John: the beloved disciple, a man changed by love

John, fisherman, son of Zebedee and brother of James, friends to Peter and Andrew, has the distinction of being called the disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23). It is hard to believe that this beloved disciple was, at first, ambitious, judgmental and yet becomes the one who writes about the transforming power of Christ’s love and how it is available to all. He would write one of the four gospels and three letters with the central theme of God’s love. The word “love” would appear fifty-seven times in the gospel of John and forty-six times in 1 John. He would also write Revelation with the central theme of God’s justice. Who was John? What is the purpose of his gospel? How should we love as Christians? 

John was called by Jesus, with his brother, and they both immediately left their fishing nets and followed. As mentioned with Peter and James, John was chosen to be among the inner circle and saw the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36). Along with James, John had a tendency for outbursts of selfishness and anger. One instance, John calls Jesus’s attention to someone else using Jesus’s name to drive out demons, expecting Jesus to stop this man because he wasn’t one of the twelve disciples (Mark 9:38, Luke 9:49-50). He was with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-37, Mark 14:32-42). At his crucifixion, Jesus asks John to care for his mother, Mary, and Mary to take John as her son (John 19:25-25). John was with Peter as he healed a man at the gate called Beautiful (Acts 3:1-10). Along with Peter, John would stand firm before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:1-22). John would later be exiled to the island of Patmos where he would receive the vision and write the book of Revelation. 

While Matthew and Luke included genealogies in their gospels for certain purposes, to establish Jesus as from the House of David both biologically from his mother, Mary, and legally from his earthly father, Joseph. However, John started with Jesus as the preexistent, eternal Word. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2). Jesus is the agent of Creation as God, the Father, spoke and Jesus, the son, made it happen. This is further illustrated by the seven “I Am” statements: Bread of Life (John 6:35), the Light of the world (John 8:12), the Gate (John 10:7-9), the Good Shepherd (John 11:11-14), the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25), the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), and the True Vine (John 15:1.5). John describes a situation in which Jesus states he is eternal when He said, “I will tell you the truth before Abraham, I am!” (John 8:58). “I am” is a statement that would have had a huge significant impact on the Jews as it was a statement God made to Moses (Exodus 4:14). 

John began his journey with Jesus as a selfish man, looking out for himself, only to become a man of compassion and love. How? From the transforming love of Jesus Christ. Loving one another is the most basic, simplest part of Christianity. However, our ability to love is often shaped by our experience of love. Being loved is the most powerful motivation. God’s love is a great motivation for change and there is nothing that can remove God’s love from us (Isaiah 54:10). We are to love one another. Not just love with words but with actions and in truth (1 John 3:18). We say “I love you,” they are empty words until there is an action behind it. Jesus said “I love you” and he died on the cross. Jesus commands that we love each other (Matthew 22:39). He also said that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for his friends (John 15:13). Sacrificial love isn’t just dying, it is helping, giving, and meeting needs of another before our own puts love into practice.

In conclusion, after all he had seen and experienced with Jesus, he would leave behind ambition and embrace affection. John became the beloved disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. John would write his gospel to show that Jesus is the pre existent Word becoming flesh (John 1:14) and brought the world his message of love. Love is more than words, it is an action, a sacrifice of putting others before ourselves. Sadly, there are Christians who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. I know I sometimes struggle loving someone the way God would want me to, especially after I’ve been hurt or wronged. It is a constant prayer that He will change my heart and help me adjust my attitude. If His love can change John, I know He can change me. 

James, the son of Zedebee: a man who struggled and yet showed courage in service to Christ

James is one of the first disciples called by Jesus along with his brother, John, and friends, Simon Peter and Andrew. A fisherman working with his brother and their father, Zedebee, James would become a member of the core group with Peter and John for special training as each would play a key role in the early church. Peter would be the great speaker, John the majority writer and James would be the first to die for his faith. While he was chosen to be among the inner circle, little is known about James after the events in the Book of Acts. Who was James, the son of Zedebee? What were his strengths and weaknesses? What is the key lesson we can take from his story?

James is described as ambitious, short-tempered, judgmental and yet deeply committed to Jesus. Ambitious as he, along with John, asked Jesus for a place of honor in his kingdom, specifically a seat on his right and left (Mark 10:37). Jesus rebukes them, telling them both that they do not truly understand what they are asking. As with all the disciples, James did not understand Jesus’s true purpose. They envisioned Jesus overthrowing the Romans and restoring Israel’s to her former glory. Regardless, James knew he wanted to be by Jesus’s side. He had found the right leader; he was just wrong about the timetable. It would take Jesus’s death and resurrection for true understanding. James would have an outburst of temper. In Luke 9:54, he and John asked Jesus if he wanted them to call down first from heaven to destroy a Samaritan village after they refused to welcome him (verses 52-53). He wanted quick retaliation. In Acts, he would speak at the First Council and agreed that Jesus had come for Gentiles as well as the Jews (Acts 15:13-21) as the requirements of faith that we follow are set by God and not by man. 

James would be the first to die for his faith. He was willing as he saw Jesus conquer death and open the doorway to eternal life. James was a man with strengths and weaknesses. His strengths are simple to understand. He was one of the 12 disciples and one of the inner three. He would be the first to die for his faith. However, it is in his weakness that we can see ourselves. His two outbursts indicated that James struggled with a temper and selfishness. When he left a wrong had been committed, he wanted quick payback. A feeling that many of us have experienced from time to time. Something happens which is unfair or undeserving and we want the person to feel the same pain and disappointment that we do. However, in Romans 12:19, Paul reminds us that revenge is the Lord’s, he will play, quoting Deutoronmy 32:35. We are not to overcome evil with evil, but with good (Romans 12:21). And like James, we experience moments of selfishness. It is a part of being human. As selfishness is the root of sin and conflict, we need to actively focus on humility and putting others before ourselves in order to overcome this natural response. Paul writes in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” 

Jesus promised eternal life to those willing to trust him (John 3:16). If we believe in this promise, Jesus will give us the courage to stand for Him and face whatever challenges that come our way, even during the most dangerous times. The key lesson from James’s story is that the loss of life is not too heavy a price to pay for following Jesus. In Matthew 10:17-42, Jesus prepared his disciples, and us, for persecution, in which he says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (verse 39).” Even Paul writes in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” To live meant to have time to tell others about Christ and to become more like him. To die would be the end of the worldly troubles and to see Christ face to face. As times get harder and the world increasingly puts pressure on believers, will I be able to stand when death would be the result? I don’t know. I can only pray that if (or when) that moment comes, I can say “to live is Christ and to die is gain.” 

In conclusion, James, the son of Zedebee, was a fisherman who left life as he knew it to follow Jesus. Even though he was one of the 12 and one of the inner three, he struggles with his ambitious nature, a temper and selfishness. Through his faith and trust in Jesus, he realized the true mission of Jesus’s life and death, he would spend the rest of his life telling others the good news. He would be the first to die for the faith and he certainly wasn’t the last. James is an example of the courage in service to Christ is important as we spread the gospel. That courage can also make us a target for persecution. We need to be bold for Christ with courage and humility. 

Salome: a mother who sought greatness for her sons and got a lesson in service

Salome was the mother of the Zebedees. John and James were called the Sons of Thunder by Jesus and were two of the three chosen to accompany him on the mountain during the Transfiguration. Her husband and sons operated a prosperous fishing business when Jesus called John and James to join his ministry. She became a devoted follower of Christ. She held the common misconception that the Messiah would drive out the Romans and establish a literal kingdom. Salome would stand with other women at the foot of the cross and witness the horrific death of Jesus. She would also be among the women to hear the good news of the resurrection from the angel at the tomb. However, people know her story as the mother who requested special favors for her sons and received a lesson in what it truly means to be great. 

Knowing that Jesus had nicknamed her sons, the Sons of Thunder, that he had seen greatness in John and James. Why else would they be included in his inner circle with Simon Peter? Jesus had even taken them up the mountain and she had seen their faces when they returned. She had heard their stories about the event on the mountain. Salome then took the opportunity to ask for a special request. She begged Jesus to allow her sons to sit at his side in his kingdom. While Salome was probably thinking she was asking for what she thought would make her sons happy, she did not truly understand the gravity of her request. Jesus’s reply is a lesson on what it means to be great in his kingdom. Later, she would be at the foot of the cross and watch in horror as Jesus breathed his last. Did she remember her request? Did she finally understand what Jesus meant? Did she think about her sons’ futures in horror? Whatever sadness and grief she felt that day would be replaced with joy as she would be among the group of women to hear the angel’s proclamation of the Resurrection. 

Mothers are held in high regard in the Scriptures. While a woman, as a wife, answers to her husband, the rest of the household answers to her. Her primary duty was to produce and care for the children. A mother generally nursed her children for three years and totally cared for at least six years. It would be then that the children would join in helping with either the family business, as sons would join their father in the fields or a trade, and daughters would join their mother with the household tasks. Given the importance of mothers to a child’s early years, it makes sense that Salome still saw it as her role to help promote her sons. A bit misguided? Probably. She could be described as a bulldozer mom. Everyone knows a helicopter mom but do you know a bulldozer mom? According to Sharon Wilharm, a bulldozer mom is a mom who wants the best for their child and will do whatever it takes to make it happen (2021). Instead of encouraging John and James to seek a place of importance in the kingdom, she went straight to Jesus herself. What was wrong with her request? 

Jesus would point out that she did not know what she was asking (Matthew 20:22). He tells her and his disciples that they will suffer as he will (Matthew 20:23) and he gives the lesson to those who want to be great. Simply to be first you must serve. To lower yourself to serve and not to be served (Matthew 20:25-28). He teaches the true meaning of greatness: to serve. Servanthood has been vilified in our culture as very unhealthy, especially women as wives and mothers. However, both men and women are called to model Christ and serve others. The rewards we received in heaven will not be favors. They are given to those who maintained their commitment to Jesus in spite of severe trials. Severe trials could be the loss of friends, family, jobs even the loss of our very lives as we sustain and nurture our commitment to Jesus. Humbling oneself to serve others is not a form of low self-esteem or unworthiness. It is a sign of great love. The greatness of a person among us is the servant to all. When you serve others in big and small ways, you serve Jesus. 

In conclusion, Salome’s story is about a mother and a request and a lesson about what it means to be great. Salome was a mother who saw her sons in a place of importance and she decided to insure their important place. As a mother who saw what she thought would be good for her sons and tried to put a plan into motion, she became a lesson to parents everywhere that eventually our children must put their dreams, ambitions and plans into motion without our unsolicited help. But there is a more important lesson in Salome’s story. Heavenly rewards are not granted, they are earned. When you are persecuted for Jesus, you will reap rewards in heaven (Matthew 5:12). It is a reminder that even when service to others may be overlooked and unappreciated by them, it is not overlooked and unappreciated by Him. 

References

Wilharm, Sharon (2021). Salome Mother of James and John. Sharon Wilharm.com. https://sharonwilharm.com/salome-mother-of-james-and-john/ Retrieved November 19, 2023.