James and John were two of Jesus' disciples and were also considered two of his closest friends. Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder" for their often fiery and zealous personalities. On one occasion, Jesus was traveling with his disciples through Samaria and looking for a place to stay. The Samaritans refused due to their prejudice against Jews when they learned the group was headed for Jerusalem. James and John asked Jesus, "Do you want us to call fire down from Heaven to destroy them?", but Jesus rebuked them and traveled on to another city.
Fast forward to the time when Jesus was warning the disciples of his approaching arrest and crucifixion. James and John's mother made a request of Jesus. When Jesus returned to the throne, she wanted one of her sons to be seated on the left and the other to be seated on the right of Jesus. When the other disciples heard about this, Jesus overheard them grumbling amongst themselves. He explained to them, "whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave, for even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many."
James was the first disciple to be killed, and John was the last to die from old age. After John had walked with Jesus as one of the Sons of Thunder, he wrote the Gospel of John and John 1-3. While he still speaks strongly about deceivers, his words are tempered with the love that he no doubt learned from his walk with Jesus. John's new nickname became the Apostle of Love.
God, please help me to live more like Jesus.
No comments:
Post a Comment