Animating James, a Fisher of Men
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James the son of Zebedee was a fisherman called by Jesus to be a “fisher of men” (Matthew 4:19). He was one of three disciples Jesus allowed to witness special events the rest of the 12 disciples did not. He was also a working-class man who most likely grew up by the sea of Galilee, although his family did have enough money to hire servants to help with fishing (Mark 1:20).
James’ work as a fisherman was not sitting peacefully by a pond with a line. It required long, often overnight hours, and regularly involved lifting large, wet, heavy nets. At times, fishermen would even dive into the water to pull fish out of the net by hand. Because of this, fishermen often wore only the undermost garment (John 21:7b says that Peter had “stripped for work”).
In addition to the layers of ancient clothing being unsuitable for hard work, the length was often problematic as well. Even the men’s garments, which were generally shorter than women’s, came to at least the knees or below. Such tunics are comfortable for many basic tasks, but intense physical labor is not one of them. People in ancient times had a convenient solution to this; they would tuck the ends of their robes up around their hips for maneuverability. The image below of the apostle James in his work clothing depicts this.
A diagram showing how this was done is included below. This is likely what the Bible refers to when it speaks of “girding up the loins of your mind” and other similar phrases (1 Peter 1:13a KJV, see also Luke 12:35 and Jeremiah 1:17). To them it was a very practical way of saying it’s time to be alert and ready to act, not sitting around.
James was the first of the 12 disciples to be martyred. He was killed by Herod, as described in Acts 12:1–2. While Scripture does not give a reason for Herod choosing James in particular, he likely would not have chosen him if he was not an active leader and member among the early church. James had certainly girded the loins of his mind, prepared himself for action, and followed through. He reminds us that all of the disciples, even the ones we don’t hear from as much, loved Jesus, and they were willing to die for Him.
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