Military Men who followed Jesus

My Bible reading this morning was about the conversion of a Roman Centurion. He was a most unlikely candidate to become a follower of Jesus (the term Christian was not used at that time, but that was what he became).

Roman Centurions (I am generalising now) were usually battle hardened, professional, cynical, and no nonsense type of people. Faith in the unseen or putting your trust in someone else wasn’t how they normally operated unless, of course, it was obeying your commanding officer. They usually liked to be in control, pragmatic and deal in realities i.e. things that could be seen, touched and controlled. Maybe you are like that and quite cynical about spiritual matters.

Before I talk about Cornelius, that was his name, let me tell you about another Centurion. The Gospel writer, Matthew, tells us about him. Jesus had just arrived in Capernaum when a group of men from a synagogue approached him asking him to come to this unnamed Centurion’s house to heal his servant who was dying. There are a couple of things that are usual about this story (read it in Luke 7:1-10 or Matthew 8:5-13). 

Are names significant?

All Photos courtesy of Unsplash

The name of Caesar Augustus

 

The Roman Emperor who was in power when Jesus was born had many titles some of which have a strange similarity to those given to Jesus. The Roman Caesars made claims to deity that the Bible teaches only God can make. For instance, Caesar Augustus was  known as the Blessed One, the Anointed One (the Messiah), the  Pax Romana - The one who brings peace, the Pontifex (i.e. the Priest). He was regarded as a god and claimed that at the age of 17 he could bring men to God. He was also called the Divine Son of God in 42 BC at the age of 21. History shows  that the claims to be divine were not supported by lifestyle, behaviour or power.  

 

The claims that Jesus is God revealed in the flesh have been substantiated time and time again by eyewitness records to his perfect life, miraculous powers and glorious resurrection. 

Names are significant in Western culture.   

 

Parents choose names for their children after much thought and discussion. For the rest of a person's life, he/she is identified by the name he/she was given before birth. Proverbs 22:1, ‘A good name is more desirable than great riches.’ In the biblical world, a good name meant more than even a good reputation, because it identified the character of the person carrying it.