nister of God's justice, (v. 20..23.) and this was done while Barnabas and Saul were at Jerusalem, upon the errand that the church of Antioch sent them on, to carry their charity; and therefore in the close we have an account of their return to Antioch, v. 24, 25.
1.NOW about that time, Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. 2. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. 3. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread.) 4. And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers, to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.
Ever since the conversion of Paul, we have heard no more of the agency of the priests in persecuting the saints at Jerusalem; perhaps that wonderful change wrought upon him, and the disappointment it gave to their design upon the christians at Damascus, had somewhat mollified them, and brought them under the check of Gamaliel's advice—to let those men alone, and see what would be the issue ; but here the storm arises from another point; the civil power, not now, as usual, (for aught that appears,) stirred up by the ecclesiastics, acts by itself in the persecution. But Herod, though originally of an Edomite family, yet seems to have been a proselyte to the Jewish religion; for Josephus says, he was zealous for the Mosaic rites, a bigot for the ceremonies. He was not only (as Herod Antipas was) tetrarch of Galilee, but had also the government of Judea committed to him by Claudius the emperor, and resided most at Jerusalem, where he was at this time.
Three things we are here told he did:
I. He stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church, v. 1. His stretching forth his hands to it, intimates that his hands had been tied up by the restraints which perhaps his own conscience held him under in this matter; but now he broke through them, and stretched forth his hands deliberately and of malice prepense. Herod laid hands upon some of the church to afflict them, so some read it; he employed his officers to seize them, and take them into custody, in order to their being prosecuted. See how he advances gradually!
1. He began with some of the members of the church, certain of them that were of less note and figure; played first at small game, but afterward flew at the apostles themselves. His spite was at the church, and with regard to those he gave trouble to, it was not upon any other account, but because they belonged to the church, and so belonged to Christ.
2. He began with vexing them only, or afflicting them, imprisoning them, fining them, spoiling their houses and goods, and other ways molesting them; but afterward he proceeded to greater instances of cruelty. Christ's suffering servants are thus trained up by lesser troubles for greater, that tribulation may work patience, and patience experience.
II. He killed James the brother of John with the sword, v. 2. We are here to consider,
1. Who the martyr was; it was James the brother of John; so called, to distinguish him from the other James, the brother of Joses. This was called Jacobus major—James the greater; that, minor—the less. This that was here crowned with martyrdom, was one of the first three of Christ's disciples, one of those that were the witnesses of his transfiguration and agony, whereby he was prepared for martyrdom; he was one of those whom Christ called Bodnerges—Sons of thunder; and perhaps by his powerful awakening preaching he had provoked Herod, or those about him, as John Baptist did the other Herod, and that was the occasion of his coming into this trouble. He was one of those sons of Zebedee, whom Christ told, that they should drink of the cup that he was to drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that he was to be baptized with, Matt. 20. 23. And now those words of Christ were made good in him; but it was in order to his sitting at Christ's right hand; for, if we suffer with him, we shall reign with him. He was one of the twelve, who were commissioned to disciple all nations; and to take him off now, before he was removed from Jerusalem, was like Cain's killing Abel then when the world was to be peopled; and one man was then more than many at another time. To kill an apostle now, was killing he knew not how many. But why would God permit it? If the blood of his saints, much more the blood of apostles, is precious in his eyes, and therefore, we may be sure, is not shed but upon a valuable consideration. Perhaps, God intended hereby to awaken the rest of the apostles to disperse themselves among the nations, and not to nestle any longer at Jerusalem. Or it was to shew, that though the apostles were appointed to plant the gospel in the world, yet if they were taken off, God could do his work without them, and would do it. This apostle died a martyr, to shew the rest of them what they must expect, that they might prepare accordingly. The tradition that they have in the Romish church, that this James had been before this in Spain, and had planted the gospel there, is altogether groundless; nor is there any certainty of it, or good authority for it.
2. What kind of death he suffered; he was slain with the sword, his head was cut off with a sword, which was looked upon by the Romans to be a more disgraceful way of being beheaded than with an axe; so Lorinus. Beheading was not ordinarily used among the Jews; but when kings gave verbal orders for private and sudden executions, this manner of death was used, as most expeditious; and it is probable that this Herod killed James, as the other Herod killed John Baptist, privately in the prison. It is strange that we have not a more full and particular account of the martyrdom of this great apostle, as we had of Stephen. But even this short mention of the thing is sufficient to let us know, that the first preachers of the gospel were so well assured of the truth of it, that they sealed it with their blood, and thereby have encouraged us, if at any time we are called to it, to resist unto blood too. The Old Testament martyrs were slain with the sword, (Heb. 11. 37.) and Christ came not to send peace, but a sword; (Matt. 10. 34.) in preparation for which we must arm ourselves with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and then we need not fear what the sword of men can do unto us.
III. He imprisoned Peter, whom he had heard most of, as making the greatest figure among the apostles, and whom therefore he would be proud of the honour of taking off. Observe here,
1. When he had beheaded James, he proceeded further, he added, to take Peter also. Note, Blood to the blood-thirsty does but make them more so; and the way of persecution, as of other sins, is down-hill; when men are in it, they cannot easily stop themselves; when they are in, they find they must on; Male facta male factis tegere ne perpluant—One evil deed is covered with another, so that there is no passage through them. They that take one bold step in a sinful way, give Satan advantage against them to tempt them to take another, and provoke God to leave them to themselves, to go
