The Book of Acts

James is Killed & Peter is Imprisoned

Acts 12:1-5 _NIV

“It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.”- Acts 12:1

                  Herod Agrippa was the grandson of Herod the Great. He was half Jewish, having a Jewish grandmother (Marianne) of royal blood, therefore the Romans appointed him to rule of the territories of Galilee, Perea, Judea, and Samaria. His reason for bringing persecution against the Christians was to win favor with the Jewish leaders. Because of his Jewish roots this allowed the people to accept him, albeit grudgingly.

                  James was one of the original disciples called by Jesus. The King saw fit to kill him with a sword. Seeing how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also had Peter incarcerated. This was the life of a Christian back at this time in history. Although preaching and teaching with the boldness and authority of the Holy Spirit, they lived with the constant threat of beatings, imprisonment, and/or death for their faith. While this still happens today in some portions of the world, in America, we live a blessed life, allowed to worship as we please with little to no persecution. The price we pay for being a follower of Christ in practically nil when you compare it to those of the time period we read about.

                  The believers reaction to the act of capturing and imprisoning the apostle Peter is one that we must emulate today and in most cases, I would imagine, we do. There were 16 Roman soldiers placed to guard Peter while in prison. When the news of Peter’s arrest was made known to the church, they prayed earnestly for him. The word “earnestly” was used to describe the way that his fellow believers prayed for him. That means their prayers were “sincere, serious, and determined”.  Imprisonment was no small matter and though it appeared to take place often, the one incarcerated found joy in suffering for the sake of Christ and those in the church had their back, so to speak, as they diligently prayed for God to move on the jailed person’s behalf. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.

In his name & for his glory,

RL Keller

Bread of Life Ministries

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible