James

• James was a Fisherman, along with his brother John, in The Sea Of Galilee (seen in the photograph at right). As such, he most likely lived in Capernaum.

• James is considered to have been in the "inner circle" of apostles, having been present each time, with only John and Peter, at The Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:37-43), and in the garden of Gethsemane The Fateful Night (Mark 14:33).

• Jesus called James and John, Boanerges, which meant "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17) - probably a reference to their bold and zealous personality - illustrated by a later incident in which they wanted to "call down fire from heaven" to destroy the people of a Samaritan village who had refused to allow Jesus and His apostles to pass through on their way to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51-56).

• James was the first martyr among the twelve apostles, having been "put to death with the sword" (Acts 12:2) by King Herod Agrippa I about 44 A.D.

Fact Finder: What was the fate of the other apostles?
See What Happened To The Apostles?