James, the son of Zebedee, or James the Elder, to whom, with his brother John, our Lord gave the surname of Boanerges (which is a corruption of שׁגֶדֶ ינֵבְ), sons of thunder. Nothing is recorded of him in the Acts but his presence in the upper room at Jerusalem after the Ascension (Acts 1:13), and this his martyrdom, which was the fulfillment of our Lord's prediction in Matthew 20:23.
His being singled out by Herod for death in company with Peter is rather an indication of his zeal and activity in the Lord's service, though we know nothing of his work. Eusebius relates an anecdote of his martyrdom, extracted from the lost work of Clement of Alexandria, called the ὑποτυτώσεις (or in Latin Adumbrationes), which Clement professed to have received by tradition from his predecessors, to the effect that the informer who accused James was so struck with his constancy in confessing Christ before the judge, that he came forward and confessed himself a Christian too.
The two were then led off to execution together; and on the way the informer asked James's forgiveness. After a moment's hesitation, James said to him, "Peace be unto thee," and kissed him. They were then both beheaded ('Eccl.
Hist.,' 2. 9.). As Clement flourished about A.D. 190, the tradition need not have passed through more than three persons. It has been thought strange that Luke relates the death of a chief apostle with such brevity.
But it did not bear on the main object of his work. Lightfoot mentions a fanciful story related by Rabauus Maurus, that about this time the apostles composed the Apostles' Creed, each contributing one clause, and that the clause contributed by James the brother of John was, "And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord."