James the Elder (or Greater)?? Huh? Who is he?

Hello All. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!  Jesu Jevu!

    Okay, there are 2 James; James the Elder (or Greater) who is a brother of John, son of Zebedee and Salome. He was the nephew of James the Less, who was the brother of Salome. He, also, was a fisherman and resided in Bethsaida, Capernaum and Jerusalem.

   So??? Who is he?  He was one of the inner circle of Jesus along with John and Peter.  In Acts 12 James was beheaded by Herod, thus being the first disciple martyred for Jesus Christ. 

12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.

² And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
³ And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also.

   Peter was with him as well and we will talk about him later.  When Herod beheaded James, the Elder it pleased the Jews. Hmmm! They did not like the leaders of "The Way" and enjoyed their punishment.

    Again, James was the first of the disciples to be martyred.  He was a strong follower of Jesus, a man of courage, a man of forgiveness, and he lived in the shadow of John.  However, he and John (and Peter) were constant companions in their spreading of the gospel.  As you study the Bible, there are 5 James' listed and it is important to be able to distinguish which one you are reading.

    This is James the Elder or James the Greater.  Hope you enjoy reading about the men of the Bible. Love you all.

Johnny