Zebedee 

Zebedee was the father of a family that played a significant role in Jesus’ life and mission. His first name is not known and he is referred to in the Bible’s New Testament and The Urantia Book, simply as Zebedee. He operated a successful fishing and boatbuilding business based on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

Zebedee was the father of the apostles John and James, and there was a third son, David. David created and managed a messenger service for Jesus and his followers. Zebedee, his wife Salome, his three sons, and four daughters, dearly loved Jesus and thought of him as a family member.

Jesus confided in and trusted Zebedee, they worked together building boats, and he lived in the Zebedee home for more than a year when he was twenty-seven. After Jesus selected his apostles and began his public ministry, Zebedee and Salome moved in with David and turned their large home over to Jesus. The Zebedee residence served as his mission headquarters for four years. It is not known when or how Zebedee died, only that he served well while he lived.

Zebedee was a friend of Jesus’ father, Joseph. Joseph was killed in a construction accident when Jesus was fourteen. Without his father’s income, Jesus had to sell their assets, one of which was a property in Capernaum. It was father Zebedee who purchased it.

When Jesus was twenty-seven, before beginning his public ministry, he visited Zebedee and was invited to work in his boat shop. He lived at the Zebedee home and worked at the shop for more than a year. Jesus was an expert in both designing and building; he was a master at working with wood. Zebedee knew this and when Jesus became an employee, Zebedee shared his desire to create a new type of boat. Jesus readily consented and during their collaboration of just over a year, they revolutionized boatmaking by introducing a new boat style and advanced construction techniques. Jesus greatly enjoyed this period of working with a father-partner. When they introduced their new boat, Zebedee received more orders than he could handle. Within five years almost all fishing boats on Galilee had been replaced by copies of the one designed and built by Jesus and Zebedee.

In March, 22 CE, Jesus took leave of Zebedee to tour and teach in the Mediterranean region. While he worked with Zebedee prior to this tour, Jesus saved his salary and he left these savings in the hands of Zebedee’s son, John. After Jesus departed, John consulted with his father and they agreed that it would be wise to invest these funds in a property and use the rental income to assist Jesus’ family. Zebedee knew of a house in nearby Capernaum which carried a mortgage and was for sale. He directed John to buy this house with Jesus’ money and hold the title in trust.

Jesus relied completely on Zebedee and his sons, and they never failed him. When Jesus left on his Mediterranean tour, the Zebedee family all grieved, especially the daughters. Jesus took Zebedee into his confidence regarding this tour. He asked him to tell no one, not even his own flesh and blood, and Zebedee never disclosed his knowledge of Jesus’ whereabouts during this two-year period. Before Jesus’ return from this trip, the family at Nazareth had just about given him up as dead. Only the assurances of Zebedee, who went up to Nazareth on several occasions, kept their hope alive.

John, James, and David all had prominent roles in Jesus’ mission. When Jesus was thirty-one and about to begin his public ministry, he called John and James to be his apostles. David did not wish to be an apostle, but he saw a need for a communications network and a team to transport, set up, and store tents for Jesus’ many followers.

All three sons might have spent their lives working for their father had they not volunteered to help Jesus fulfill his mission. The contributions of Zebedee’s sons to Jesus’ lifework cannot be overstated. John became Jesus’ trusted friend who watched over Jesus’ family while he was away and cared for Jesus’ mother after Jesus died. His name is on five books of the Bible’s New Testament. James, besides being an aide and personal companion of Jesus, was one of the first to be martyred after Jesus’ death. Two New Testament books bear his name. David fulfilled needs without being asked, as manager of the messenger service, and as supervisor of campsites where Jesus taught and his followers had meals and shelter. When Jesus was crucified and David’s services were no longer needed, he married Jesus’ youngest sister, Ruth.

Zebedee was a moderately well-to-do man; his boatbuilding shops were on the lake to the south of Capernaum, and his home was situated down the lake shore near the fishing village of Bethsaida. Jesus lived at this home and worked at the boat shops from January, 21 CE until March, 22 CE. He then traveled around the Mediterranean for two years. When he returned, he lived with and worked for Zebedee for another six months.

Zebedee and his wife Salome turned their home over to Jesus in the winter of 26 CE and moved in with their son, David. It was used as a clearinghouse and meeting place for Jesus and his followers, as well as a headquarters for David’s messenger service. Zebedee’s kitchen fed those who happened to be visiting and Peter’s wife and her mother did most of the cooking and housekeeping.

Once a week, at the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus held meetings in Zebedee’s garden. These seminars were attended by the entire household and Zebedee’s many employees. He also conducted a question-and-answer session each evening after supper. The neighborhood children frequently attended these after-supper teaching sessions at the Zebedee house. In addition, one of the most important conferences of Jesus’ life was held there at the beginning of his public ministry. At this meeting, he told his apostles who he was, what his mission was, and how it might end.

On more than one occasion Jesus sent his apostles out from the Zebedee home, two and two, on two-week missionary tours. On returning, they would rest and reflect on their various experiences. The home also served as a place for them to meet with their families between tours. It served as their home away from home many times during their four years working with Jesus.

One evening in January of 28 CE, Jesus and the apostles were about to sit for dinner at the Zebedee home. They heard a commotion outside and discovered more than six hundred sick people had gathered hoping to be healed by Jesus. This occasion became known as the “healing at sundown.” Peter’s mother-in-law, who had become infected with malaria, was among those who were cured at this miraculous healing. This was not the only healing of the sick that occurred at the Zebedee home. One afternoon, as Jesus was teaching a large crowd, friends of a paralytic lifted him onto Zebedee’s roof, removed some tiles, and with ropes, lowered him in front of Jesus.

Jesus’ last appearance at the Zebedee home was on May 22, 29 CE. He was there to instruct his disciples and meet with his family but had to leave in haste to avoid being arrested. He escaped in a boat with his apostles and never again did he meet, teach, or visit at Zebedee’s home.

After Jesus had risen from his tomb, the Zebedee home served once more as a gathering place for his family and followers. There they received the latest and most reliable information about Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances from David’s messengers.

Zebedee is mentioned by name in the New Testament only twice (Mark 1:18, Matthew 4:20). In both verses, he is in a fishing boat with his sons, John and James, repairing their nets. Jesus calls out to the boys and they immediately leave their father to follow Jesus. The Zebedee name appears in another scripture in reference to his wife and sons (Matthew 27:56).