Herod Agrippa I (10 B.C.-A.D. 44), grandson of Herod the Great (Lk 1:5) and nephew of Herod the Tetrarch (Lk 3:19; 13:31; 23:7-12), spent his childhood and some of his adult life in the highest imperial circles in Rome. He had recently returned to Palestine to rule over territory that by A.D. 41 extended as far as his grandfather's kingdom (see Schurer 1973:442-54 for a complete description). Committed to maintaining the Pax Romana by supporting the Jewish majority in Palestine, he was both a pious observer of Jewish practices and a ruthless suppressor of minorities when they became disruptive (Longenecker 1981:407-8).

Whether influenced by Pharisees or by Sadducees among the Jewish leadership, Herod decides to arrest (literally, "lay hands on"; compare 4:3; 5:18; 21:27) some of the church, presumably the apostolic leaders (Bruce 1988:233). We are not told explicitly why Herod intends to persecute (literally, "harm, mistreat"; 18:10; compare Ex 7:6, 17) them. He may be responding to a stir caused by the apostles' "apostate" fraternizing with the Gentiles (compare 21:27-32). Or, like his grandfather (Mt 2:16), he sees the movement's messianic claims posing a political threat. All Luke tells us is that the beheading of James (a fulfillment of Mk 10:39) pleases the people (contrast 5:26). In Jewish law death by the sword was the penalty for murder or apostasy (m. Sanhedrin 9:1; compare Deut 13:6-18).

The martyrdom of James, the son of Zebedee and the brother of John (Lk 5:10; 8:51; 9:28), is an especially heavy blow to the church. Only some ten years after Jesus' resurrection/exaltation, one of the twelve apostles has been removed from the scene. To make matters worse, Herod seems bent on a systematic dismemberment of the movement, for next he arrests Peter. He places him under a secure guard of four squads of four soldiers each, rotating in three-hour shifts at night (Vegetius De Re Militari 3.8). Ever scrupulous in his Jewish observance, and possibly wishing to avoid an uproar at festival time (compare Mk 14:2), Herod leaves Peter in prison during the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, which immediately followed Passover.

Luke teaches us that Satan's sphere of control is directly related to political governance (Lk 4:6; 22:53). Jesus warned that its power would be used against his followers (Lk 12:11-12; 21:12-19). Will we stand for Jesus as our Lord, realizing that sooner or later we will pay the price for doing so? Those who have lived in religious freedom for generations have much to learn from brothers and sisters in Christ just now emerging from the oppression of totalitarianism.