Twelve Ordinary Men: Lesson 4

Overview

The Sons of Thunder: James and John

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came from a prominent fishing household in Capernaum and stand out among the Twelve as members of Jesus' inner circle, present at moments like the raising of Jairus's daughter, the Transfiguration, and the agony in Gethsemane. Jesus gave them the nickname Boanerges, "sons of thunder" Mark 3:17—a fitting name for two brothers whose personalities were bold, brash, and aggressive. Their fieriness shows itself plainly in Luke 9:51-56, where, after a Samaritan village rejected Jesus, they asked to call down fire from heaven to consume it—an echo of Elijah's judgment on the captains of fifty in 2 Kings 1. Their ambition surfaces again when they (with their mother's help) lobby for the highest seats in the kingdom, prompting Jesus' sober reply that they did not know what they were asking, though they would indeed drink His cup.

James: A Crown Sought, a Cup Received

James sought glory but received suffering. He became the first of the Twelve to be martyred, beheaded by Herod Agrippa I about fourteen years into his apostolic ministry Acts 12:1-3. The fact that Herod singled him out tells us something: James had not softened after the resurrection. His thunderous boldness continued, drawing the notice of those in power because he refused to dilute the truth of the gospel. The church needs voices like his—people unafraid to speak the fullness of God's Word, both law and gospel, even when it is uncomfortable, even when those in authority resent it. Without such bold witness, the church's testimony crumbles.

John: Boldness Refined into Love

John shared his brother's fire but was given decades to be shaped by the Holy Spirit. Far from the meek figure of medieval art, he was a tough fisherman and a son of thunder who once tried to silence an outsider casting out demons in Jesus' name. Yet Jesus, even from the cross, entrusted His own mother to John's care John 19:26-27. Across his long life—pastoring at Ephesus, exiled to Patmos, finally too frail to walk into worship—John's directness was transformed into the apostle of love. His writings remain strikingly black-and-white about light and darkness, sin and righteousness, truth and heresy, yet they return again and again to the command to love one another 1 John 2:10. Tradition holds that in his last days he repeated, "My little children, love one another," explaining, "Because it is the Lord's command, and if this alone be done, it is enough."

Pastoral Application

John's life is an encouragement of what the Spirit can do in any of us: brashness refined, weakness made into strength, boldness wedded to love. James reminds us that faithful witness can cost everything, and that strong voices are essential to the church's health. We are not all called to be fiery preachers, but we are all called to speak the full truth of God's Word and to do so in love. These ordinary men—flawed, ambitious, sometimes wrongheaded—were transformed because they belonged to the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who still calls fishers of men today Matthew 4:19.

Transcript

Let's pray. 2s

Lord, we thank You so much for Your Word. 4s

We thank You for gathering us today to hear Your Word. 6s

We ask that Your Spirit would guide us, 10s

that we would learn from the men that You called 12s

to be Your apostles. 16s

We ask that we would be open to hear Your call 17s

in our lives as well, and that we would bring a good 22s

and true witness of Your love and Your mercy to everyone 26s

that we cross paths with. 31s

Lord, bless this time of study together, 33s

and bless our day. 36s

We lift all of this to You in Jesus' name, Amen. 38s

Okay, so quick, quick review, and you can go, 42s

you can go and watch the classes online. 47s

They're on the YouTube or Vimeo places. 51s

I guess this Vimeo, a channel, 56s

would that be considered a channel, Vimeo? 57s

Okay, so YouTube or Vimeo channel, 59s

we're really looking at these 12 ordinary guys 63s

that were disciples of Jesus, 67s

so they already were followers of Jesus. 69s

And then as He got into His ministry, 73s

there came a time where He called these 12 men 75s

to be His apostles, to live life with Him, 80s

to do ministry with Him, 85s

and He chose them to spend more time with Him 88s

because these were the men that He was going to commission 93s

with going and making disciples of all nations, 98s

baptizing them in the name of the Father. 104s

I can never say that without adding 106s

how this disciplification is done, 108s

it's by baptizing in the name of the Father, 111s

the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 113s

and teaching them to obey all He has commanded, 114s

all Jesus has commanded. 117s

So these are the men that Jesus chose to lead the church 120s

after His ascension and to begin the mission 125s

of the church here on earth. 129s

Simon Peter, as we already studied, 132s

he was the lead apostle, the head of the apostles. 135s

He was impulsive, he was passionate, 140s

he was a follower of Jesus who both denied knowing Christ, 143s

and yet followed Him as He was taken away 148s

close enough to make eye contact with Him 152s

as He was being beaten. 155s

Andrew, Peter's brother, we studied last week, 158s

he was also in this inner circle of the inner circle. 161s

We didn't get a lot about him. 167s

He's kind of a background player, but so essential. 171s

And one of the interesting things we talked about last week 174s

was how he was very intent on 177s

introducing people to Jesus. 184s

When he met Jesus, first thing he did 186s

was grab his brother, Simon Peter, 188s

and introduce him to Jesus. 191s

As he was dying, he was making sure that people, 193s

as he was dying, he would say, turn to Jesus, turn to Jesus. 197s

He was constantly trying to make sure people knew Jesus. 200s

Both Peter and Andrew were crucified. 207s

Peter, tradition says, was crucified upside down 210s

because he requested that because he didn't think 214s

he was worthy to die in the same way as Jesus. 218s

And Andrew was lashed or tied onto the cross 223s

instead of nailed because it prolonged his suffering 228s

and the governor who ordered his crucifixion 230s

was not happy with him and wanted him to suffer longer. 234s

So those are the first two that we have in our inner circle, 240s

the brothers. 245s

Well, we have a second set of brothers in the apostles, 245s

James and John, and we're turning that to them today. 249s

They were also fishermen in Kaepernam. 253s

They were probably a more prominent household 258s

than that of Peter and Andrew. 261s

And we know this because when they are introduced in scripture, 265s

when we read about them, it's followed by, you know, 270s

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, 273s

or James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. 276s

And so the fact that the sons of Zebedee is put out, 279s

their Zebedee would have been, well, no, 283s

that was given as a descriptor. 286s

So people reading these gospels would know exactly who that was. 288s

James is the elder of the two brothers. 296s

So John is the younger brother and we know this 300s

because James is every single time introduced first. 303s

We always hear of James and John. 307s

James and John. 310s

Very well could have been that James should have been 313s

the leader instead of Peter because James was older than John. 319s

And James and John came from a more prominent family. 326s

So an argument could be made that James should have been 330s

the leader of the apostles, 334s

but Peter was named leader of the apostles. 338s

James, then another argument could be made 342s

that James would be the second in leadership to Peter. 345s

His name comes directly after Peter's in Acts. 351s

We know that he was also present at key moments 357s

in Jesus' ministry. 364s

He was there at the raising of Gyrrace's daughter. 366s

He was there at the transfiguration. 370s

He was praying in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus, 372s

or he was with, I guess, Peter and John, 377s

when Jesus had called them to pray with him, 380s

but they fell asleep. 382s

We don't know a lot about James. 384s

He's usually lumped in with his brother, John. 389s

But we do know that both he and John were big 394s

and that does not mean big like Burley. 398s

They may have been, but it means big with personality. 400s

They were very aggressive, very brash, very forward 405s

and did not back down and were not shy. 409s

When we think of other or similar people in Scripture, 413s

John the Baptist would have been one of these people, 419s

just fiery, a fiery preacher. 422s

So there's no fear for James or John of dishing it out. 426s

They have no problem with calling people out 431s

and just putting it all out there. 434s

In Mark, the third chapter, when we get introduced 438s

to the apostles, it says, 443s

James, son of Zebedee and John, the brother of James, 445s

to whom he, that is Jesus, to whom he gave the name 448s

Boanergies, that is, sons of thunder. 452s

So this is the only place that this nickname in Mark 456s

is the only place we get this nickname 460s

and we don't know how often Jesus uses this nickname 462s

for them, but the fact that it is in there, 466s

that it is specifically saying, 469s

this is who he called, sons of thunder, 471s

it means that it was something that he called them. 474s

It was a nickname that he had given to them. 477s

And it's a nickname of this, this, you know, 481s

sons of thunder, you think of thunder 484s

and it's big, it's loud, it's aggressive. 485s

And this is how we see James and John. 489s

And we see this in the gospel of Luke, 494s

we're gonna see how this fireiness 498s

and I guess that's kind of a pun, you'll see why, 500s

but comes out. 503s

So if we go to Luke, the ninth chapter, 504s

the gospel of Luke is the third gospel. 507s

Oh, I am way past it, okay. 510s

So Luke chapter nine, 513s

where they are going, the transfiguration has happened. 520s

Jesus has turned his attention toward Jerusalem 527s

and it says in verse 51, it says, 531s

when the days drew near for him to be taken up, 534s

he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 536s

So Jesus had his mission, he knew what he was doing, 539s

he was set to go. 542s

And he sent messengers ahead of him. 544s

On their way, they entered a village 547s

of the Samaritans to make ready for him, 549s

but they did not receive him. 552s

This is the Samaritans did not receive him 553s

because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 555s

When his disciples, James and John saw it, 558s

they said, Lord, do you want us to command fire 561s

to come down from heaven and consume them? 564s

Now some texts add like Elijah did 567s

and I'll explain that in a second, 570s

but Jesus turned and rebuked them, 572s

then they went on to another village. 575s

So they have not been welcomed into this Samaritan village. 577s

And James and John's first response is, 582s

do you want us to call down fire? 585s

Do you want us to take out this town, this village? 586s

Now, to have some backstory, in second kings, 591s

there is a king, not a good king who was injured, 596s

he had fallen through the lattice, he was injured, 601s

and he wanted to get a word from a Suhtsayer, 604s

which was directly prohibited by Jewish law 608s

because he would be accessing a false god. 613s

And the false god he was accessing was beelzable, 618s

which actually means Lord of the Flies. 622s

So, and that's just a little aside to the aside. 626s

So Elijah, as these messengers were going to meet 630s

with the Suhtsayer, Elijah was divinely instructed 635s

to go and meet these messengers, 641s

and he gave them a word that the king would die. 645s

And so they took that back to the king 649s

and the king did not like that, 652s

and he asked who gave this to you 654s

and they described this hairy man, 656s

and he says, that's Elijah, that's Elijah the Tishpite, 658s

and he gets very angry, 661s

and he is ready to have Elijah killed. 663s

So, and this is in second kings, 667s

it says that the king sent to him to Elijah 670s

a captain of 50 with his 50 men. 673s

So he sends a small army to go and get Elijah. 676s

He went up to Elijah who was sitting on the top of a hill 681s

and said to him, oh man of God, 684s

the king says, come down. 687s

But Elijah answered the captain of 50, 689s

if I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven 692s

and consume you and your 50, 695s

then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his 50. 698s

Again, the king sent to him another captain of 50 with his 50. 702s

He went up and said to him, oh man of God, 707s

this is the king's order, come down quickly. 710s

But Elijah answered them, if I am a man of God, 714s

let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50, 718s

then the fire of God came down from heaven 723s

and consumed him and his 50. 726s

So this is what James and John are referring to 729s

when they are not welcomed in this Samaritan village, 733s

they say, do you want us to rain down fire? 737s

They have that fiery personality that just ready to jump 740s

into action and smite. 746s

Thank God they were not God because everything 748s

would be smited or smoted. 751s

So we also see an aggressive nature coming out 754s

in both James and John when they are lobbying 759s

to be in high positions in God, 764s

or in Jesus' kingdom, where they are lobbying 769s

for those high seats, one at the right, one at the left. 772s

And in Matthew's telling of this, 775s

we see that James and John enlisted their mother 779s

to lobby on their behalf. 783s

So they are really wanting these places of honor 787s

and they are not shy about going after them. 791s

Either way, whether it was their mother or them, 796s

they are very confident in this asking. 801s

They are very confident in that they deserve 806s

to be in these places of honor. 810s

So now let's narrow it down to James, just a little bit here. 814s

So James was seeking this crown of glory, 818s

but he received a cup of suffering. 823s

And remember when they were seeking these places of honor, 827s

Jesus said, you don't know what you're asking. 831s

You don't know what you're asking, 836s

but you will receive the cup that I received. 838s

You will suffer. 843s

And that's exactly what happened with James. 844s

James was the first apostle to be martyred. 847s

I wanna take a moment here to remind you, 854s

yes, Judas of Ascariot died. 857s

He was not martyred. 862s

So James is the first apostle martyred, 865s

about 14 years after serving under Jesus 870s

in his earthly ministry, James was killed. 873s

If we go to the book of Acts, the 12th chapter, 877s

and we're gonna look at the first three verses. 889s

So Acts, chapter 12, verses one through three. 892s

About that time, King Herod laid violent hands 897s

upon some who belonged to the church. 900s

He had James, the brother of John, killed with a sword. 903s

After he saw that it pleased the Jews, 907s

he proceeded to arrest Peter also. 909s

This was during the festival of unleavened bread. 913s

So James martyrdom is the only one of the apostles. 917s

We know that Stephen was martyred, 923s

but he was not an apostle of the apostles. 924s

James is his martyr, 927s

martyreddom is the only one recorded in scripture. 930s

We know from these verses that he was killed with the sword, 934s

that means beheaded, under the order of Herod. 938s

Herod, Agrippa, the first, not Herod, Antipas. 945s

Herod, Antipas was the one who had John the Baptist beheaded. 950s

He was the one who brought charges against Jesus. 956s

So this is Herod Agrippa, the first. 960s

It's very possible and very probable 964s

that Herod was seeking power and authority, 967s

that he was going after the church, 972s

that he was heavy-handed with the church 976s

because it was serving his authority somehow 979s

or serving his power somehow. 983s

We see in that third verse that when he had James killed, 986s

that it pleased the Jews. 991s

And when he saw, oh, okay, so I have some leadership here, 993s

I'm gonna go ahead and arrest Peter also. 997s

We see that his intent is very self-serving, 1000s

very self-seeking. 1003s

We don't know what James had done or said. 1006s

To displease Herod. 1013s

But we know that if Herod had taken note of James, 1017s

then James had said or done something, 1022s

something to draw attention. 1024s

And remember, James being one of the sons of Thunder 1026s

with that fiery, aggressive personality, 1030s

he would have gone out not minding, 1033s

just putting it out there, not minding, 1038s

dishing it out, not minding, telling the full truth. 1040s

James would not have all of a sudden become gentle 1043s

and timid after Christ's death. 1047s

We, you know, he would have been himself. 1049s

So Herod has taken notice, taken notice enough 1053s

to have him killed. 1058s

So we see that James' fiery disposition 1061s

really didn't cease after Christ died, 1066s

but really it was put to good use 1071s

through the spread of the church, 1074s

or it was put to good use, which attributed 1076s

to the spread of the church. 1078s

When I think of a fiery preacher, 1084s

I kinda go, I don't know, I don't know about that, 1088s

because there are some fiery preachers 1093s

that are just scary. 1095s

And there are some fiery preachers that go a bit wonky, 1098s

so that definitely raises some red flags for me. 1101s

But James as a fiery preacher, James as this 1106s

aggressive personality, he had a very important purpose 1112s

in the church, and he didn't back down. 1116s

And we need, in the church, we need strong voices, 1121s

who aren't frightened to speak the fullness of God's word, 1126s

even if it's uncomfortable, even if people in high authority 1133s

don't like it, we need strong voices, 1138s

which that puts a lot of us out of our comfort zone 1145s

to be a strong voice. 1148s

And I think that there is some grace to be had 1150s

with having a strong voice does not mean 1153s

you have to be a fiery preacher, just saying, 1156s

or a fiery witness. 1161s

But we do need to have strong voices stand up for the faith. 1163s

That is how we continue to put out and put forth 1167s

the truth of God's word, both the full law and the full gospel. 1171s

So now we're gonna switch to the other, 1176s

or focus in on the other son of thunder, 1178s

and which is very funny because we know John very differently 1182s

or we think of John very differently 1188s

than this fiery personality. 1190s

One word really seems to some up John's ministry 1193s

after Jesus' death and resurrection. 1199s

Love, love, when we think of the Apostle John, 1202s

we think of love. 1206s

After Luke and Paul, John has the most writings 1208s

in the New Testament. 1212s

He wrote the gospel of John. 1214s

He wrote the first, second, and third letters of John, 1216s

and he wrote the book of Revelation. 1220s

John was also part of that inner circle of the Apostles. 1225s

He was the little brother to James, 1229s

and we read in the book of Acts in those first 12 chapters, 1231s

he accompanied Peter, or was Peter's companion, 1235s

a lot in the early church mission. 1240s

John outlived all of the other Apostles, 1243s

which gives him a very unique role within the Apostles, 1249s

but also within the church and the founding 1255s

of the early church. 1258s

He had a lot of time in the development of that early church. 1260s

Medieval art often portrays John as this meek and mild 1267s

kind of wimpy man, you know, 1272s

that just kind of gazes at Jesus, 1277s

and he's just kind of this meek guy. 1280s

John was a fisherman. 1284s

That was not a job for a meek or weak person. 1286s

He would have been a very tough, strong man, 1293s

and because it's not a meek or a mild trade or business. 1298s

And the case is made that John, 1303s

I mean, he is nicknamed as part of the sons of thunder, 1306s

so a case has to be made that he shares a lot 1310s

of that same personality as James. 1314s

I mean, think about even if you have a brother or a sister 1317s

that is so different from you, 1320s

you still share a good bit in common. 1322s

There is still, I mean, you're made of the same DNA, 1326s

so you still have some similar traits. 1330s

And so John would have been joined in with that nickname 1334s

for a reason. 1339s

From scripture, we can ascertain that John was very similar 1341s

in personality because they're mentioned together, 1345s

over and over and over again. 1349s

We read James and John. 1351s

James and John. 1353s

James and John. 1354s

And John was part of that duo. 1356s

Remember we read in Luke 9, 1360s

he was part of the duo that was ready to command fire 1362s

to rain down on the Samaritan village and consume them. 1366s

So we know that he also has this very 1370s

big, aggressive, forward personality. 1377s

He also wanted a seat of high honor in Jesus' kingdom. 1381s

It wasn't just James seeking these things. 1388s

It wasn't just James who was out there and pushing forward, 1391s

but John is brought together with him. 1395s

John, if we go to the gospel of Mark, 1400s

which we are in the ninth chapter for this, 1403s

chapter nine, gospel of Mark chapter nine, verse 38. 1410s

So John comes to Jesus and says, 1417s

teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name 1421s

and we tried to stop him because he was not following us. 1425s

So John is very direct in saying that we're trying to stop 1428s

anyone who isn't completely with us. 1435s

And Jesus says he is casting out demons in my name, 1438s

don't stop him. 1443s

He was aggressive in making sure that if someone 1447s

were doing something in Jesus' name, 1453s

they'd better be right there with them, right? 1455s

He didn't mind rebuking someone for casting out a demon. 1458s

And this aggressive personality that we know, John shares with James 1464s

throughout the decades, we see it transformed 1470s

and we come to realize or come to know him as the apostle of love. 1473s

His brashness, his brashness wasn't a deterrent 1483s

for what he would do in the church or being chosen by Christ. 1489s

Think about if we go to John the 19th chapter, 1496s

go to the gospel of John the 19th chapter. 1500s

Jesus trusted John enough to care for Mary. 1510s

So when the 19th chapter, if you go to verse 26, 1517s

we read, when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved 1521s

standing beside her, this is when Jesus is on the cross, 1526s

he is hanging there, he sees his mother standing there, 1530s

he sees John next to her, he said to his mother, 1534s

woman, here is your son, then he said to the disciple, 1539s

here is your mother, and from that hour the disciple took her 1542s

into his own home. 1547s

So John, a son of thunder, was asked to care 1550s

for Mary by Christ himself. 1560s

His brashness was not a deterrent for who he was in Christ. 1566s

John MacArthur pointed out that John is actually a wonderful example 1578s

of what should happen to all of us as we grow in Christ, 1581s

that under the control of the Holy Spirit, 1586s

this brash young disciple is molded into a loving and steadfast 1589s

mature father of the church. 1594s

God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. 1599s

And this is exactly what we see in the weakness of John's 1604s

brashness in the weakness of his immature personality. 1610s

God is made strong. 1616s

The boldness of John, God used to testify and to stand firm 1620s

in the truth of the gospel. 1626s

When we read John's writings, we read these very direct, 1630s

point blank, black and white sort of things that there is 1635s

light, there is darkness. 1639s

There is sin, there is righteousness. 1642s

If you are walking in the light, the true light of Christ, 1647s

you are a believer. 1652s

If you are walking in the darkness, the way of the world 1655s

and sin, God is not in you. 1659s

He has these very point blank, this is what it is. 1663s

He doesn't shy away from laying it all out. 1667s

He doesn't mind putting it all out there. 1673s

He says that part of walking in the light of Christ is to walk in love. 1677s

And he emphasizes love greatly. 1682s

Think of how often he calls Jesus saying, 1685s

lay down your life, right, or I lay down my life. 1690s

And John says, we lay down our life for those whom we love, 1693s

a great example of walking in the light of Christ 1697s

is walking in the light of love or walking in love, 1703s

is in his first letter where he wrote, 1706s

whoever loves a brother or sister lives in the light 1710s

and in such a person there is no cause for stumbling. 1714s

So he was so intent on God's love and for us as Christians 1718s

or believers to bring that love into everything. 1725s

And so as he would admonish or as he would bring an argument 1731s

up against heretics, he fought a lot of heresy in his day. 1738s

He didn't back off of the importance of love. 1746s

So he didn't back down from speaking the full truth 1749s

and having that firm voice. 1753s

But he also, as he matured, as the Holy Spirit transformed him, 1756s

worked on him, the Holy Spirit taught John how to use that directness 1762s

and to use that strong voice in love and with love. 1769s

John was not martyred, but he suffered. 1776s

He still had a cup of suffering from which he drank. 1780s

First he watched his great friend, Jesus Christ, die, crucified. 1787s

Then after being given the charge to go making disciples 1794s

of all nations, he lost his brother, James. 1798s

And one by one, this brotherhood of the apostles were killed. 1803s

And he was left as the soul, apostle. 1814s

And there is a certain suffering or loneliness that would come with that. 1819s

He experienced earthly persecution and suffering. 1831s

The early church history records that he was the pastor 1834s

of the church and Ephesus. 1839s

So Paul writes to the Ephesians, the church and Ephesus, 1841s

Paul planted that church. 1845s

John, early church history tells us that John was the pastor 1847s

of that church that Paul had planted. 1852s

Under the Roman emperor, Domitian, John was banished to a prison community on Patmos, 1856s

which was an island off of the west coast of Turkey. 1863s

And there he lived in a cave under dire straits, under deprivation. 1868s

He didn't have anything. 1876s

And that is where he received the vision of the book of Revelation. 1878s

That is where he wrote and received that revelation from God. 1884s

He lived until approximately 98 AD. 1890s

So he lived a long life, very long life. 1896s

And Jerome had said the apostle was so frail in his final days that he had to be carried into the church. 1901s

I think about as we age, how vital church is at every age of our lives. 1909s

And as we age, we won't be able to drive. 1922s

And to have someone in our church family drive us to be with our worshiping community, 1928s

to visit, to call. 1936s

It's a testament to the family of faith that we are called into. 1938s

And so John, this frail, weak old man, is carried into church. 1944s

He doesn't give up worship. 1952s

He doesn't give up being amongst his people. 1954s

He finds a way. They find a way to bring him. 1958s

And it's said that he repeated over and over and over again, 1960s

my little children love one another. 1965s

And it's not far fetched to believe that that was constantly on his lips. 1968s

If you read his letters over and over, he says, my children, my children, my little children love one another, love one another. 1973s

John, well hold on, I'll come back to that. 1983s

So when he was asked why he said this, why that phrase, my children, my little children love one another, 1986s

why it was constantly on his lips. 1993s

He said, because it is the Lord's command. 1995s

And if this alone be done, it is enough. 1999s

And if we think about love, pure love, the love of God, 2006s

and the love that God can give to us for others. 2014s

If we treat one another, and if we love our brothers and sisters with the love of God, 2019s

there is no better picture. 2028s

That is true love. That is true community. 2031s

That is true fellowship when we love our brothers and sisters as the Lord commanded us to. 2035s

Now, a little aside, when you read John, it seems like he repeats himself a lot. 2042s

He does. He does. 2050s

John writes in kind of this spiral sort of way, which when we study the New Testament in the Academy, 2053s

we'll talk about this, but he will say something, and then he'll re-say it, adding more to it. 2062s

And then he goes back, and he adds more to it. 2070s

And so that is where when you're reading John, and you feel like, 2073s

okay, I think I just read this, you have. 2077s

You have, but he's adding something to it. 2080s

It's not a word wasted. 2083s

So, some final thoughts on these sons of thunder. 2087s

They're very important and very key in the church history, 2093s

and as a part of the church witness, because we see this passion from them, 2098s

we see this forwardness that they had, we see that they were fearless in what they brought to the table. 2104s

They were fearless after Christ's ascension in continuing to speak the truth, 2115s

whether it was uncomfortable or not, they did it. 2122s

They went forth with it. 2125s

James was not given that same lengthy opportunity to refine or hone in on how to use the boldness, 2128s

as his brother was. 2137s

But without a bold witness, doesn't the church crumble? 2140s

If we don't bring a bold witness, if we don't speak the fullness of God's truth, 2148s

both law and gospel, the church crumbles, and we're not left with what the church is built upon. 2157s

So, it's very, very important to keep ourselves in that mindset and in God's word, 2168s

that we can not only bring a bold witness, because we may have a bold personality, 2178s

but that we can bring a bold witness that is brought directly out of God's word. 2183s

Peter, Andrew James, and John, they were all so different, all so very flawed, very ordinary, 2191s

and all so passionate about their role, their call as fishermen. 2205s

And remember, these are the four that when Jesus calls them, 2213s

he says, I will make you fishers of men. 2217s

I will make you fishers of men, and they were so passionate about that role and about that call upon their lives. 2223s

So, we don't look to these apostles as perfect in the faith because they were not perfect, 2235s

but in each and every one of these lives, we can see how they were transformed, 2243s

and how they brought an amazing witness to and for the church because of the perfector of our faith. 2251s