Herod Agrippa I
Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, ruled a reunited Judean kingdom under Roman favor and became the first political ruler to persecute the church directly. He executed the apostle James, the brother of John, with the sword - the first of the twelve to be martyred - and seeing that it pleased the Jewish leadership, arrested Peter during Passover, intending a public trial. The church prayed without ceasing, and an angel walked Peter out of the prison past two chains, two guard posts, and an iron gate that opened by itself. Agrippa executed the guards and withdrew to Caesarea, where, arrayed in royal apparel on his throne, he accepted the crowd's shout that his voice was 'of a god, and not of a man.' Because he gave not God the glory, the angel of the Lord struck him immediately, 'and he was eaten of worms' - a death the historian Josephus independently records in vivid detail.
Biography
- Occupation
- King of Judea
- Father
- Aristobulus IV
- Children
- Herod Agrippa II, Bernice, Drusilla
- Era
- New Testament
- Nationality
- Idumean-Jewish
Family
Did You Know?
The Jewish historian Josephus independently records Agrippa's death at Caesarea, adding that he saw an owl - an omen of death - and suffered five days of agony.
Agrippa was raised in Rome alongside future emperors and won his kingdom through friendship with Caligula and Claudius - the consummate political survivor, felled by accepting worship.
He executed James with the sword, making James the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred - and the only apostle whose death the New Testament directly records.
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Agrippa Kills James and Arrests Peter
Acts 12:1-5
The first apostle dies and another awaits trial - yet Luke's quiet counterpoint is the church at prayer, the weapon Agrippa cannot confiscate.
1ow about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church.
Struck Down at Caesarea
Acts 12:21-24
The king who accepted worship dies eaten of worms, 'but the word of God grew and multiplied' - Luke's deliberate contrast between perishing power and living word.
21nd upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.