... shouted out, “Thank God that’s a lie!” The fact of the matter is that of all things on this earth, human nature is the one thing which can most easily be changed...provided that it is overwhelmed by the love of God in Jesus Christ. So a “Son of thunder,” I believe, became a “Son of God.” St. Jerome, who lived and wrote in a cave in Bethlehem under the Church of the Nativity at the end of the Fourth Century, hands down to us a fragment of tradition which says that John lived in Ephesus to an ...
... and said, "John, take care of her; be as a son; let her be as your mother." And he spoke to Mary and said, "Mother, behold thy son: look on John as your own son; he will take care of you" (John 19:25-27). It was this man, this Son of Thunder - of all his disciples and followers - whom Jesus trusted enough to ask him to care for his mother. His Patience With Peter I like to picture John as a man of great understanding and solicitude. And I like to illustrate this with a story that isn’t scriptural - that ...
... we see a real disconnect between the disciples’ expectations of why Christ has come into the world and Christ’s own plans. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. “Sons of thunder” believe they can do anything, don’t they? James and John were still very young men. They still believed they were invincible. Jesus asked them, “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can ...
... streak of one." I like that. The point I am making is this. The men and women who followed Jesus were not wimps! They were strong, confident people who didn't mind risking their lives for what they believed in. James and John were called "Sons of Thunder." Peter tried to take on a whole Roman garrison by himself when they came to arrest Jesus in the garden. Many Christians take the teaching from the New Testament about meekness and humility all wrong. Jesus did not mean that his disciples should become ...
... Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” That’s seems to be an extreme reaction to a simple rejection, don’t you think? Jesus rebuked James and John, of course, but maybe this is why he called them the sons of thunder. James and John had been fishermen when Jesus called them. They were probably strong, courageous men. Fishing wasn’t a sport to them, it was their livelihood. And it wasn’t an easy way to make a living. James and John were among Jesus’ first disciples ...
... kind of disciple Jesus wants. But it is hard for him to go “deep” and to truly “be” the solid and faithful disciple that his personality suggests he could be. Just as Jesus jokingly calls the sons of Zebedee (also fishermen) “sons of thunder” for their fiery tempers, he immediately sees the potential strength in Simon, naming him “kephas”, stubborn as a rock. And Jesus believes that the strength of character and stubbornness that defines Simon’s character can be chiseled and molded into ...
... ), one of Jesus’ first disciples and a fisherman, and Jesus’ cousin Simon’s brother Andrew, also a fisherman, and Jesus’ cousin James the son of Zebedee, a fisherman John the son of Zebedee, James’ brother. Jesus called the two brothers “the sons of Thunder” Philip Bartholomew Thomas Matthew (Levi the tax collector) James the son of Alphaeus Thaddeus, also known as Lebbaeus, and also most likely known as Judas son of James, to distinguish him from the other Judas Simon the Cananaean, a Zealot ...
... he wants (or at least thinks he knows what he wants), a man who resists the efforts of others to steer him toward something else. James would have been drawn to a fast, flashy, classy car. As Caldwell puts it, "You can hear the two 'Sons of Thunder' revving up their motors as they race up and down the road in search of spiritually depleted vehicles." 4. John: 1965 Mustang The "beloved disciple" was The Twelve's resident dreamer. A quiet, soft spoken, shadowy figure, John was probably only in his late teens ...
... . He’s the one who impetuously jumped out of the boat and tried to walk on the water like the Master. He seems to have had no fear except on that night he denied Jesus. And as for James and John, remember they were called “the Sons of Thunder.” That’s a name that Jesus gave them probably for a good reason. These were the three disciples whom Jesus was most comfortable with as he went about teaching and healing. These were also the three whom he trusted most with his mission of redeeming the ...
... the state of Jacob’s relationship with his brother, himself, and with God, as well as the “state of the nation” both in Jacob’s time and going forward into the future. Jesus too uses clever nicknames for his disciples, such as the Sons of Thunder or Peter, the stone/rock. Jesus even has metaphors for his own identity as messiah –the gate, the door, the way, truth, life, cornerstone, shepherd, and so forth. Looking at names is like taking a DNA sample of the scripture story and the characters ...
... or so after Christianity got off to a good start, thanks to Pentecost. Church historians say that Polycarp was probably one of John’s disciples. You may recall that John had a brother named James, and they were sons of Zebedee. Jesus called them sons of thunder, probably because they were boisterous men who acted like bulls in a china shop when they got out of control, which may have been quite often. Not long after Pentecost, James was murdered. Until his murder, he served as the leader of the church ...
... not poor street people, they were rather well-off for their day, so when they left their nets to follow Jesus, they were really giving up something. The Gospels also suggest that they had short fuses on their tempers, which earned for them the nickname “Sons of thunder” (Mark 3:17). But we’ll talk more about that next week. Just as Andrew lived in the shadow of his more famous brother Peter, so also James seems to have lived in the shadow of his brother John. They always appeared together. The one ...
... After recalling and illustrating how Andrew was overshadowed by Peter, you might pass in review other biblical siblings: Cain and Abel, Esau and Jacob, Leah and Rachel, Joseph and his brothers, Martha and Mary, and by all means, James and John, the "Sons of Thunder." The accent should be on the ambivalence which marks and mars the relationship. You might conclude with a special intercession for brothers and sisters with whom we are at war -- or just out of touch. Evangelist Par Excellence. In John's Gospel ...
... could feel the woman’s quiet sobbing as he drew his protective arm closer about her. Then attention was focused on him. "Son," the crucified said, "behold your mother!" Now those same compassionate eyes were glazed, unfocused, lifeless, and the disciple, John, son of thunder, felt the numbness of futility grip his soul as he looked away. Were it not for these women, these women who now depended upon him, he would have let himself fall into black despair. From somewhere, deep inside his own emptiness, he ...
... has it that the four young fishermen may have worked together with their fathers and the servants. But legend does not include Peter and Andrew as likely to go out and cause trouble on the weekend as James and John did. When Jesus invited these two "sons of thunder" to become disciples, they came. First Person: Andrew's friend Philip (5) was next to be met by Jesus and to be called to join their group. Philip was the first to understand that Jesus' message was also for the Greeks and Gentiles. When two ...
... a good heart, but he tended to want to spend his time studying and learning rather than fighting and leading. James was one of the sons of the fishing mogel Zebedee. Along with his brother John, they were called by Jesus, the “sons of thunder” for their boisterous, loud, raucous language and behavior. They were used to the rough, underbelly of the fishing industry, and tended toward uncultured behavior and spontaneous outbursts of emotion and opinion. You always knew what they were thinking. Their fiery ...
... Jesus lays His hands upon lives! Jesus laid His hands on Peter, the big and burly Fisherman, and that blustery old devil became a leader of the apostolic band. He laid His hands on the other disciples...and James and John, the so-called “Sons of Thunder,” who were as ambitious and freewheeling as any wall-street broker, became students of a Rabbi who taught them that the road to mastery was service. We who are ministers have seen what happens when Jesus lays His hands on people. Miracles happen.Oh ...
... the water where the action was. That’s refreshing. Most followers of our Lord tend to be highly cautious persons who never take a step out of the boat. Notice that the other disciples did not join him on this adventure. Even James and John, the Sons of Thunder, were timid souls in comparison to Simon Peter. The existential philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, once called the decision to follow Jesus a leap of faith, like jumping off a cliff. Maybe that is why so few of us really want to follow Christ. We’re ...
... at the Mount of Transfiguration, and they were also together for the raising of Jairus’ daughter. They would also be together to ask Jesus for information about the coming tribulation and end of the world. The two of them, known by the nickname the Sons of Thunder, may have been loud and boisterous, so it’s no surprise that the other ten apostles heard what they said about having places of honor when Jesus comes into his glory. Jesus squelched their jealousy. But Jesus said to them, “You do not know ...
The word is from the third chapter of Mark’s Gospel, the 16, 17, and 18th verses: "So he appointed the Twelve: to Simon he gave the name Peter; then came the sons of Zebedee, James and his brother John, to whom he gave the name Sons of Thunder; then Andrew and Philip and Bartholomew and Matthew and Thomas and James the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus ..." Thaddaeus. That is my name. And I want you to hear me for while my name to you is but an ancient word upon the dusty scrolls of distant time, I would ...
... of his disciples, then, the first gathering of people around the light. He will gather still eight more. If ever you have paid much attention to this band of men, you will know that disunity is a constant threat to them. There are the "sons of thunder" as Jesus called them, James and John (Mark 3:17). Evidently they were men of strong opinion and vehemence about what they considered right and wrong. There is Peter, so headstrong and impetuous. There is Levi, named Matthew, the tax collector, and one must ...
... conservative Matthew, the former task collector, across the table from bleeding-heart liberal Phillip, who was always ready to give away the farm. · Macho men like Simon the Zealot gathered with the band of women like Mary Magdalene and the other women. · Sons of Thunder James and John, alongside reflective, thoughtful Thomas, the doubter. Jesus claims them all as a gift from God, and around the table he creates a new community of love and grace. One of the best new books I've read lately is Brian ...
... of Jesus, each of which suggests either the presence or absence of tolerance. I First of all (vv. 38-40), we have Jesus' disciple, John, coming to him and raising a complaint. John and his brother, James, were sons of Zebedee and were nicknamed "Sons of Thunder," because they were somewhat precipitous in their actions and judgments. What upset John this time was the sight of a man, who was not a member of the disciples' group, exorcising a demon from another man and doing so in the name of Jesus. The ...
... dissipated to nothingness. Why These Dozen Men? Christ did the choosing. He narrowed it down to twelve men. But why these twelve? And in the case of our text, why Matthew as one of them? James and John, so hot-tempered they were called the sons of thunder. Really! And Peter, that blustering big-mouthed backslider. Why him? Thomas, the doubter? Judas, a zealot terrorist who was to betray him? Why these twelve? They weren't rich. They weren't of high social standing. They weren't so well educated. Why, even ...
... hospitality to Jews, who were going to Jerusalem for religious holy days. They believed the right place to worship was where they worshiped, on Mt. Gerizim, not Jerusalem. They didn’t want to aid and abet wrong worship. When the messengers reported back, the Sons of Thunder, James and John, asked Jesus if they could call fire down from heaven to consume the inhospitable Samaritans. She was a woman. She was a Samaritan woman. And she came at high noon to the community well to fill her jar with water. Why ...