About that time Herod the king laid violent hands upon some who
belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword; and
when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This
was during the days of Unleavened Bread. And when he had seized him, he put him
in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending
after the Passover to bring him out to the people. So Peter was kept in prison;
but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.
In a Nutshell
James the son of Zebedee was killed by Herod Agrippa, and Peter also was arrested.
Questions
Do some research on Herod Agrippa. Why was he accepted by many Jews?
Now that Luke has told us about the death of James, we realise that up until this point he has been silent about the civil authorities in the regions where the earliest Christian mission was active. It is also apparent, now, that what he has been describing in the first 12 chapters took place over a period of 10 to 15 years. This is important for how we read his book because, as you know, a lot can happen in that time. And sometimes our understanding gets confused when we can't see the connection between events.
It was a needless execution of James, the brother of John, and cousin of Jesus, by Agrippa. And so we can say that the protection that the Sanhedrin had at one point put in place no longer applied. Luke assumes his readers knew some of the political history. The Emperor Caligula (otherwise known as Gaius) had ordered his military commander Petronius to erect a statue of himself in the temple at Jerusalem. This occurred around 40AD. Caligula was not a happy chappy particularly with the arrangement Tiberius had made by which sacrifices could be made daily in the temple on behalf of the Roman Emperor. Caligula wanted those sacrifices to be to him not for him. Hence the statue. Petronius knew this would be disastrous. The letters that went to and fro between this Officer and his Commander in Chief make interesting reading. But before Caligula's demands could be carried out he was dead - assassinated and so under Claudius, Judaea was ruled by a Jewish King. Herod Agrippa was grandson of Herod the Great the butcher of the baby boys in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Grandad had built the temple. An uncle, Herod Antipas, had murdered John the Baptist. Within the courts of Agrippa there was little sympathy for those giving allegiance to Jesus of Nazareth. And so, in time, he arranged the murder of one of the sons of Zebedee. This pleased the Jews - Luke is probably referring to the Herodian political group which Jesus had warned his disciples about. Luke calls them "Jews"; they saw an advantage in this killing. Agrippa, ever the opportunist, arrested Peter the leader and imprisoned him as well. Was this blood-letting King contemplating a show trial? Probably, but it was Passover time, a season rich in meaning for Jews, as well as the growing company of those believing that Jesus was the lamb of God who had taken away the sins of the world. Peter was detained in prison. Or at least Agrippa thought that was what he was doing. In the Psalms we sing how God in heaven laughs at the foolishness of men. Agrippa's days were indeed numbered and he didn't know it.