boys as they were proud of their mother; for they seemed to have inherited from their mother, and perhaps their father too, those true and unwavering qualities which made them such devoted disciples of Christ.

A Mother's Request.

Like most mothers, Salome desired to see her boys honored; and one day asked the Savior to grant that her two sons might sit, the one on His right hand the other on the left, in His kingdom. Jesus said, "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"

They answered, "We are able."

Boys to Drink of Cup.

"Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with," answered the Lord; "but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give."

True Servants.

The mother's eagerness to have her sons thus honored made the other ten a little jealous; but when Jesus saw their feelings, He told them that while men who hold offices in the world exercise unrighteous dominion, those who are given offices in His Church are the servants of all. "Whosoever will be chief among you let him be your servant."

Of Bethsaida.

James was of Bethsaida, in Galilee, and was a fisherman. He was busy at his trade when Jesus called him to the ministry. When the call came, James and his brother were sitting in a boat mending nets. Their father and hired servants were also there. Of course, James had seen Jesus before this, and had undoubtedly heard Him; for when Andrew had hurried off to find Simon Peter, after having met the Lord, John had hurried to find his brother James.

Accepts Call.

So James, too, had found the Messiah, and was already converted to the Gospel. Therefore when Jesus stopped that morning by the seashore, and said, "Come, I will make you fishers of men," they immediately left their father with the hired servants, and followed Christ.

One of the Twelve.

When the Twelve were chosen, James was chosen next to Peter, and was one of the three who constituted what we might call the Presidency of the Twelve. In this position, he became closely associated with the Redeemer, and was an eyewitness to some of the most sacred incidents in His Lord's ministry. Thus, with Peter and John, he was present in the room when the little daughter of Jairus was restored to life.

On the Mount.

He was also one of the favored three on the Mount of Transfiguration; and was one of those chosen to accompany the Master to the secluded place in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Christ suffered those bitter agonies preparatory to His betrayal and sufferings on the cross.

A Son of Thunder.

James was called a son of Thunder; and there is one incident in the Bible which gives us a little insight into a part of his nature which probably called forth that name. When the time came that Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem to be offered up as a sacrifice, he "sent messengers before His face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him."^[1]

James was one of these messengers.

But the Samaritans, who would have no dealings with the Jews, and who were particularly offended on this occasion because Jesus was determined to worship in Jerusalem, refused to receive Jesus. Their refusal made James and John so indignant that they turned to their Master and said: "Lord let us command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?"

A Rebuke.

But the Lord was displeased with them for being angry, and said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of Man is not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."

For this almost righteous manifestation of fire in their natures, it is thought that James and John were called Boanerges, or "sons of Thunder."

Little Recorded of His Labors.

But if he had an impetuous nature or quick temper, he controlled it, and through his faithfulness and devotion won the favor of his Lord.

It is thought that he traveled a great deal, preaching the Gospel, it is said, to all the dispersed tribes of Israel. But of his labors, there is scarcely any record.

The First Martyr.

About forty-two or forty-four years after Christ, Herod Agrippa, as you have already learned, commenced a bitter persecution against the Saints. James was among the first to be arrested.

Officer Converted.

Sentence was passed upon him very soon after he was apprehended, yet, so remarkable were his faith and his courage during the trial that the officer who guarded him, (who, some say, was his accuser) repented of his sins, became converted, and declared his faith in Christianity.

As James was being led to the place of execution, this officer threw himself at the apostle's feet, and humbly begged forgiveness for what he had said against him.

Putting his arm around the penitent man, James answered, "Peace, my son, peace be unto thee, and pardon of thy faults."

Execution.

Both were then executed by order of the cruel Herod. Thus James, the first martyr apostle, partook of the cup of which he had said to his Lord many years before he was willing to drink.

Footnotes:

1. Luke 9:52.