Daily Devotion

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James Ben-Zebedee

And He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 
(Mark 14:33 RSV)

Read:
Mark 14:32-42
Psalm 5

Every great venture has an executive committee of some sort. The Twelve were no exception. Peter, James, and John stand out in the gospels as the "big three" who attended our Lord on special occasions: up on the Mount of Transfiguration, for example, or down in the Garden of Gethsemane. The three were to provide Him the very human sort of support we all need in crises.

Even though the three failed Him in the garden by promptly falling asleep they remained as leaders among the apostles. Did the other nine disciples envy them? Quite possibly. We know how disgruntled they were at Mother Zebedee’s campaigning for her James and John.

Envy, however, is one of the most useless emotions to afflict humankind. It hurts us, not the object of our envy. Take James as a powerful example. No one envied James eight years later, in A.D. 41. Why not? Because King Herod Agrippa I cut off his head (Acts 12:2). How ridiculous are our transitory jealousies, our envies-of-the-moment! James followed Christ into eternal life, and so can we. Christians who have life in Him need never be jealous.

Thanks be to You, O God, for Your unspeakable gift! Amen.

Author: Paul L. Maier/March 10, 1979

 Devotions from A year in the Word © 1999 CPH. All Rights Reserved.
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