Verse 2
And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. And those were the days of unleavened bread.
Only seven words in the Greek, translated by eleven in English, recount the martyrdom of the first apostle; and such restraint by the sacred historian shows how different are the words of inspiration from those of ordinary writers. It should be noted that the New Testament records no appointment of a successor to James. Why? He is still an apostle, still "reigning over the twelve tribes of (spiritual) Israel" as Jesus promised (Matthew 19:28). Death never removed an apostle. It was not death but transgression that removed Judas (Acts 1:25).
As Wesley said, "So one of the brothers went to God the first, the other the last, of the apostles."[2] This has been viewed by some as a kind of mystical fulfillment of the desire of James and John to sit "one on the right hand, the other on the left" of the Lord in his kingdom.
Days of unleavened bread ... This refers to the great annual Passover feast of the Jews; and, as it was at Passover that our Lord suffered, Peter must have associated his own imprisonment and impending death with the events of our Lord's Passion.
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