James the great
James the Great
The next martyr we meet with, according to St. Luke, in the History of the Apostles' Acts, was James the son of Zebedee, the elder brother of John, and a relative of our Lord; for his mother Salome was cousin-germane to the Virgin Mary. It was not until ten years after the death of Stephen that the second martyrdom took place; for no sooner had Herod Agrippa been appointed governor of Judea, than, with a view to ingratiate himself with them, he raised a sharp persecution against the Christians, and determined to make an effectual blow, by striking at their leaders. The account given us by an eminent primitive writer, Clemens Alexandrinus, ought not to be overlooked; that, as James was led to the place of martyrdom, his accuser was brought to repent of his conduct by the apostle's extraordinary courage and undauntedness, and fell down at his feet to request his pardon, professing himself a Christian, and resolving that James should not receive the crown of martyrdom alone. Hence they were both beheaded at the same time. Thus did the first apostolic martyr cheerfully and resolutely receive that cup, which he had told our Savior he was ready to drink. Timon and Parmenas suffered martyrdom about the same time; the one at Philippi, and the other in Macedonia. These events took place A.D. 44. James the Great was also killed just before the Passover. Then Peter was arrested. "This was during the days of Unleavened Bread." (Acts 12:3). Scripture is referring to the arrest of Peter as having taken place during the Passover. The death of James the Greater occurred before Passover. Thus, Herod kept Peter in prison "intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people." (Acts 12:4). James the Great was killed during the 2nd year of Claudius' reign; A.D. 27. In that year, Nisan 14 fell on Wednesday, April 9th. James the Great and James the Less were each martyred just before the Passover (22 years apart). Interestingly, Mark the Evangelist was martyred during the Passover (Nisan 14 = March 25 that year), because he was killed by pagans, not by Jews.