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Centurion (2)

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

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CENTURION (Lat. centurio; in Mark always κεντυρίων [Mark 15:39; Mar_15:44-45]; in Matt^{. [Note: Matthew’s (i.e. prob. Rogers’) Bible 1537.]} and Luke and Acts ἑκατοντάρχης acc. to יא, or ἑκατόνταρχος in other uncials; the latter form being more Attic, the former more frequent in Hellenistic [cf. Blass, Gram., English translation p. 28, on fluctuation between first and second declensions]; in Polybius the centurion is called ταξίαρχος).—As the name denotes, a centurion was an officer in the Roman army who had command of a centuria containing 100 men. The legion at its full strength consisted of about 6000 foot-soldiers, consequently it included 60 centurions. These were of different ranks or degrees of promotion and importance, according to the position occupied in battle by their special company or maniple. Though laughed at for their hob-nailed shoes and thick calves (Juv. Sat. xvi. 14. 24) and for their general unkempt roughness (ib. xiv. 194), these officers were the very ‘backbone of the army.’ Their badge of office was the vine-rod (vitis), which they freely used on the men, even without the authorization of the tribune (cf. Tacitus Annal. i. 23). Polybius describes the ideal centurion as ‘not so much overventuresome and fond of danger as possessing the faculty for command, steady and serious (βαθεῖς ταῖς ψυχαῖς); not prone to rush into battle nor eager to strike the first blow, but ready to die in defence of their posts if their men are overborne by numbers and hard pressed’ (vi. 24; cf. Vegetius, ii. 14).

The centurions mentioned in the NT are attractive specimens of the manly, serious-minded, generous Roman. In the Gospel narrative two centurions find a place. The one (Matthew 8:5-13 || Luke 7:1-10) resident in Capernaum may probably have been in Herod’s service; but in any case he was a Gentile, for in his humble faith Jesus sees the first-fruits of a world redeemed, and recognizes that even if ‘the children of the kingdom’ prefer the outer darkness to the light and joy within, the provided feast will still be furnished with guests. The distinctive characteristic of this centurion’s faith was his persuasion that a word of command uttered by Jesus could set in motion forces sufficient for the emergency, even as the κέλευσμα of the Roman officer at once accomplished his will. The μόνον εἰπὲ λόγῳ is the key to the incident, and absolutely differentiates this centurion from the βασιλικός of John 4:46, who insisted that Jesus should ‘go down’ and heal his son.

The centurion charged with superintending the crucifixion of Jesus (Mark 15:39 || Matthew 27:54 || Luke 23:47) paid so striking and unexpected a tribute to His greatness, that it finds a place in each of the Synoptic Gospels. The terms of the tribute are best understood from the account of St. Luke, who frequently preserves what is evidently the original form of a saying. Certainly ‘son of God’ in the mouth of a Roman could mean little more than St. Luke’s ‘just man.’ But the expression ‘son of God’ might be suggested by the ‘Father’ in our Lord’s last cry.

Literature.—Ramsay’s Rom^{. [Note: Roman.]} Autiq. s.v.; St. George Stock’s Caesar de B. Gall. pp. 208–215; J. E. B. Mayor’a Juvenal, notes on passages cited above.

Marcus Dods.