Mark 3:16-18 [16] He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); [17] James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder)
He knows our frame It is Jesus who nicknames James and John ‘Sons of Thunder,’ which was most likely a reference to their fiery temperament/personalities. One time, James and John asked to call out fire on a Samaritan village that had rejected Jesus (Luke 9:54).
Another time, they asked for positions of power in the coming kingdom (Mark 10:35-45). Yet Jesus was willing to walk with them and transform them into something.
James was the first martyr in the Christian church for his gospel witness (Acts 12). His brother John, later nicknamed ‘the apostle of love,’ wrote four 5 books of the NT (John, 12,3 John and Revelation) and was also exiled for his faithful witness (Rev. 1:9). Jesus knows our frame.
He understands our personalities, our weaknesses and our strengths. And he is not ashamed of it, but willing to work with and transform it. Praise God for his patience today.
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