Seven churches

THE SEVEN CHURCHES
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John was the son of Zebedee a wealthy Fisherman of the sea of Galilee. His mother was
Salome [Matthew 4:21, 27:56; Mark 15:40, 16:1] who was also a close follower of Jesus
right from the start of Jesus’ ministry. The elder brother of John, James was also a
disciple of Jesus. John was probably a cousin of Jesus and was also in the same age
group which made him a close friend of Jesus on whom Jesus came to rely in times of
need. The mention of the "hired men" [Mark 1:20], and of John's "home" [John 19:27],
implies that they belonged to the aristocracy.
John and James were disciples of John the Baptist when he preached repentance in the
wilderness of Jordan. Some do think that John the Baptist came away from the Essene
group and preached a non-extremist message which looked beyond the world. There can
be little doubt that the two disciples (whom John’s Gospel does not name) in John 1:35
who followed Jesus immediately after the prophetic declaration of the Baptist "Behold
the Lamb of God!" were Andrew and John.
Joh 1:37 And the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. 38 But
having seen them following, Jesus said to them, What do you seek? And they said to