Ten Centurions

Ten Centurions

by | May 15, 2023 | Warriors of the Way

When we think of Roman centurions and the Bible, we invariably think of Cornelius – the Roman commander who was the first Gentile to be converted – or perhaps the centurion whose servant Jesus healed, or the centurion who stood by the cross at the crucifixion. But there are actually some ten of these Roman military officers mentioned in the New Testament, and if we look at them we can see an interesting pattern in how they fit into the biblical narrative.

Centurions are often said to have been the backbone of the Roman army – the officers in charge of the units of infantry called “centuries” which usually numbered around eighty soldiers in the time of Christ. They were generally experienced men who had moved up through the ranks, and although some were very stern, many were honorable individuals, as those mentioned in the New Testament seem to have been.  In this article we will look briefly at each of them.

1.  The centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:1-10). This was the man of such great faith we are told that Jesus “was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, ‘I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel’” (Luke 7:9).

2.  The centurion at the cross when Jesus died (Matthew 27:51–54; Mark 15:38–39, 44–45; Luke 23:44–47). This officer uttered the words: “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54), and tradition says he became a believer.  

3.  Cornelius, the centurion who became the first gentile convert (Acts 10:1–7). Acts tells us this soldier and his family were devout and God-fearing. A man of prayer, Cornelius also gave generously to those in need.

4 and 5.  The two centurions who arrested Paul (Acts 21:32).  Acts tells us that when a disturbance against Paul broke out in the Temple, two centurions were sent with their men to stop the violence, and they then took Paul into protective custody. The centurion who saved Paul from being scourged (Acts 22:25–29) was most likely one of the two who had arrested him.

6. The centurion who took Paul’s nephew to his commander (Acts 23:17). This centurion accommodated Paul’s request and thus helped save him from the Jewish plot to kill him.

7 and 8. The centurions who escorted Paul to Caesarea (Acts 23:23).  The commander Claudius Lysias called for two centurions to assemble soldiers and to take Paul to Felix, the Governor, for Paul’s protection.

9. In Caesarea, the Governor Felix commanded a centurion to guard Paul (Acts 24:23).

10.  Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment (Acts 27:1–43). Julius and his men escorted Paul to Rome with other prisoners.  In Sidon, Julius kindly permitted Paul to visit his friends who might provide for his needs (vs. 1, 3).  Later in the journey, when a great storm arose, acting on Paul’s counsel Julius prevented the crew from escaping and after the ship was wrecked, Julius again intervened to prevent the soldiers from killing Paul and the other prisoners (vss. 11, 31–32, 42–43). 

Although we only know the names of two of these centurions, Cornelius and Julius, the New Testament shows us that they all played some role in establishing and furthering the Christian faith.  While the importance of Cornelius is obvious, the other centurions, who are mentioned in the book of Acts, all played some part in protecting Paul and allowing him to both carry the gospel as far as Rome, and to bring his message of faith to many there who had turned to Christianity.  The centurions who had a vital part in Paul’s protection are shown to have often acted decisively, with discretion, with kindness, and sometimes with great courage. While diligently fulfilling their military duty, several of these soldiers were important in the development of Christianity, and the others among the group certainly helped in the spread of the faith.  

The extent of these centurions’ contributions to the growth of the faith is evident in their portrayal given by the New Testament, even though – because they were often seen as representatives of the hated Roman oppressors – most centurions were shunned by the ancient Jews.  Yet the honorable and often faith-serving nature of the ten centurions found in the New Testament is clear. As Christians, we might well look back and admire the faith of some of them, and we might well thank them all for their service!

Not Seeing the Forest for the Trees

Not Seeing the Forest for the Trees

by | May 1, 2023 | Bible Study

A number of years ago, a cartoon had the unlikely subject of a group of fleas sitting in what appeared to be a large pillared lecture hall, listening to an impassioned  speech from a flea behind a podium. On the podium was a sign reading “There is no dog!” – and it became clear that the “pillars” of the lecture hall were, in fact,  the hairs of a dog seen at the same magnified size as the fleas!
 
So the subjects of the cartoon were obviously “Afleists” who did not believe that dog existed, but the context was not one in any way suggesting that human atheists who don’t believe God exists were to be equated with fleas – it was simply looking wryly at the idea of how it is possible to be very unaware of things around us.

The cartoon might remind us of the apostle Paul’s words to the learned philosophers of Athens regarding the creation of all things by God:   “God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.  For in him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:27-28).

Like those earnest fleas debating the dog’s existence among the very hairs of the dog, we humans sometimes “don’t see the forest for the trees” when it comes to seeing the nature of the ultimate reality in which we live.   But religious people can be no less susceptible to this problem than atheists or agnostics.  We may not ignore the clear imprint of the Creator in the physical creation, but the problem of not seeing the forest for the trees can apply to us in a different way, nonetheless.

We read in the Gospel of Mark the story of how shortly after performing great miracles in which Jesus fed the multitudes:  “The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat. ‘Be careful,’ Jesus warned them. ‘Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.’  They discussed this with one another and said, ‘It is because we have no bread’” (Mark 8:14-16).

When Jesus realized the disciples’ lack of vision in this situation, he chastised them: “Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see …”  (Mark 8:17).

In this situation, the disciples missed the meaning of Christ’s message by looking too closely at their own circumstances, the details of their own situation.  Sometimes we can make the same mistake:  we miss the message because we take it too personally.

It is often said that when studying the Bible we should always ask “How does this verse apply to me?”  That is indeed a useful principle of personal study, but we should also be careful not to let our study of the Bible become self-absorbed to the point that we miss the bigger picture that is sometimes there.
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It is always good to remember that we are not the subject of the Bible, and that God is. The Bible is not just the revelation from God, it is primarily the revelation about God.  Our study should also ask the question “What does this verse show about God?”    If we study only to see what applies to us and to others, we can miss the message that is of forest-size proportions by concentrating only on what applies to some of the trees.