James (John)

James, son of Zebedee. He was one of Jesus's 12 apostles. He was the first apostle to die for his faith (martyred in AD 44).

James was a Galilean fisherman. We can assume he had a comfortable lifestyle (Mark 1:19–20). He was called to be one of the disciples at the same time as his brother John (Matthew 4:21; Mark 1:19–20). It is reasonable to assume that he was older than John, both because he is almost always mentioned first and because John is sometimes identified as “the brother of James” (Matthew 10:2; 17:1; Mark 3:17; 5:37).

James, John, and Simon Peter were part of a fishing partnership that included Andrew, Simon’s brother (Luke 5:10). The three reached, in a sense, a place of leadership among the disciples. They were often with Jesus during important events. For example:

• They were there when Jairus’s daughter was raised (Mark 5:37; Luke 8:51).