The Death of Agrippa I According to Luke and Josephus

Preparing for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Two Days before Sunday (Year B)

Scripture

Semi-continuous: Psalm 124; Esther 2:1-23; Acts 12:20-25

Complementary: Psalm 19:7-14; Deuteronomy 1:1-18; Acts 12:20-25

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Prayer

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

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Reflection

Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body, and after winning over Blastus, the king’s personal attendant, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them. The people kept shouting, “The voice of a god and not of a mortal!” And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents. Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark (Acts 12:20-25).

The death of Herod Agrippa I is recorded in both the Book of Acts, and in the writings of the Jewish historian, Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews. Comparing these two accounts is interesting.