Death of James (Brother of John), Peter imprisoned and delivered. He leaves Palestine; Acts 12:1 – 19. Part 2

Church History: The persecutions which we have hitherto noticed were conducted by religious partisans in Jerusalem, without any active assistance on the part of the civil authorities. We are now introduced to one in which the reigning prince is the leader, while the old enemies of the truth are working behind the curtain, if at all. This Herod was a grandson of that Herod by whom the
infants of Bethlehem were slaughtered (Matthew 2:16), and a nephew of "Herod the Tetrarch," by whom John the Baptist was beheaded, (Matthew 14:10). He grew up in Rome, where he wasted what fortune he had inherited in princely extravagance; but while doing so he acquired an intimacy with Caius Caesar, afterward the famous Caligula of history. When the latter ascended the throne, at the death of Tiberius, he elevated his friend Agrippa, as this Herod was most usually called, to a kingdom, which was subsequently enlarged by Claudius until it embraced all the territory ruled by his grandfather Herod the Great. He was now in the zenith of his power, and living in the utmost magnificence. Why he undertook this persecution it is difficult to tell, unless he was instigated to it by the old enemies of the Church. This appears most probable from Luke's statement, that he seized Peter because he saw that the death of James pleased the Jews.8
He imprisoned Peter, of whom he had heard the most, as making the greatest figure among the apostles and whom therefore he would be proud of the honor of removing. When he had beheaded James, he proceeded further to take Peter also. He did this because he saw it pleased the Jews. The Jews made themselves guilty of the blood of James by showing that they were well pleased with it afterwards, though they had not prodded Herod to do it. The time when Herod arrested Peter were the days of unleavened bread. It was at the feast of the Passover, when their celebrating the memorial of their typical deliverance should have led them to the acceptance of their spiritual deliverance; instead of this, they, under pretence of zeal for the law, were most violently fighting against it, and, in the days of unleavened bread, were most soured and embittered with the old leaven of malice and wickedness. At the Passover, when the Jews came from all parts to Jerusalem to keep the feast, they irritated one another against the Christians and Christianity, and were violent than at other times.