THE DISCIPLES:
James and John
October 18, 2026
James and John are first noted in Matthew 4:21, 22 notes that James and John were brothers, sons of Zebedee, a fisherman. Zebedee owned a fishing business, and scholars believe he had a lucrative business. James and John worked with their father, Zebedee, on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called them to follow Him leaving their boat and father immediately. James and John’s mother was Salome (Matthew 20:21; 27:56). She was probably a follower and supporter of Jesus ministry. She was there at the crucifixion (Mark 15:40) and was one of the women that went to the tomb resurrection morning (Mark 16:1-8). Many scholars also believe that she was the sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus (John 19:25).
Scripture: Mark 3:17, James and John (the sons of Zebedee, but Jesus nicknamed them “Sons of Thunder” (NLT).
A Boston-area boy taught his father a lesson when he called the police after his dad ran a red light. Dad had turned right at a red light (a legal move), but his son, little Robbie, called 911 as soon as they got home. The following conversation ensued: Dispatcher: 9-1-1 this line's recorded, what's your emergency? Robbie: Um, Daddy went through a red light. It was in my mommy’s brand-new car. Dispatcher: Are you okay? Dad overheard his son, took the phone, and said, "It was a right turn on red.” "The conversation ended with no citations. However, the local Boston newspaper heard about it and wrote an article entitled, "Keep your eyes on the road, for you never know what the backseat driver might do." Little Robbie was also interviewed and the article noted that if his dad ran another light, "I'll call the eye doctor so he can fix his eyes."
When I think of James and John, I could see them as children calling 911 to report Dad going through a red light. In Mark 3:17, Jesus gave them the nickname Sons of Thunder. These two were brash, judgmental, zealous and had a fiery spirit.
Now, James is always listed first, indicating that he was the older brother and most likely the leader of the two. Most likely, he was also the one who had the stronger temperament type and more zeal.
Their zeal, what they think is right, is reflected in Luke 9. In Luke 9:49 and following, John told Jesus, We saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us. Jesus corrected him by saying, Do not stop him for whoever is not against you is for you.
Then Jesus and his disciples were heading to Jerusalem. They wanted to stay in a Samaritan village, but the people did not welcome them. Luke 9:54 and following states, 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 Then he and his disciples went to another village.
Jesus rebuked them because they were out of sync with Jesus’ mission. This was not a time for judgment on an ungodly nation. This was a time for the proclamation of a new covenant.
They did not understand that the Son of Man didn’t come to destroy men’s lives but to save them. So, Jesus rebuked for they were hateful. They were intolerant. They didn’t learn from Jesus earlier teaching of simply dusting their feet and going to another village (Luke 9:5, 6). On the positive side, their fervor, while sometimes misguided, demonstrated their deep commitment to Jesus.
Here is the first principle this morning. Principle 1: Learn to temper your desire for what is right with love! Learn to have a balance between truth and love!
Zeal with insensitivity is cruel. James and John had to be refined. They had to get from the place where they said, “If they don’t cooperate, burn them up,” to the place where they cared.
Listen, a lack of love/sensitivity can just destroy a ministry. It can destroy a family. There are many people who try to serve Christ who are utterly insensitive to their congregations and to their families. To many pastors, evangelists, and Christian people who are not listening to what’s going on in their own congregation or people around them. They are so task oriented that they miss the mark in really ministering people.
The Apostle John grew in understanding and knowledge of how to love. In John’s epistles, written late in his life, hint that he still possessed a fervency of spirit, especially in his denunciations of apostates and deceivers (1 John 2:22; 2 John 7; 3 John 10). However, it is a fervency tempered by love. In fact, in I, II, and III John the word “love” appears thirty-nine times.
Many of you have heard me say, many people emphasize love, love, love, and neglect truth. As a result, they compromise of God’s word. We see that in various churches today. Others emphasize truth, truth, truth, but neglect love! This type of church emphasizes the truth of God’s word, might tend to be judgmental and prideful. Scripture teaches us to have both! Oh, how we each need to learn and grow in understanding in applying godly truth and love!
Scripture also notes that James and John also sought positions of honor in Jesus’ kingdom prompting Jesus to teach on humility and servant leadership. (Mark 10:35–45; Matthew 20:20-28).
James and John, through their mother Salome, requested positions of honor in Jesus' kingdom (Matthew 20:20-21). Mark 10:37 notes that they asked Jesus, Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory. Jesus tells them these are positions prepared by my Father. The other ten disciples were not very happy/indignant with James and John. They started arguing. So, Jesus used this moment to teach about servant leadership, saying, Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave (Matthew 20:26-27).
James and John needed to face their pride and self-centeredness. They were thinking, “We are the greatest. We deserve to be at your side as You reign over the Kingdom of God.”
Principle 2: Crucify your pride and self-centeredness! Put on a humble, servant attitude!
In John 13:12-17, John tells the time when Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. He is the only one to write about this of the four gospels. John came to recognize the importance of servant leadership. Verses 14-17 states, 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Greatness is measured by humility, love, and service. Humility is essential as service is not about self-promotion but about giving to others. Jesus modeled humility and servant leadership, and we are to do the same!
As most of you know, spiritual pride ran deep when I was younger. I was on fire for the Lord! However, as my father-in-law told me, “You think you got it all packed in.” Of course, when he said this, I thought, “Well ya!” I thought I was more spiritual. As a result, I tended to think that I was better.
However, God worked and one Scriptural passage that spoke to me then and even now is Philippians 2. Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
God worked as I realized that I AM A SINNER BIG TIME! I am only saved by His grace. I have nothing to boast about (Ephesians 2:8-9). Until you realize the depth of your own sinfulness before a HOLY GOD, you will not consider others better than yourself. I encourage you to recognize the depth of your own sinfulness, that you are saved by grace, and put on the mindset of Jesus! Put on a humble, servant attitude!
Now, James never appears in the gospels apart from John also being mentioned. James and John are noted as being a part of Jesus’ inner circle with Peter and at times Andrew. James and John witnessed key events such as the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1, 2); the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:37); and Jesus’ agony in Gethsemane (Mark 14:33).
We know very little else about James, the son of Zebedee. James, often referred to as James the Greater to distinguish him from James the Less, was the first disciple to be martyred. Personally, I think the best way to look at James is to consider what the Lord named him, son of thunder. James must have been very zealous, fervent, and a thunderous individual. One reason that I think this is because Herod first went after James and had his head chopped off. The people approved of Herod having James put to death. As a result, Herod then has Peter arrested and put in jail. This seems to indicate that Peter was not as big a problem as James (Acts 12:1-4).
Given James’ outspoken nature, he was a bold witness for the Lord and led many to faith. Tradition indicates that James led the guard to Jesus before his death. The guard was beheaded along with James. James’ execution marked a significant moment in the early Church, highlighting the cost of discipleship. It also highlights the idea that even though God is Almighty, He does not prevent the untimely deaths of some of His choicest servants.
Now, we know more about the disciple, John. Most scholars believe John was a disciple of John the Baptist (John 1:35-40). Peter and John were asked to make preparations to eat the Passover. John had the privilege to be next to Jesus at the Last Supper. At the trial of Jesus, he was present in the court because he was known to the family of the high priest (John 18:15).
John’s account then describes Jesus’ questioning by the high priest Annas and later Caiaphas. This narrative suggests John was an eyewitness to the Jewish trial scenes, including the high priest’s courtyard. John was present at the cross and was given the responsibility of caring for Mary. He was one of the first to see the empty tomb. He wrote the Gospel of John, I, II, and III John and Revelation. His writings emphasize love, truth, and eternal life, reflecting his deep theological insight and personal relationship with Christ.
John was often identified as the "disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23). He also became known as the Apostle of Love. Love did not come naturally to him. Yet, John had a remarkable transformation.
We have already noted two reasons. He learned that he needed to temper his judgmental perspective, to have a balance between truth and love. He also learned to shed his pride and self-centeredness and put on a humble, servant-like attitude.
Here is a third principle. Know and experience God’s love! Be totally convinced of His love! Wholeheartedly believe in and love the Lord Jesus!
When Jesus called John, he followed him. He spent time with Jesus. John listened and learned from Jesus. John personally saw and experienced the love of Jesus. He was an eyewitness to Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. John records Jesus saying in John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son...” John also wrote, God is love (I John 4:16).
John also knew God’s love as he had the Holy Spirit. He recorded Jesus words from John 16:7, “I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Helper/Holy Spirit will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” John was filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. He would later write in I John 4:13, We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us His Spirit. John grew in love by allowing the Holy Spirit to fill him with the love of Jesus.
William Gladstone, Prime Minister of Britain, stood before the House of Commons one day and began to tell a touching story about their Princess... Alice. You see Alice had a daughter that was extremely ill with diphtheria. Each day her little daughter grew progressively worse as she struggled to breathe. Alice knew that within days her daughter’s pain would end. The personal physicians to the crown explicitly instructed the princess not to sit close to the child, in fear that she too would contract the fatal disease. But, one day when her daughter’s breathing was so restricted, Princess Alice chose to pick her daughter up into her arms and hold her close. Her daughter said faintly, “Momma, kiss me” without even considering herself the Princess snuggled close to her daughter and gave her the most heartfelt kiss a mother has ever offered a child.... Within days, both mother and daughter passed away. Real love forgets oneself, denies oneself. Real love acts beyond one’s own best interests. Jesus did the same for you. You had a deadly disease; He left his throne in glory, was brutally tortured, and died to bring you the cure.
John saw and experienced the cure. As a result, he wrote in I John 4:10, This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Since John knew and experienced the great love of Jesus, he was totally convinced of His love! He wrote in I John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God.
John suffered many disappointments, hurts, doubts, worries, fears, despair, loneliness, and persecution, but he knew God’s extensive love and continued to believe and trust Him!
I am concerned so many people have developed a hardened heart. They get hardened by disappointment, resentment, regrets, rejections, broken promises, broken dreams, bad choices, wrong turns, painful circumstances, and a thousand other bullets that get lodged inside of us, that don’t kill us, but they damage the heart. Inevitably, hearts become smothered and insensitive to the divine.
John wrote at the end of I John 4:18, 19, There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19We love because he first loved us. Then he states beginning of chapter 5 verse 3, In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
The story is told of a woman who for years was married to a harsh husband. Each day he would leave her a list of chores to complete before he returned at the end of the day. “Clean the yard. Stack the firewood. Wash the windows ….” If she didn’t complete the tasks, she would be greeted with his explosive anger. But even if she did complete the list, he was never satisfied; he would always find inadequacies in her work. After several years, the husband passed away. Sometime later she remarried, this time to a man who lavished her with tenderness and adoration. One day, while going through a box of old papers, the wife discovered one of her first husband’s lists. And as she read the sheet, a realization caused a tear of joy to splash on the paper. “I’m still doing all these things, and no one must tell me. I do it because I love him.”
Now if we come to understand the width, the length, the height, and depth of God’s love, our lives would dramatically change (Ephesians 3:14-21). It did for me. So, I pray for each of you as Paul did in Ephesians 3. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Lastly, learn how to love others!!!!!
John learned how to love others, and he also constantly taught it!! He quoted Jesus in John 15:12, 13, My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John had a love for others.
John strongly emphasizes the need to love others in his epistles. He writes in I John 2:9-11, Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. (Also note I John 3:11, 23; 4:7, 19., and 21).
John took the love of others extremely seriously. He took care of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Most likely Mary went with him to Ephesus where she died. John became a church leader in Ephesus.
Eusebius, an early church historian, retells a story given by Clement of Alexandria that illustrates the character of the Apostle John. While in Smyrna to mediate a dispute, John left a young convert in the care of the newly appointed bishop, who was to supervise the youth’s spiritual training. After the convert was baptized the bishop lost track of him. The young convert fell into bad company and eventually became the leader of a band of thugs involved in stealing and all kinds of violence. When John returned to Smyrna he inquired about the new convert, the embarrassed bishop had to tell him that he was now a leader of a gang of highwaymen. The old apostle tore his clothing and chastised the bishop for his lack of supervision. Despite his age John jumped on a horse and galloped off for the backcountry to find the wayward convert. The gang members surrounded him and John said, “Take me to your leader.” When the bandit leader saw John, he turned and ran. John called out: “Don’t run from me your spiritual father, who is unarmed and very old. Be sorry for me, child, not afraid of me. You still have hope for life. I will account to Christ for you. To save you I will give my own life. Stop! Believe! Jesus sent me!” The leader turned around and approached John. The apostle moved toward him, and the bandit flung his arms around John sobbing and repented. John led him back to Smyrna and helped him get reestablished in the church.
Jerome, who was a contemporary of John, mentioned how people saw John at the end of his life - they saw him as a very gentle, old, saintly man, so frail that they had to carry him into the Ephesian Church which is where he died. He was confined to a chair but his last message to the church was this phrase: “My little children, Love One Another.” When asked why he always said this, he replied, “It is the Lord’s command, and if this alone be done, it is enough.” John died, by most accounts, around 98 A.D. by natural causes.
James was the first disciple to be killed (Acts 12:2), while John was the last to die. Together, they represent both the zeal and ambition of early discipleship and the diverse roles within the Lord’s kingdom.
What kind of people does God use? Any kind. Listen to this now: it is not what you are, it is what you are willing to become, that is the issue. Are you available?
Let’s pray!
