It was about this time that King Herod arrested some
who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
Acts 12:1-2
James and John were brothers and the sons of Zebedee, or Boanerges (Mark 3:17). This word means “thunder”, so James and John were the Sons of Thunder. Sounds like the name of a hard rock band!
One day, the brothers were preparing their nets for fishing with their father when Jesus called them. They immediately obeyed and followed Him (Matthew 4:21-22). James and John, along with Peter, were especially close to Jesus. The threesome accompanied Jesus to the house of Jairus to heal his daughter (Luke 8:40-56), on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13), and deeper than the other disciples into the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus prayed before His betrayal (Matthew 26:36-45).
The two brothers wanted to call fire down from heaven on a Samaritan village that refused to accommodate them (Luke 9:51-56). They, along with their mother, also asked Jesus if they could sit on either side of Him in heaven (Matthew 20:20-28, Mark 10:35-45). As you can see, these guys were pretty bold.
Jesus’ response to them foreshadowed His death, as well as the deaths of all the disciples except Judas and John: “‘You don’t know what you are asking,’ Jesus said. ‘Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?’” This question about drinking the cup is a Jewish expression, meaning Jesus was asking if they would share his fate. A cup is also symbolic of God’s wrath (Psalm 75:8, Isaiah 51:17). This is why Jesus asked God in the garden to “Take this cup from me” (Mark 14:36). Likewise, baptism is symbolic of death (Luke 12:50). We go down in the water, die to our sins, and are raised up in newness of life.
As we saw two days ago, only John among the disciples escaped a martyr’s death, although he spent the rest of his latter days exiled on Patmos. James, the other son of Thunder, met his fate at the hands of King Herod, who was persecuting and arresting this growing band of Christ-followers around ten years after the crucifixion. As you recall, James was then beheaded just as John the Baptist had been.
Just as Jesus asked James and John, He is asking us today, “Can you drink the cup I drink?” “Are you willing to die for me?” “Will you surrender your will to Me regardless of the nature of your death?” Take a deep look at your heart, your commitment, and your conviction to follow Jesus the rest of your life, to the grave, and into eternity.
