Top 10 Amazing Facts about Saint James the Great

Saint James the Greater photo by Guido Reni-Wikimedia Common 

Top 10  Amazing  Facts  about Saint James the Great

James the great also known as James son of Zebedee, Saint James the Great, Saint James the greater, or saint Jacob was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.

He was also the first apostle to be martyred according to the new testament. James was one of the closest friends of the Lord Jesus Christ.

He and his brother John were known to be “the sons of thunder” for asking Jesus to call fire from heaven to consume a Samaritan village that refused to welcome Jesus. He came from a family of fishermen.

He and his brother were called while cleaning their nets after a long night of fishing in the sea of Galilee.

1. James is Mentioned Three Times in the Gospel

Saint James the Great photo by José Casado del Alisal-Wikimedia Commons

He is first mentioned when Jesus called him and his brother John to be his followers in Jesus’ ministry which was seeking and saving the lost.

He is secondly mentioned when his mother asked that he and his brother John be seated on either side of Jesus.

Jesus told the mother that it is only God who will determine who will seat at the right and left of his throne in heaven.

And finally, he is mentioned when Jesus rebuked him for offering to bring fire upon a Samaritan town that did not welcome them.

2. He was a Fisherman

Saint James the Great photo by Simone Martini-Wikimedia Commons

James was a fisherman from Galilee whom Jesus called to be an apostle. He came from a family whose main economic activity was fishing.

As Jesus walked along the sea of Galilee he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John as they were in a boat with their father mending fishing nets.

He called them and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. James is one of the brothers who followed Jesus after he was called.

3. James was a Doubtful Apostle of Jesus Christ

Saint James the Great photo by José Luiz-Wikimedia Commons

During the three years of Jesus’ ministry, James did not accept Jesus’ messiahship as he doubted him.

John in the bible tells us that none of Christ’s brothers believed in him implying that James did not believe him as well.

This made James and his brothers be skeptical of Jesus’s ministry. At one time James and his brothers criticized  Jesus for not wanting to come out to be seen by the public for they thought Jesus wanted to become a public figure.

4. He was Eventually Converted

Saint James the Great photo by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo-Wikimedia Commons

Although James witnessed Jesus’s character and his ministry, it was clear that he wasn’t yet a convinced believer until after Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.

When Jesus’s brothers gathered with the disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem, Jesus appeared to them.

James after being astonished by Jesus resurrecting a new allegiance came into his heart after years of doubt and disbelief.

This new allegiance created within him deep faith and convicted which enabled him to become a preacher of the gospel.

5. James was a Church Leader

Saint James the Great photo by 18 century icon painter-Wikimedia Commons

After the outpouring of the holy spirit at Pentecost, a church was formed in Jerusalem and it was headed by James.

He presided over the famous Jerusalem council and delivered the ruling that later on was conveyed to the churches with the letter to the gentiles who were coming into Christianity.

The Gentiles were not required to be circumcised or to keep the laws of Moses.

6. His Journey to Spain

James went to Spain after the death of Jesus and his main objective was to preach and spread the word of God.

He started preaching north of Spain a region called Galicia where he was hailed as the patron saint of Galicia.

7. He Helped Christian Armies

He was the military patron of Spain and his mission was to defend the Christian church against invaders after his death.

According to legend during the battle of Clavijo, he suddenly appeared on a milk-white charger waving a loft a white standard leading the Christians to victory.

8. His Death

James took a perilous journey back to Jerusalem to pay his respects to the news of the death of the Virgin Mary and along the way he was captured and executed by beheading under the command of King Herod Agrippa.

Though he died in Jerusalem his remains were brought back to Spain and a church was built above them.

9. His Disciples were Imprisoned

King Herod had James the brother of John killed by the sword and after he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also who he placed in prison where he was guarded by four squads of soldiers intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

However, Peter was rescued by an angel who appeared in the dead of the night and opened the doors of the prison doors. Herold had the guards who were on duty executed.

10. He Witnessed Events that No One Else Saw

James, John, and Peter were invited by Jesus to witness events no one else saw. One of the events was the raising of the daughter of Jairus from the dead.

Raising a person from the dead is an event that no one had seen or heard of before. He was also one of the disciples who witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Olives.  

During the transfiguration, Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke with Jesus. He was also one of the disciples during Jesus’s agony in the garden of Gethsemane.

The Agony in the garden of Gethsemane happened just before Jesus was arrested and later crucified.

In conclusion, James took his time when it came to converting him in the ministry of Christ but all in all, he was converted and he turned out to be of deep faith and he took the ministry of Christ to greater heights during his time.

furthermore, James was not known to make mistakes but when a Samaritan village rejected Jesus, he and his brother John wanted to call down fire from heaven upon the place and by this, they earned the nickname “Boanerges” meaning the “sons of thunder”.

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