Persecution and the Apostles

Acts 5:17-42 tells the story of the second time the apostles were jailed for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not the only time such a circumstance occurred.

Acts 4:1-7 tells how the priests, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees arrested Peter and John, who spent a night in jail. The next day they were brought before the rulers, elders and teachers of the law to defend their healing of the crippled beggar at the temple gate.

Acts 6:8-8:1 tells how Stephen, one of the seven men chosen to administer the distribution of food, was seized by the elders and teachers of the law and brought to trial by the Sanhedrin, before being stoned to death for blasphemy.

Acts 12:1-2 briefly tells how James, the brother of John (not Jesus’ brother) was arrested by King Herod, and put to death by the sword (AD44).

Soon after, King Herod seized Peter. Acts 12:3-18 tells how Peter was kept in prison for a third time, under strict guard and bound in chains. The church prayed earnestly for Peter, and the Lord sent an angel to rescue him in the middle of the night.
Paul and Silas were also imprisoned. Acts 16:16-40 tells how they were brought to the magistrates by someone who objected to their actions in releasing a slave girl from demons. They were flogged and jailed, but during the night an earthquake shook the prison where they were held, and Paul was able to use the opportunity to speak to the jailer about Jesus. Paul and Silas were released the next day by magistrates bent on appeasing the wrath of Roman citizens who had been punished without the requisite trial.

Finally, Paul was arrested by the commander of the Roman troops in Jerusalem, Claudius Lysias. Paul was able to give a speech to the crowd present at his arrest, as well as the Sanhedrin (including Sadducees and Pharisees), Governor Felix of Caesarea and his wife Drusilla, Felix’s successor Governor Porcius Festus and King Agrippa and his wife Bernice, before being sent to Rome to present his case to Caesar, the Emperor of Rome. Acts 21-28 tells of these events, which are also attested to through details from Paul’s letters.

Extra-biblical sources and church tradition record that while Paul was probably released from his house arrest in Rome around AD63, both he and Peter were later martyred for their faith. Tradition has Peter put to death in Rome about AD64 by being crucified upside down (supposedly he requested this position because he felt unworthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus had been). Eusebius wrote that Paul was imprisoned a second time in Rome before Emperor Nero ordered his death, sometime during Nero’s persecution (AD64 until the emperor’s death in mid AD68). Dionysius (ca AD170) is quoted by Eusebius as saying that Peter and Paul were martyred at the same time, although this may not mean the same year. Tertullian wrote that Paul was beheaded, as would be typical for Roman citizens who were sentenced to death.

John was later exiled to the small, rocky Mediterannean island of Patmos, off the coast of modern-day Turkey (Revelation 1:9). This was possibly during the persecution of Christians by Roman emperor Domitian (AD81-96). John supposedly lived and worked in Ephesus during his later years, being the only apostle who died a natural death.

Hebraic Jews and Grecian Jews

God chose Abram and called him for a special purpose. God promised Abram [Genesis 12:1-3, see also Gen 15:4-5 and many other passages] that “I will make you a great nation” and changed his name to Abraham, which is what he is remembered by today. Abraham and his wife Sarai (whose name God changed to Sarah) had a son whom they named Isaac. Isaac married Rebekah and they had twin sons Esau and Jacob. Although the younger twin, Jacob was chosen by God to be the heir of God’s promises. Jacob, who was also known by a second, God-given name, Israel, married two women (Leah and Rachel) and they (and their two maid servants) bore him 12 sons and at least one daughter. The 12 sons of Jacob became the heads of the 12 tribes of the nation Israel. Thus the tribes of Israel were:
1 Reuben
2 Simeon
3 Levi (set apart for the LORD to serve as priests)
[Numbers 1:47-53, 3:5-13. Exodus 32 gives the story behind this, especially Exodus 32:25-29]
4 Judah
5 Dan
6 Naphtali
7 Gad
8 Asher
9 Zebulun
10 Issachar
11 The two half-tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (descended from the two sons of Joseph)
[Genesis 48 gives the story behind this, especially Genesis 48:5-6]
12 Benjamin

It was not until several generations later that the nation of Israel, led at the time by Joshua, claimed the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Each of the 12 tribes lived in a portion of the land, as decreed by God. The only exception was the Levites, who dwelled in cities among the other tribes but had no inheritable land of their own; they were supported by the tithes of the Israelites [Numbers 35:1-8, Numbers 18:21-32]. The nation of Israel was ruled for a while by a series of Judges, and then later by a king appointed by God.

The first king of Israel was Saul. The second was King David, who came from the tribe of Judah. David’s son, Solomon, became king of Israel after him. The rules of King David and King Solomon were prosperous and glorious days for Israel. However, shortly after Rehoboam succeeded Solomon as King [1Ki11:43], Jeroboam rebelled against Rehoboam and set up own northern kingdom, Israel, with ten of the tribes [1Ki12:16-20]. Rehoboam’s southern kingdom became known as Judah, although it was comprised of people from Judah and Benjamin. Jeroboam set up idols and appointed his own priests in Israel [1Ki12:26-33], and consequently Levites and others who sought God left Israel and were absorbed into Judah [2Ch11:13-17].

Later, both the northern kingdom Israel and then the southern kingdom Judah were exiled by invading nations. Only Judah returned from exile, although there were probably some people from each of the 12 original tribes of Israel absorbed into this new nation, called the Jews. In Jesus’ time, after the Return, the Jews mainly lived in Judea, but also in other areas of Roman-occupied Palestine, the ancient “Promised Land”. These Jews were Hebraic Jews, that is, they were Jews who were descended from Abraham.

There were also Greek converts to Judaism, who had been circumcised and thus they and their families were also legitimately recognised as Jews. These were the Grecian Jews, and they were often considered to be somewhat second-class Jews.