A centurion was an officer in the Roman army. The name came from the Latin centurio, indicating that originally it was the title for an officer in charge of a hundred soldiers. The favourable references to centurions in the New Testament suggest that they may have been carefully chosen because of their quality of character. Some even became believers in Jesus Christ (Matthew 8:5-13; Matthew 27:54; Acts 10:1-2; Acts 23:17-18; Acts 27:43).