Acts 12:2

Killed James. Had the apostle been guilty of blasphemy or heresy the Sanhedrin would have sentenced him to death by stoning. As in the case of John the Baptist (Matt. 14:10), the decapitation of the apostle James shows that his death was decreed by a civil ruler, who employed Roman methods of punishment (cf. Matt. 20:23). Why Herod should have selected James as his first victim can only be conjectured; but as James preached the gospel, he may have continued to occupy the prominent position that he had shared with Peter and John in the gospel story. He may have been marked by a natural vehemence, for he was called a son of thunder (Mark 3:17). A tradition, preserved by Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History ii. 9) from Clement of Alexandria, records that James’s accuser became converted when he beheld the faith and patience of his victim.

James filled a short ministry of only 13 years after Christ’s ascension. Of the apostles, he died first, whereas John, his brother, was probably the last of the Twelve to die.

With the sword. Death by the sword was a Roman mode of punishment, which, according to the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 7.3, Soncino ed. of the Talmud, p. 354), was also employed at times by the Jews.