Why were James and John called the sons of thunder?

Answer 1

Another answer from the communityWe are not told this, but presumably they were 'loud' people. Perhaps as fishermen they had to shout across the water, or from water to shore or vice-versa. They may have had naturally loud voices or learned how to project their voices. It is also possible they were a little hasty to be angry with others, such as when they wanted to call the fire of God down on Samaria.

Answer 2

James and John were called the "sons of thunder" by Jesus because of their fiery zeal and passionate temperament. It's believed to reflect their impulsive and fervent personalities, as seen in instances such as when they wanted to call down fire on a village that did not welcome Jesus.

Answer 3

Dennis R. MacDonald (The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark) has credibly suggested some parallels between Mark's Gospel and the Homeric epics (Iliad and the Oddysey). He suggests a Homeric parallel for two disciples, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who are nicknamed "Boanerges," or "sons of thunder" in Mark 3:17. He says they are comparable to another pair of brothers, the Dioscuri, sons of Zeus. Castor and Polydeuces, the sons of Zeus, asked him for immortality and are depicted iconographically as on the right and left of an enthroned deity, similarly to James' and John's request to sit at the right and left of Jesus in the kingdom (Mark 10:37).

A fuller explanation may be found by examining the context in Mark's Gospel. Reference to James and John as 'sons of thunder' comes quite early, when Jesus is only selecting the twelve, and is unlikely to be a reference to their preaching style or to the fact that they were fishermen, since several of the disciples were also fishermen. Shortly afterwards, we find that Jesus rebukes the wind and calms the storm (4:36-41). This is an apparently unrelated event, until we see that it is linked (pair K) through the framework structure of Mark's Gospel to his rebuke of James and John for talking of sitting on the right and left hand of an enthroned Jesus in heaven:

A . John explains the coming of Jesus (Mark 1:1-8)

B .The baptism of Jesus (1:9)

C . The voice of God from heaven, "Thou art my beloved son" (1:11)

D . The forty days in the wilderness as an allusion to Elijah and Moses (1:13)

E . The people were astonished at what Jesus taught (1:22)

F . Jesus casts out an unclean spirit (1:23-26)

G . Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians how they might destroy Jesus (3:6)

H . Demons, whenever they see Jesus, fall down and say that he is the Son of God.

-- Jesus commands that they tell no one of this (3:11-12)

I .. Jesus calls the 12 disciples (3:13-19)

J .. Jesus rejects his own family: he has a new family, his followers (3:31-35)

K . Jesus rebukes the wind (4:36-41)

L . The demoniac, wearing no clothes (5:15), cries out that Jesus not torment him and Jesus sends out the demons (5:1-20)

M . Jesus comes into his own country (6:1)
-- Where he was brought up

N . The people misunderstand Jesus and he can do no mighty work (6:2-6)

O . Jesus sends out the disciples and curses those who will not receive them (6:7-11)
-- in sending the disciples with authority and expecting all to receive them, Jesus is asserting his own authority

P . Herod thinks that Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead (6:14)

Q . Herodias and her daughter conspire to kill John the Baptist (6:16-29)

R . Feeding the thousands, and related miracles and discourses (6:33-8:21)

S . Who do people say that I am (8:27)

T . Peter affirms faith in Jesus as the Christ (8:29)

U . Whosoever shall be ashamed of me: of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed (8:38)

V . The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes (8:31a)

W . Be killed and after three days rise again (8:31b)

X . Prophecy of second coming (9:1)- Jesus tells the disciples that some of them would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God coming with power.

B' .The Transfiguration of Jesus (9:2-3)

C' .The voice of God from heaven, "This is my beloved son" (9:7)

D' . Jesus talks to Elijah and Moses then to the disciples about Elijah (9:4-13)

E' .A great multitude was amazed at Jesus (9:15)

F' .Jesus cast out a dumb spirit (9:17-27)

G' .They shall kill the Son of man and he shall rise on the third day (9:31)

H' .Jesus clarifies his divine status, saying that he is not God: "Why call me good? There is none good but God" (10:18)

I' . Peter says the disciples have left all and followed Jesus (10:28)

J' . Those who have left their family for Jesus have a new family: all Jesus' followers (10:29-30)

K'. Jesus rebukes the 'sons of thunder', James and John (10:35-45 - cf 3:17)

L' .Blind Bartimaeus cries out for mercy and casts off his clothes, then Jesus heals him (10:46-52)

M' .Jesus comes into Jerusalem (11:1-10)
-- Where he will die

N' .Jesus misunderstands the fig tree that can provide no fruit (11:13-14)

O' .Jesus casts out them that sold and bought in the Temple and curses them for making the Temple a den of thieves (11:15-17)
-- Jesus is asserting his authority

P' .Jesus asks whether the baptism of John is from heaven or of men, and the priests, scribes and elders can not answer (11:30-33)

Q' .Parable of husbandmen who conspire to kill the vineyard owner's son (12:1-9)

X' .Prophecy of second coming (chapter 13)

-- on clouds of glory, within the lifetimes of some of those to whom he was speaking

R' .The Last Supper (14:17-25)

S' .Art thou the Christ, Son of God (14:61)

T' .Peter denies Jesus three times (14:66-72a)

U' .And when he thought thereon, Peter wept (14:72b)

V' .The chief priests, elders and scribes delivered Jesus to Pontius Pilate (15:1)

-- Delivering Jesus is a similar concept to rejecting him.
-- Both parts of the pair involve chief priests, elders and scribes

W' .Jesus dies and on the third day rises again (15:37, 16:6)

A' .The young man explains the departure of Jesus(16:6-8)

The similarity of event K' (10:35-45) to the story of Castor and Polydeuces is only an interesting coincidence, unless there is something to link the two pairs of brothers at this point. But Mark uses the storm in event K (4:36-41) to remind us, by association, that the two disciples are 'sons of thunder'. Whatever the author's reasons, he wanted to compare James and John to Castor and Polydeuces, sons of Zeus the thunderer.