Acts 12:2

2 He had James, the brother of John, executed.

Acts 12:2 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 12:2

And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
] This was James, the son of Zebedee, whom our Lord told, that he should be baptized with the baptism he was baptized with, ( Matthew 20:22 ) meaning the baptism of martyrdom; and he was the first martyr among the apostles: the death he was put to was one of the four capital punishments among the Jews, and was reckoned by them the most disgraceful of them all, and was inflicted upon deceivers of the people; and such an one James was thought to be ^F5.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 1, 3. & 11. 4.

Acts 12:2 In-Context

1 About that time King Herod devoted his attention to mistreating certain members of the church.

2 He had James, the brother of John, executed.

3 When he saw how this pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter too. This happened during the days of Unleavened Bread.

4 After capturing Peter, Herod had him thrown into prison with sixteen soldiers in squads of four to guard him. Herod wanted to bring Peter to trial in front of the people after Passover.

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was praying very hard to God for him.