Of the first introduction of this apostle to Jesus, it may be
reasonably conjectured, that he formed an acquaintance with him at
the same time with his brother John and the sons of Jonah, as already
commemorated in the former lives, from the brief record in the first
chapter of John’s gospel. After this, he and his brother, as well
as Peter and Andrew, returned quietly to their honest business of
fishing on the lake of Gennesaret, on whose shore, no doubt, was their
home,――perhaps too, in Bethsaida or Capernaum, as their intimacy and
fellowship with the sons of Jonah would seem to imply a vicinity of
residence; though their common occupation might bring them frequently
together in circumstances where friendly assistance was mutually needed;
and the idea of their residence in some other of the numerous villages
along the northern end of the lake, on either side, is not inconsistent
with any circumstance specified in their history. In their occupation
of fishing, they were accompanied by their father Zebedee, who it
seems, was not so far advanced in years as to be unable to aid his sons
in this very laborious and dangerous business; which makes it quite
apparent that James and John being the sons of so active a man, must
themselves have but just attained manhood, at the time when they are
first mentioned. Respecting the character of this brisk old gentleman,
unfortunately very few data indeed are preserved; and the vagueness of
the impression made by his name, though so often repeated in connection
with his sons, may be best conceived by reference to that deeply
enigmatical question, with which grave persons of mature age are
sometimes wont to puzzle the inquisitive minds of young aspirants after
Biblical knowledge, “Who was the father of Zebedee’s children?”――a
query which certainly implies a great deficiency of important facts, on
which the curious learner could found a definite idea of this somewhat
distinguished character. Indeed “the mother of Zebedee’s children”
seems to posses in the minds of most readers of the gospels a much
more prominent place than “the father of them;” for the simple occasion
on which she presents herself to notice, is of such a nature as to
show that she was the parent from whom the sons inherited at least one
prominent trait,――that of high, aspiring ambition, with which, in them
as well as in her, was joined a most decidedly comfortable degree of
self-esteem, that would not allow them to suspect that other people
could be at all behind them in appreciating those talents, which in
their own opinion, and their fond mother’s, showed that they were
“born to command.” Indeed it appears manifest, that there was much
more “thunder” in her composition, than in her husband’s, and it is but
fair to suppose, from the decided way in which she put herself forward
in the family affairs, on at least one important occasion, without
any pretension whatever on his part, to any right of interference or
decision, that she must have been in the habit of having her own way
in most matters;――a peculiar prominence in the domestic administration,
very naturally resulting from the ♦circumstance, that her husband’s
frequent long absences from home must have left the responsibilities
of the family often upon her alone, and he, like a prudent man, on his
return, may have valued domestic quiet above the maintenance of any
very decided supremacy. If the supposition may be adopted, however,
that Zebedee died soon after the call of his sons, the silence of
the sacred record respecting him is easily accounted for, and the
above conclusion as to his domestic management, may be considered
unnecessarily derogatory to his dignity of character.
♦ “cirstance” replaced with “circumstance”
Sprung from such parents, and brought up by them on the shores and
waters of Gennesaret, James had learned the humble business of his
father, and was quietly devoting himself to the labors of a fisherman,
probably never dreaming of an occasion that should ever call forth
his slumbering energies in “thunder,” or hold up before his awakened
ambition, the honors of a name that should outlast the wreck of
kingdoms, and of the brightest glories of that age. But on the morning,
when the sons of Jonah received the high call and commission to become
“fishers of men,” James and his brother too,――at the solemn command,
“Follow me,”――laid down their nets, and left the low labors and
amusements of the fishing, to their father, who toiled on with his
servants, while his sons went forth through Galilee, following him
who had called them to a far higher vocation. No acts whatever are
commemorated, as performed by them in this first pilgrimage; and it
was not until after their return from the north of Galilee, and the
beginning of their journey to Jerusalem, that the occasion arose, when
their striking family trait of ambition was most remarkably brought out.