St james the greater apostle biography

W hat can we learn about the Apostle James? What did his life and death look like? James was in the so-called circle of honor among the apostles with Peter and John and they were privileged to be eyewitnesses of the Transfiguration Matt Even so, they were looked down upon by the Jewish leaders, the Roman authorities and even among the population in general.

These were not refined, polished men with great speaking skills but were probably looked down upon as country bumpkins or ruffians since their hometown was Capernaum. They would have been on the low rung of society in that day, however God has a history of calling and using men and women who the world has little regard for and thinks very little of.

The Apostle John and his brother James were, in the beginning, hotheads.

What is st james famous for

When Jesus went to a Samaritan city they were spurned by the local residents and this angered James and John. What was their reaction to the people rejecting Christ and essentially rejecting them? The interesting thing is, did they really have authority to call fire down from heaven like Elijah did when he took on the prophets of Baal 1 King 18?

Was that a proper response at all? This was not likely the only time that they lost their tempers and shows that they could be rash and impulsive, which was a little like Peter at times. James was not the first Christian martyr at all as that was ascribed to Stephen who was stoned to death in Acts He killed James the brother of John with the sword, and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. Only one apostle escaped dying for his faith and that was, ironically, his brother, the Apostle John. Some people confuse the Apostle James as the author of the Book of James but that James was the half-brother of Jesus who only professed faith in Christ after Jesus rose from the dead.