James, the
brother of John, is the only one of the twelve apostles whose death is recorded
in Scripture: “It was about this time
that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to
persecute them. He had James, the
brother of John, put to death with the sword” (Acts 12:1-3 NIV).
For me, it
is perplexing his death gets only two sentences in the Bible. Why does Luke not tell us about the homage
paid to this apostle who was devoted to Jesus unto physical death?
Maybe God
did not want people idolizing James.
Much apostle idolizing has gone on in past times in church history,
including the relic obsession.
Yet I do not
know why the lack of details about the sole recorded death of an apostle. Yet James’ story does not end there.
There is a
passage in the Bible termed by people “the transfiguration,” a time when Jesus
went to a mountain and appeared with Moses and Elijah. The kicker is this; Moses had died, and
Elijah was taken to heaven about 900 years before. Yet there they were talking with Jesus! James was one of three apostles to witness
the event!
Just as
James witnessed Moses who was still alive, and just as James witnessed Jesus
after His resurrection, James himself has eternal life in Christ.
The promise
of Jesus is that all people who believe in Him will not spiritually die; (see John
11:25-26). James is in heaven, praise be
to God!
I add the
reason he has sea shells on his emblem is the tradition that before he was
martyred he did ministry work in Sardinia and Spain. Though the evidence is weak, it is possible.
Hunter Irvine
