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!
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. 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.
Instead of focusing on the stories we know well about Peter and the other leading disciples and what may be unfounded legends and traditions regarding the others, whenever possible this book, by R. Herbert, looks at what the Bible tells us about the group as a whole – something we often read over without thought. Yet what the New Testament tells us about the group Jesus chose is not simply background information and often teaches some profoundly important lessons that were written for our education. Lessons from the Lives of the Twelve Disciples is available in formats for computer, e-book reader, or smart phone, Download a free copy from the e-books page on this website, or from FreeChristianEBooks.org, here.
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him. “Teacher,” they said … “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory” (Mark 10:35–37).
People will go to great lengths to get the best seats in a restaurant, a theater, or at some important public occasion, but James and John outdid themselves in their asking (apparently with their mother’s urging – Matthew 20:20–21) for the seats at the right and left hand of Christ in his coming kingdom. We should remember that this event took place shortly after Jesus had already promised his apostles that they would all “sit upon thrones” judging the twelve tribes of Israel in the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:28). The request made by James and John was not just for great authority, but to be elevated to the highest positions of all at Christ’s right and left hand.
The audacity of these two disciples may seem remarkable in what they asked, but in reality, James and John were not the only disciples enamored by the thought of ruling with power. Mark shows that the other disciples were extremely angry once they realized the two brothers had made this bid for prominence in the group (Matthew 20:24). While the other disciples’ reaction may have been one of “righteous indignation,” it is perhaps more likely that they were simply angry at being almost outmaneuvered in regard to who would be the greatest among them.
Yet we should notice that Jesus did not rebuke the disciples regarding their desire for these elevated positions. Rather, he first asked James and John if they were able to “drink the cup” he was going to have to drink – referencing, of course, his coming suffering (Matthew 20:22). Jesus then patiently explained to all the disciples that the greatest among them must be the greatest servant (Matthew 20:25–27) and tried to help them to understand that before any such elevated positions in his kingdom were assigned, he must suffer and die (vs. 28).
After this, Jesus continued on the way to Jerusalem where he knew he would sacrifice his life, but we do not know if the disciples learned the lesson he had attempted to teach them. There is nothing in the gospels that indicates they understood or applied the lesson at that time. We can almost see them jostling with each other to get to be closest to Jesus as he rode, humbly yet triumphantly, into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1–11). But the events that soon took place must surely have brought the lesson back to their memories.
After Jesus’ betrayal, when it came to the time of his death on the cross, the only ones who were lifted up at his right and left hand were the two condemned individuals who were crucified on either side of him (Matthew 27:38). We can only wonder if James and John realized the irony of that fact, and if they saw in it the lesson Christ had tried to teach them – that those who get to be elevated on the right and left hand of the Son of God are not the great of the world who rule by the world’s power, but those who lose their lives and who symbolically, spiritually, are crucified with him (Galatians 2:19–20).
The lesson is clearly there for us to understand and apply also. The apostle Paul explained this spiritual fact when he wrote that: “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). We are all given the opportunity to sit with Christ in his kingdom, but we should not focus on who will be closest to his right or left hand – rather, as Paul affirms: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1). The goal is not to obtain the best seat possible, but to serve and sacrifice and to eventually sit together with him.
Complaining is one of the most deeply ingrained of all human traits. The biblical story tells us that the first man Adam and his wife Eve both complained immediately something went wrong (Genesis 3:11–13) and we humans can always find something to complain about – as is often said: we pray for rain then complain about the mud, our cup runs over and we complain about the size of the cup we were given!
We all complain at times, and the Bible shows that even some of its greatest heroes and servants of God occasionally fell into this problem, but the Bible is also full of examples and instructions to guide us away from this kind of attitude. This may be seen in the Old Testament stories of ancient Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness – the Israelites complained about the amount of water they had (Exodus 15), the amount of food (Exodus 16), and even the kind of food they were given (Numbers 11). In the New Testament, the apostle Paul tells us “We should not test the Lord, as some of them did … And do not grumble, as some of them did … These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us” (1 Corinthians 10:9–11). Elsewhere, Paul tells us explicitly “Do everything without complaining or arguing” (Philippians 2:14).
This biblical rejection of fault-finding is because in complaining, sooner or later, we invariably harm ourselves – and often others as well (complaining has been called the world’s oldest communicable disease for good reason). Complaining also easily turns to bitterness which can be spiritually deadly as many scriptures show (Hebrews 12:15; etc.). But even in its “milder” forms, complaining can be a failure to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in all situations, and his ability to make all things work for the best if we let him.
So how do we avoid the all-too-common failing of criticism? There are four simple things we can do that can turn a complaining attitude into a contented one:
1. Keep perspective: Contentment often only comes when we stop complaining about the troubles we have and begin to appreciate the troubles we don’t have. We may see the truth behind the old proverb that tells us “I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet,” yet it is often hard to relate this to our own situations. As Christians, however, we have an additional reason to keep a more positive perspective in that we can choose to trust God to bring good out of even the negative things that happen in our lives (Romans 8:28).
2. Focus on something better: Psychologists know that we can only put negative thoughts and criticisms out of our own minds by replacing them with more positive things. The poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson is said to have written “Don’t … bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.” The apostle Paul said it even more clearly when he wrote: “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).
3. Confront the problem: We often complain to others about problems or situations we are not happy about, but don’t take it to the person or people with whom we are discontented. If the situation is not one we can simply put out of our minds as insignificant, we should often follow the principle behind the biblical commands found in both the Old and New Testaments: “Do not nurse hatred in your heart … Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin” (Leviticus 19:17) “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone” (Matthew 18:15).
4. Pray about it: Rather than an “if all else fails” approach, we should often pray first about things we are unhappy enough to complain about. We may try to do what we can to avoid the problem, but if we find ourselves complaining to others – or just to ourselves – and the situation is not one we can practically take to the cause of the problem, we should switch gears and complain to God. The Bible shows God is perfectly willing to hear our concerns (Psalm 142:1–2 ) and asking his help is always the right thing to do. God does not tell us not to complain to ourselves and others without leaving us a way of help. Sometimes, all we have to do is ask for it.
Simple but effective
These four steps may seem absolutely basic – and they are – but the problem is not that they do not work for being so simple, it is with us when we do not utilize them. But once we recognize complaining in ourselves we can reject it and begin to think and speak in a more uplifting way. In his final imprisonment, the apostle Paul had perhaps as many reasons to complain about things as anyone – he was unjustly accused, badly treated, and about to be executed though he had done no wrong. Yet in his letter to the Philippians, written at that time, Paul tells us:
“Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life” (Philippians 2:14–15).
Paul’s inspiring words remind us all that whatever our circumstances we should not complain and that in not complaining we truly let our light shine in showing those around us that we who have the truth of God have nothing to complain about.
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