We Need Godly Fathers

One of the greatest crimes being committed today against children is the abdication of responsibility by fathers. Sometimes that means there is no father in the home. In other cases, it means that the father is not being the man he should be the in raising his children, being the right example in both word and action. In some areas of our society, as many as 80% of newborn children come home from the hospital to a home that has no father living in it. What a tragedy it is for these children: for the little girls they often grow up desperate for the love of a man; for the little boys they often repeat the cycle of abandonment because they never had a male role model to teach them how to be responsible.

Being a father is important to God. He used the last verse of the Old Testament, the last inspired words spoken for 400 years, to talk about fathers: He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse. (Malachi 4:6)

There are many examples in the Bible of fathers who were men of God, men who did their best to teach their children well. One of my favorites is one that is hardly spoken of: Zebedee. Zebedee was the father of the apostles John and James. We encounter Zebedee only in the beginning of the Synoptic gospels, where we read: When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. (Mark 1:19-20). His two sons were special men: James was the first apostle to suffer martyrdom (Acts 12:2) and John was the writer of 5 books of the New Testament, including the gospel that bears his name and the book of Revelation. He was also the last Apostle to die. Both James and John, along with Peter, were the inner circle of Jesus. 

Zebedee is thought to have been the brother-in-law of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which would make James and John cousins of Jesus; their mothers, Mary and Salome, being sisters. 

Outside of the calling of the disciples, we never read about Zebedee again. Yet, it is easy to see the influence he had on his sons. Jesus called James and John "Boanerges", which means "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17). Zebedee must have been a pretty volatile guy for Jesus to call John and James that. He must have certainly commanded respect! 

Because the Bible is silent regarding Zebedee we can't determine more about his life, but one incredibly important thing I can tell you he did was this: He raised up sons who answered when the Lord called. He raised up sons who gave their lives in service to the King of Kings. He raised up sons who preached, taught and served where they could. Zebedee raised sons who loved and followed the Lord.

If men in the church today could accomplish what Zebedee did, what a better place the world would be and, more importantly, what a greater influence the church would have!

-John Gooch