Saint James
Son of Zebedee
"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise."
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St. James the Apostle Brother of St. John the beloved
St. James the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, and the brother of St. John, was called James the Great to distinguish him from St. James the Little, the son of Alphaeus. He was born and raised in Bethsaida, a fishing village on the shore of the sea of Galilee, which is the city of Andrew and Peter. Like his brother John, St. James was celibate.
The Lord called him to the ministry along with his brother John on the same day. He called Peter and Andrew, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed the Lord. These were the Lord's first disciples whom Jesus called (Mark 1:16–19). Their question:
“Tell us, when will this [the destruction of the Temple] be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”
sparked Jesus’ eschatological (pertaining to the end-time) discourse in Mark 13.
James and his younger brother, St. John the Apostle, are designated Boanerges (from the Greek boanerges), or “Sons of Thunder” (Mark 3:17), perhaps because of their characteristic fiery zeal (Luke 9:54). He is the only apostle whose martyrdom is recorded in the New Testament (Acts 12:2).
The Lord's Innermost Circle
The Lord Christ chose him to be a member of His inner circle. He witnessed along with Peter and John some significant events. As a member of the inner circle, James witnessed the raising of Jairus’s daughter from the dead (Mark 5:37 and Luke 8:51), the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2), and Jesus’ agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33 and Matthew 26:37).
James and John asked Jesus to let them sit, one at his right and one at his left, in his future glory (Mark 10:35–40), a favour that Jesus said was not His to grant.
Jesus' Disciples
Jesus' first four disciples were simple fishermen. As St. Paul says,
“But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise”.
St. Jerome says,
"The first ones to be called to follow the Saviour were illiterate fishermen. He sent them to preach so that no one relates the change of the believers to eloquence and knowledge, but rather to the work of God.”
St. James Preaching The Gospel
After the coming down of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, St. James preached the Gospel in Judea and Samaria; then, he went to Spain to preach the Gospel, and the people believed in the Lord Christ. He returned to Jerusalem and pursued his ministry. He always advised his flock to give alms to the poor, the needy, and the weak.
His Martyrdom
The people accused him before Herod, who called him and asked him: "Are you the one that is instigating the people not to give the taxes to Caesar but to give it to the poor and the churches?" Then he smote him with the sword, cutting off his head, and St. James received the crown of martyrdom.
Clement of Alexandria, second century church father said,
"The soldier that seized the Saint, when he saw his courage, he realized that there must be a better life and asked the Saint for his forgiveness. Then the soldier confessed Christianity and received the crown of martyrdom (Acts 12:1,2) along with the Apostle in the year 44 A.D."
Due to the fact that Herod saw how beheading James pleased the Jews, he proceeded to also seize Peter. When he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover (Acts 12:3-4).
"So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, 'The voice of a god and not of a man!' Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. He was eaten by worms and died"