Jacob, son of Zebedee and brother of the Apostle John, became the leader of the church seventeen years after meeting the Lord. Later, he was persecuted by King Herod's henchmen and killed with a knife, becoming the first apostle to be martyred as recorded in the Bible.

Son of Zebedee, brother of the Apostle John; At that time, it was called "Saint James" (in Catholicism, it was referred to as "Saint James, son of Zebedee or Saint James the Great" to distinguish between the second Jacobs). About seventeen years after his first encounter with the Lord, this silent apostle became the leader of the church. The Bible records: "King Herod laid hands on several people in the church and killed John's brother Jacob with the sword." (Acts 12:1-2) [1] Jacob became the first apostle to die. It is said that before his martyrdom, those who had falsely testified against him were overjoyed, as if a hero had triumphed, without fear, but firmly believed that the true God Christ would be with him, and moved a judge to die with him.

When Peter lent the boat to Jesus and followed the Lord's instructions to cast it into the net, trapping many fish, Jacob was called to help and filled the two boats with fish. When he was surprised, he heard the promise of the Lord's call: "To obtain men is like obtaining fish." He left everything with Peter and the others, followed the Lord Jesus, and became a fisherman who obtained men (Luke 5:4-11).

Jacob was originally a Galilean fisherman, and after following Jesus with his brother John, he became one of the three closest disciples of Jesus. He had a violent personality, and Jesus referred to him as "Panager" B (also translated as "Banniche", meaning "son of thunder"). The Bible says that he once witnessed Jesus changing his holy appearance with Peter and John. After Jesus ascended to heaven, he became one of the core figures of the primitive Christian community, leading the academic affairs in Jerusalem. Around 44 AD, he was killed by Jewish rulers.

1. Personality change: Jacob's original personality was quite fierce and irritable. Once, when a village in Samaria refused to receive Jesus, he suggested to the Lord, asking the Lord to bring down fire from birth and burn down those who were disrespectful to God's sons, just like Elijah in ancient times asked God to use fire to burn down those who despised prophets (Luke 9:51-54). Therefore, Jesus gave him a nickname, Boanerges, It means thunder (Mark 3:17) [1]; But later, due to the teachings of Jesus and the changes in the inner dwelling of the Holy Spirit, he became an apostle who could accept and tolerate people.
2. First Martyrdom: After the arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the apostles bravely testified for Jesus, miracles were revealed, believers loved each other, causing many people to believe in Jesus, but also causing resentment and persecution, blocking the disciples. At that time, King Herod Agrippa (reigned from 41 to 44 AD) began to persecute the church and killed Jacob with the sword (Acts 12:1-2). Jacob became the first apostle to die.

The first disciple of James, the son of Zebedee, who died for the Lord was James, the brother of John. In the 44th year of the reign of the Lord, Herouchippa I rose up against the persecution of the church. In this persecution, Jacob was beheaded and Peter was imprisoned (Acts 12). According to the ancient Christian father Clement, Jacob was arrested on false charges from a Jewish man and brought to the Jewish synagogue for trial. When Jacob was sentenced to execution by the guild, the accuser suddenly felt that he had shed the blood of an innocent person, and his conscience was greatly rebuked. He even confessed and repented to Jacob, and was willing to go to the execution ground with him. On the way, he requested forgiveness from Jacob for the irreparable sins he had committed. Jacob tacitly agreed and kissed him. Finally, both of them calmly beheaded at the same time.