Talk of JESUS . com

Tag: james

Reintroducing John – a Biography and Background
Biography of a Man

I wrestle with my own autobiography, let alone writing about the ancestry of such an important man of God as John.

We struggle to understand anyone once we read such titles or relational roles of JESUS or any of the Lord’s Apostles.

For instance, who do you see when I refer to:
- ‘Jesus’ DISCIPLE John’ or
- ‘John, one the the TWELVE‘, or
- even including John with Peter and his older brother James as one of just three disciples in JESUS’ inner circle?
```
And that only covers three years of John's life during Jesus' incarnation, overlooking John's earlier time as a disciple of John the Baptist. 
```
Call him: SAINT John or John the Elder — give John reverence for receiving the very word of God in the Gospel — look at this man in awe, who later on Patmos was given the Revelation of Jesus Christ as an Elder of the first century Church.

But when all is said (or even little) about John, he was just a man like us, a man chosen by JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God.

Picturing John accurately – Painting a True Portrait

I have searched endlessly for a painting of the Apostle John more truly representing the one Jesus loved at various important times in his long life.

Of course we have no photo or ‘selfie’ of John from any time.
Some renaissance depictions (often commissioned by the Roman Catholic Church) depict a very young John (even holding a cup of communion) making him appear similar to a French altar boy.

The Apostle John
Peter Paul Rubens, 1610-12 A.D.
Jesus’ description of James and John as, ‘sons of thunder’ suggests two tough Galilean fisherman, tenaciously seeking the Messiah of captive Israel — two disciples of an Elijah-like prophet John the Baptist, who instructed these sons of thunder in the Judean wilderness.

The young Apostle John, who accompanied Peter to preach in the Temple just after Christ’s ascension, certainly was not so silent as to be overlooked by powerful Jewish leaders, who included this young Disciple ofJesus with Peter in their summons to defend their public witness (or rather be silent about Jesus).

Both Apostles would be imprisoned for the Gospel and then released by an angel to once again proclaim Jesus as the Messiah to the Jews and the all the world.
```
IF YOU can suggest any painting or art which paints a true picture of JOHN at any stage of his life, how about letting us know in a COMMENT following this post. - RH 
```
So in order to get a better picture of John, let’s look back at a few brief biographical facts mixed in with some scholarly speculation, hoping to see into the heart and life of ‘the one Jesus loved.’

Family and Ancestry

John grew up in a small village (as it happened I did too). Everybody typically knows everyone (and much of everyone’s business). Family, of course, was important to the Jews as our families tend to identify ‘who we are’ to our own neighbors.

When I was a young man my dad was a volunteer fireman and one of the older firemen always addressed me as, “Chief.” Our family name was attached to the business of Dad and his brother. John was in business with his brother James, both known to all as the sons of Zebedee, head of his family fishing business.

Ancestry and Connection of Names

‘Chief,’ immediately connected me to my dad, our volunteer fire chief and to his father whose name identified Dad’s family business.

Certainly John’s vocation, faith and identity were rooted in his upbringing and like me, growing up as John the Son of Zebedee would identify Jesus’ Disciple into his early manhood.

In fact, the younger of Zebedee’s sons probably felt more like ‘the brother of James , son of Zebedee;’ similar to an earlier unnoticed, Son of Jesse not even introduced to an important man such as Samuel.

About Zebedee:
```
Let's connect these family names: 
```
- Ζεβεδαῖος – Zebedee
  - From זֶבֶד (H2065) – endowment (or my gift)
- Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου – James (son of Zebedee)
  - The same as Ἰακώβ (G2384), Jacob (meaning ‘supplanter’)
- Ἰωάννης
  - pronounced: ee-o-an’-nace {original Greek doesn’t really sound at all like, “John,” in English}
  - from Hebrew: יוֹחָנָן Yôwchânân, yo-khaw-nawn’; a form of H3076; Jochanan, the name of nine Israelites:—Johanan.
  - John = “Jehovah is a gracious giver”
    
    Same name as John son of Zacharias, ‘the Baptist’
    
    root meaning: “Jehovah has graced”
Source: Strong’s Concordance / BlueLetterBible.org

Later we’ll connect some other Biblical names, but first let’s learn more about the fisherman father of James and John.

the ‘Sea of Galilee’

The Sea of Galilee provided a livelihood for many families, and fishing was a respected trade. Zebedee’s ability to employ hired men suggests a level of affluence and stability, which may have afforded his sons the opportunity to leave and follow Jesus without jeopardizing the family’s welfare.

source: Biblehub.com

Sometimes landmarks in the Bible can be as confusing as names, because in context over time the names change.

Let’s zoom in on the home and livelihood of Zebedee —

(James and John, Andrew and Simon, hired servants – local carpenters, boat builders, sail and tent makers, and more).

Many families lived just north of Galilee’s most important body of water where the Jordan River flowed down from inland hills.

Note some names of the inland body of water on our map.
- ‘The sea of Chinnereth,’ Numbers 34:11,
- ‘The sea of Genesar’
- ‘The sea of Tiberiah.’
  - Source: BibleHub.com
Herod Antipas, wanting to make a big name for himself, named this body of water the “Sea of Tiberius” after the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar.

Once it was renamed, it was considered treason against Caesar for a Roman citizen to call the lake anything else.

Non-Romans, however, were not held to that standard. Because the Jews hated Rome and their occupation of Israel they were not in any hurry to call their lake the Sea of Tiberius. So they continued calling the lake by the name most familiar to them and already widely accepted among the people who lived in the region of Galilee:

“The Sea of Galilee.”

source: NTBCStafford.org

Rome controlled the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and inland commerce. The strategic importance of the Sea of Galilee held military importance, perhaps even more than Jerusalem.

Although sudden storms from winds sweeping down upon the sea could make it dangerous even for seasoned fishermen, in fact two other names more accurately described it:
- Genezareth or Kineret Lake
The lake has a surface area of 64 square miles .. Extending 13 miles (21 km) from north to south and 7 miles (11 km) from east to west, it is pear-shaped. Its surface elevation was long given as 686 feet (209 metres) below sea level..

Source: Britannica
```
The Sea of Galilee is a FRESH WATER LAKE, the largest in Israel, fed by the Jordan River and undground springs, with its surface ~700 feet below sea level making it the lowest fresh water lake on earth. From this important lake the lower Jordan flows south into the lowest body of water on earth - the Dead Sea. 
```
Successful fishing businesses such as Zebedee’s were vital to the Roman army, even Jerusalem in the hills above the Jordan, as well as locally in villages of the rural Galilean hills.

James and John Sons of Zebedee

When John followed his older brother James to become a disciple of John the Baptist it seems not to have affected the larger merchant enterprise of their father’s fishing business. They may have even traveled to Jerusalem previously with their father to deliver and sell fish to some of Jerusalem’s ruling families.

Zebedee employed servants in his fishing enterprise and likely worked with other fishing families. Capernaum and Bethsaida are situated strategically (for fishing) less than three miles apart on the north shore of the lake.

Sons and servants of other fishing enterprises, such as that of Jonah (also: Jonas or John), father of Andrew, who also had followed John the Baptist before becoming Jesus’ first Disciple, certainly all knew each other (as those in small towns tend to do).

Sons of Salome

Zebedee was married to Salome, who is believed to have been a follower of Jesus and possibly one of the women who supported His ministry.

Source: BibleHub.com

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark mention Salome’s presence along with others at the Cross of Jesus.

Some commentators speculate that Salome may have been the sister of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Therefore the soldiers did these things.
But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

Gospel of John 19:25 LSB

It would be consist with the Apostle’s humility of not mention his own name in his Gospel for John to not mention his own mother by name.

The Gospels reveal further evidence that Salome (wife of Zebedee) accompanied her sons.

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Him with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him.

And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.”

Gospel of Matthew 20:20-21 LSB

John’s early days

He was possibly born around 6 A.D. in the city of Bethsaida.

If this is true, he would have been about twenty years old when he and Jesus met for the first time in late 26 A.D. .. What few realize is that Salome and Jesus’ mother Mary were likely sisters.

“This means that Christ and John were first cousins as far as legal matters were concerned among the Jewish people” (Restoring the Original Bible, pg. 313).

John’s possible bloodline relationship to Jesus also means that he and is older brother James the Greater (Matthew 4:21) were full cousins to the Lord’s half-brothers James and Jude. Both James and Jude wrote New Testament books and were leaders in the early New Testament church (see Acts 1:14, 15:13).

source: BibleStudy.org

John in his 20’s and 30’s

Everything we read in the Gospels about John, beloved Disciple of Jesus, takes place when John is in his early twenties. Most of what we witness about John from Acts of the Apostles takes place when the Apostle is still in his late twenties or thirties.
```
NEXT - We will observe Jesus' young Disciple John from the witness of all four Gospel writers, followed by observations of an Apostle sent out by the risen Christ in ACTS of the Apostles. 
```
March 19, 2026
2 Timothy 3 Danger Within during Difficult Times
χαλεπός – chalepos –
- perhaps from G5465 through the idea of reducing the strength; difficult, i.e. dangerous, or (by implication) furious:—fierce, perilous.
But Mark This:

The Apostle Paul continues in his second epistle to pastors, beginning a central section we label, 2 TIMOTHY 3, with a reminder of danger announced in the NIV, “But mark this: ..”

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.

2 Timothy 3:1 NIV

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times.

2 Tim 3:1 NLT

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 Tim 3:1 KJV

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress.

2 Tim 3:1 RSV

The great enemy of God is not Nation or Ruler who turns upon God’s people from without, but the strong-speaking leader weakening the Lord’s elect from within.

Roger@TalkofJesus.com

Last Days and Difficult Times
```
The last days — eschatos hēmera, difficult times — chalepos kairos... 
```
We will not speculate (as do so many) when these last days were, are or will be. The emphasis of Paul’s added reminder is NOT the last days, but his long list of evidences found in the unfaithful, whether in the first century, the time of Moses or in the 21st century of this Common Era.

Further HEADINGS of this from various Bibles:
- A warning of what to expect – J.B. Phillips New Testament
- Godlessness in the Last Days – ESV
- The Tasks of a Man of God – New Catholic Bible
  - Repulse the Onslaughts of False Teachers – [sub-heading] NCB
AND in verse 2, Paul immediately gets to his long list of characteristics (or perhaps I should say, lack of character) against which the Apostle warns.

3:2 ἔσονται γὰρ οἱ ἄνθρωποι

For men [anthrōpos – lit. human beings, whether male or female] shall be…

2 Timothy 3:2 gar anthrōpos esomai – For men shall be

Familiar (yet Infrequent) Warnings to the Church

first, from their Greek words and the King James English translation,
1. philautos – lovers of their own selves
2. philargyros – covetous
3. alazōn – boasters
4. hyperēphanos – proud
5. blasphēmos – blasphemers
6. apeithēs goneus – disobedient to parents
7. acharistos – unthankful
8. anosios – unholy
9. astorgos – Without natural affection
10. aspondos – trucebreakers
11. diabolos – false accusers
12. akratēs – incontinent
13. anēmeros – fierce
14. aphilagathos – despisers of those that are good
15. prodotēs – traitors
16. propetēs – heady
17. typhoō – highminded
18. philēdonos mallon – lovers of pleasures more
19. ē philotheos – than lovers of God;
echō morphōsis eusebeia – Having a form of godliness,

de arneomai ho dynamis autos – but denying the power thereof:

2 Timothy 3:2-4,5a Transliterated – KJV – source BLB.org
```
Paul urges Timothy not to accept soft faith threating the church like a ship in a storm.
```
kai toutous apotrepō – from such turn away.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

A warning of what to expect

secondly, J.B. Phillips taking these oft-forgotten concepts directed into our more familiar English.

But you must realise that in the last days the times will be full of danger. Men will become

utterly self-centred, greedy for money, full of big words.

They will be proud and contemptuous,

without any regard for what their parents taught them.

They will be utterly lacking in gratitude, purity and normal human affections.

They will be men of unscrupulous speech and have no control of themselves.

They will be passionate and unprincipled, treacherous, self-willed and conceited, loving all the time what gives them pleasure instead of loving God.

They will maintain a facade of “religion”, but their conduct will deny its validity.

You must keep clear of people like this.

J.B. Phillips New Testament

Some English Synonyms and Scriptural Reminders

Considering a few descriptive adjectives:

Honestly, who doesn’t have some love of himself [philautos].. or love of money [philargyros] to pay our creditors?

But do you love me, Jesus asks a disciple?

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers G5366 of G5366 money G5366, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him [Jesus}.

Gospel of Luke 16;14
```
You likely know the Old Testament command using this same word, covetous:
```
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

Exodus 20:17 KJV
```
[hyperēphanos alazōn] Proud boasters WE know, not only in politics and business but in our own church. 
```
God resisteth the proud, G5244 but giveth grace unto the humble.

Epistle of James 4:6

Blasphemers

Blasphemy is an even more serious offense, much neglected in this Common Era.
- scurrilous
  - once commonly descriptive of those known for vulgar, coarse, or abusive language, especially of a malicious or slanderous nature
- or (specially) impious (against God)
But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

Gospel of Mark 3:29 KJV – a warning of Jesus

Disobedient to Parents
```
Doesn't seem so serious, does it? 
```
5:16 כַּבֵּד אֶת־אָבִיךָ וְאֶת־אִמֶּךָ

Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee

Deuteronomy 5:16a,b – Masoretic text, KJV

Commandment of the LORD and the Law of Israel.

If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: .. lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city,.. And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice.. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 excerpt KJV

Unthankful, Unholy, ‘Unaffectionate’.. unChristian?

Every believer associates with christians who do NOT imitate Christ.
- Are YOU one of them at times?
- Do you lack affection or appear unholy to others?
Other hints of false teachers:
```
We cannot cover the entire list.
```
Incontinent.
- powerless, i.e. without self-control:—incontinent.
- Lacking sexual restraint; unchaste.
```
Such sins (though known, even obvious to church leaders) remain veiled to the saints, until sudden revelation unveils that their witness for Christ always fell short of the Way and the Truth of JESUS. 
```
Trucebreakers and Traitors.

These christians want to do ‘their own thing’ without public vow, or covenant.

AND they will not be convinced to refrain from such worldly things that malign Christ.

Judas wanted to follow Jesus his own way as long as the Lord led him as a conquering King of Israel.
- We can use that money for better things.
- Why should You sacrifice your Life for sinners?
```
Do these descriptions point to some Judas influencing ideas behind a world-like vision of your church?
```
διάβολος – diabolos

When you hear, ‘FALSE ACCUSERS’ on Paul’s list, you may not consider the weight of the Apostle’s adjective.

Recognize the ‘accuser of the brethren’ — diabolos.

[Simon Peter responds] And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? G1228

Gospel of John 6:69-70 KJV

Avoid such people!

YES, they may be prominent members, even Elders, leaders, priests or pastors in Christ’s church where you worship.

They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.

2 Timothy 3:5 New English Translation

a Warning to single moms!
```
No, you won't find that HEADING for 2 Timothy 3:6-7 in your Bible because the very concept is false teaching of a social gospel. 
```
This danger to a first century Ephesian or Corinthian saint we might label: ‘a Warning to our Widows.’

For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,

always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Timothy 3:6-7 NKJV
```
Those first century saints were vulnerable socially and economically moreso than 21st c. women who lead their husbands, initiate divorce amd refuse to be bound by vows of marriage. 
```
Paul’s point: whether the man or woman claiming Christ, the danger is lusts.

Enemies to the Truth

The Apostle points back to Moses who also faced such opposition, as did Timothy.

John MacArthur in his commentary points out that although Exodus shows no record of Jannes and Jambres, that Paul may know of them from other Jewish writings and traditions.

Because Jannes perhaps means “he who seduces” and Jambres “he who makes rebellion,” those may have been symbolic names given to these men at a later time. Jewish tradition holds that they pretended to convert to Judaism in order to subvert Moses’ divine assignment to liberate Israel from Egypt, that they led in making and worshiping the golden calf while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Law from God, and that they were slaughtered by the Levites along with the other idolaters (see Ex. 32).

New Testament Commentary 2 Timothy, John MacArthur, p.120

The Apostle then assures the Church and Timothy:

But they won’t get away with this for long.

Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.

2 Timothy 3:9 NLT

NEXT: Standing Strong against Apostasy

Talk of JESUS . com

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
January 28, 2026
Finding the Evangelical Freedom of Balaam in our Evangelical Church
.. promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption..

2 Peter 2:19a LSB

Why does the Apostle Peter point to Balaam?
```
Do evangelical pastors of Christ's Church have the freedom to accept all prophesy and every doctrine? 
```
Note the similarities of the growing popularity of Balaam of Pethor, whom Moses introduces in Numbers 22, to the AD first century missionary journeys of Peter, Paul and John.

Moses led the Israelite people from slavery in Egypt by the hand of the Lord God to the land of Canaan.

Balaam is NOT a prophet of God! He travels to new lands to profit from his reputation as a seer. (This is not unlike many false teachers we meet in Acts of the Apostles.)

Balaam is an opportunist FORCED to obey the LORD. But in addition to Balaam’s error (as some call it), the prophet would easily mislead any away from truth and will of the God.

Worshipers of Baal and other gods will follow false prophets to inclusively worship other gods— even in this Common Era.

Balaam’s journey begins in his homeland, which is described as “Pethor, which is by the Euphrates.”

Balaam’s journey to Moab is marked by divine intervention .. highlighting the spiritual battle over Balaam’s intentions and the sovereignty of God over pagan practices.

BibleHub.com

2 Peter 2: False Teachers – Wandering Creatures

These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed.

They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed.

Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done.

They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight.

They are a disgrace and a stain among you.

They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals.

They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.

2 Peter 2:12-14 NLT

They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness,
2 Peter 2:15 CSB

but received a rebuke for his lawlessness:

A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

v.16

The Divine Coercion of Balaam

R.C. Sproel observes:

Only by divine coercion did Balaam obey God, and then he gave four prophesies…

ibid. p.236
```
The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eyes are opened; 
the oracle of one who hears the sayings of God
and has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls into a trance with his eyes uncovered: 

I see him, but not now;

I perceive him, but not near.

A star will come from Jacob,

and a scepter will arise from Israel. 

       - Numbers 24:15-17 excerpt CSB
```
Further study of Numbers in the context of Peter’s witness will reveal how a fourth prophesy of Balaam may interest the church.

Freedom Restrained by Truth

The Apostle of Christ writes this second epistle to the church to instruct us:

We do NOT have the freedom to say whatever we want.

AND, in fact, prophets and teachers of false doctrine will walk among the saints of the Church seeking followers to leave the narrow Way of the Lord.

Peter is not describing pagans here but apostates.

R.C. Sproel – Be All the more Diligent to Make your Calling and Election Sure, p.234

Apostates

In these loose, liberal times of Common Era preaching, I believe it necessary to provide a brief definition of that against Peter warns.

An apostate is an individual who has abandoned or renounced their faith, particularly in the context of Christianity.

The term is derived from the Greek word “apostasia,” which means a defection or revolt.

Apostasy is considered a grave sin in Christian theology, as it involves a deliberate turning away from the truth of the Gospel and the rejection of the salvation offered through Jesus Christ.

BibleHub.com Topical Encyclopedia

Most Common Era christians have never heard of such a great sin of apostasy or do we recognize how false teachers have led us away from Christ to the gods of our imagination.
```
Referring to 2 Peter 2:15-16 Sproul continues: 
```
They know the right way; they have been exposed to the teachings of the Gospel;they know what the truth is—they have heard it proclaimed repeatedly—but they have forsaken it and gone a different way.

R.C. Sproul, ibid. pp 234-35

eleutheria – Freedom and Liberties

Fifteen years earlier [AD 49], at the time of the Council of Jerusalem, James writes in his Epistle:

Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom.

James 2:12 CSB

And in his first epistle to the Church Peter had already written:

Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.

1 Peter 2:16 CSB

AND NOW THE APOSTLE WARNS:

Although these false teachers promise such people freedom, they themselves are enslaved to immorality. For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved.

2 Peter 2:19 New English Translation

And what of Popes and false Prophets?

Whether all creatures in the time of Noah — the entire city of Sodom in which we live — the evangelical landscape of all-inclusive gods — speaking to wavering believers,

Does one walk sandalless in the error of Balaam?

The Apostle Peter warns every saint of the Lord Jesus Christ:

For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome,

the last state has become worse for them than the first.

For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

2 Peter 2:20-21 ESV

Peter is not finished with his warnings against these pernicious preachers yet to come and corrupt the Church. The Apostle of the Son of the One God — speaks through the Holy Spirit of disobedient angels and false prophets as irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed.

AND, of those in the church who listen to false doctrine and are led astray, the Apostle writes:

For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

2 Peter 2:21 RSV
```
Have YOU escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? 
```
NEXT: a Steadfast Purpose and Day of the Lord

Comment on Scripture – Share the Gospel
December 2, 2025