Our two oldest sons are a whopping fourteen months apart–God’s timing, not our plans. These two are thick as thieves and have literally walked through every single phase of their lives together. When they were younger, they were often referred to as “TyandEli” as though they were one person. By God’s good grace, the trend continues. They share most of the same friends and almost all of the same hobbies and interests. They share a car, much to their chagrin. Though they have different personalities, they complement each other well. Listening to them argue (an art they have perfected since their days of fighting over Thomas the Train) is equal parts infuriating and entertaining. I’ve been praying that somehow in God’s sovereign plans, they end up at the same college, though they don’t share similar sentiments.

Their relationship offers me an imaginative jumping-off point for the relationship between James and John in the Scriptures.

Growing into Gospel Greatness

These brothers were almost always mentioned together in the New Testament. We meet them as a pair of brothers mending nets on the shores of the Sea of Galilee when Jesus calls his first disciples: “James, the son of Zebedee and John his brother” (Matthew 4; 21–22). We learn of their shared nickname as “Sons of Thunder” earned by their zealous tendencies, as seen in their request that Jesus rain down fire from heaven to consume Samaritans who refused to receive Jesus on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 9:54). Both brothers were part of the three disciples whom the Lord often invited into deeper leadership and more intimate moments. As such, they were with him on the Mount of Transfiguration where they saw a glimpse of the glorified Jesus.

We meet their mother who brazenly requests that her sons sit in the seats of power at the right and left of Jesus in the kingdom, which she mistook for a physical kingdom with earthly power structures (Matthew 20: 20–21).

Jesus’s response to their request for greatness (as James and John were present at the request and seem to have on board with their mother’s power plan) hints at a very different greatness that awaited the brothers: suffering and servant leadership.

“Jesus answered, ‘You don’t know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am do drink?…You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and give his life as a ransom for many’ (Matthew 20: 22 & 25–28).”

The same three present at the Transfiguration must have been deeply confused when Christ invited them into his agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26: 36–46). This was not the kind of cup they were expecting their King to drink. Why would a king drink the cup of wrath? Why would he wrestle his will into true submission to unthinkable and undeserved suffering?

When Brothers Part

Apparently, the brothers learned their lessons, taught as they were by Christ and filled as they were by the Spirit upon His Ascension. Their years of transformation together came to an abrupt end when Herod the Great killed James by the sword (Acts 12:2). Even here, James is mentioned in relationship to John, highlighting their brotherhood. Here also, the Bible’s brevity leaves so much room to slow down and wonder.

Today, as I sat under a sermon about Acts 12 in our little church, I couldn’t help but look over at my two sons, such close brothers and wonder at all that wasn’t captured in the canon.

Can you imagine John getting the news that his other half was heaven-bound? Can you imagine the grief that overcame him as he remembered Jesus’s words about the cup that awaited these ambitious brothers? Can you imagine John’s first few years without James, who had shared in virtually every life season with him?

Even as I type, I tear up. I wrote a poem imagining John’s eulogy for his dearest friend and brother James.

John’s Eulogy for James

Thick as thieves, we two were,
Two claps of violent thunder;
United in a thirst for power,
Twinned in desire to plunder.

Until He called us to follow Him,
Until Jesus claimed us both,
Until life turned right-side up,
Until our supernatural growth.

Brother, we lived two lives together:
One dead and one fully alive.
I watched God remake you;
Together we learned to thrive.

So, you finally beat me, brother.
Yes, you beat me home to Him.
Herod didn’t know he helped you
With an end so dark and grim.

A sword was in your future,
Just not the way we’d planned.
But I know you met it bravely;
Your faith caused you to stand.

It wasn’t the stuff of boyhood dreams;
We quit climbing ladders for crosses.
But the ledger of your life says “Gain”:
You have Christ for all your losses.

I remember on that blessed hill
When the radiant Christ we saw;
I glanced and saw His glow on you;
Now you will abide in such awe.

I don’t why He took you first,
Leaving me without my other arm;
But I trust Him fiercely
For our Christ can do no harm.

It will take all the zeal we shared
To live life as one unpaired.
Save space for me, brother,
In the room He has prepared.