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James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder) (Mark 3:17)
Good day dear Friend; may the blessings of the Lord Jesus and His grace be with you and yours is my prayer. May your plans for this weekend include time to worship with other believers in the house of God. I ask your prayers for me as I preach both services at First United Methodist Church of Gonzales. Our series is Superheroes of the Bible, and this week's superhero is Daniel. May the Lord bring a blessing to His Church is my prayer.
The book, The Master's Men by William Barclay begins his treatment of James with this sentence: "James, the brother of John and the son of Zebedee, is the most tantalizingly vague figure among the twelve." Thank you? The one thing we do know about him is that he was the first of the Twelve to die a martyr's death as recorded by Luke in Acts 12:2: "He (King Herod Agrippa, grandson of Herod the Great) had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword." We do know that in all the list of the apostles, his always in the top three in the list. In two of the accounts, his name comes before John's and scholars believe it is because he was the eldest of the two.
His life is difficult to study individually, because his name always appears alongside that of John. The two were fishermen, who worked for their father, Zebedee; apparently well-to-do because he was able to employ other men in the business. And both James and John were called by Jesus to be His followers; and the two were part of the inner circle of Jesus on the most sacred occasions. The two were typically impulsive and quick-tempered, a trait long associated with Galileans, and this outburst type of anger earned them the nickname, "Sons of Thunder, Boanerges." We have read how they wished to blot out an entire Samaritan village which had refused them hospitality, and we know they asked Mommy to secure for them the two spots next to Jesus in His kingdom.
What we do have are legends about the man in other writings. Eusebius shares a story about James in the seventh book of the lost Hypotyposes of Clement of Alexandria: He says that the one who led James to the judgment seat, when he saw him bearing his testimony, was moved and confessed that he also was a Christian. They were both, therefore, Clement says, led away together; and on the way he begged James to forgive him. And he, after considering a little, said: Peace be with thee, and kissed him. And thus they were beheaded at the same time." So John was one of that army of noble martyrs whose faithfulness to the Lord converted even those who accused him.
Another legend has to do with magicians by the name of Hermogenes and Philetus. The two worked together casting spells and deceiving people out of their money, but Philetus was converted by James' preaching and told Hermogenes that he was leaving that life behind. Herme bound Phil by magical incantations and Phil was able to get word back to James. James sends a kerchief and that cloth set Phil free from Herme's curse. Herme then sends devils to bind James to bring him to him, but the devils returned saying they were powerless to touch "not even an ant in his chamber." James sends the devils back to bring Herme bound; which they do and he asked to be free. James said he would release him because he did not do "evil for evil." Herme went home and destroyed all his books of magic and retuned back to James to ask forgiveness. James sends him back to undo all the evil he had done and to spend in charity what he had gained in his art. He obeyed and grew in the faith to the point he was able to perform miracles.
The above two legends point to the greatest we have about this disciple. To this day, James is the patron saint of Spain. The legend holds that James went to preach in Spain. He returned back to Palestine and was executed by Herod. His two old friends, Hermogenes and Philetus took his body on a ship from Joppa. The next morning the ship was off the coast of Spain. They landed at a place called Iria Flavia, today called El Patron. James' body lay there for a long time and wonderful miracles happened just by its presence in that area. In the 8th century, the body was lost in the barbarian assaults on Spain, only to be found in the 9th century and taken by King Alphonso the Chaste to Compostella, where it is said, it still lies. It is also believed the Virgin Mary appeared to James when he was alive and preaching Christ, to give him strength. An image of her still has hundreds of candles burning for their respect for what she did in their country.
We conclude with these things: James was a man of courage and forgiveness. James was a man without jealousy; it was okay with him to live under the shadow of his younger brother John. James and his brother were both men of great faith, who even though they knew Jesus to be a homeless Galilean preacher on a course bound to collide with the powers-that-be, they never doubted that Jesus was a king. Lastly, James and John both asked for places of honor. Jesus asked if they were willing to drink from the cup He was to drink; both said yes. John goes to Ephesus and lives to be almost a hundred years old, dying in peace; James dies young and by the sword - yet both drank from the cup of Christ. The Romans had a coin which had on it the picture of an ox facing an altar and a plough with the words, "Ready for either." The Christian, like the ox, must be ready for either sacrifice on the altar, or the long routine of the plough. One Christian died in one heroic moment; the other lives a long life of fidelity to Christ, both drank from the same cup. Not one was superior to the other; the Christian must be ready too.
PRAYER: Grant us faith like James, loving Father. May we serve You in all ways and in all occasions, seeking not honor nor glory, but the presence of Your company until that day we enter into Your kingdom forever. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! May we serve Christ in all ways today and all days!
Eradio Valverde
Here's a video that I shared yesterday in case you missed it!
