III. JESUS AND THE CENTURIONS

Matth. 8:5.—“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him.”

It has been remarked that favourable mention is made of the Centurions throughout the whole of the New Testament. In the present instance, the centurion is represented as merciful, anxious for the care of his servant; as humble-minded, “I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof;” as having great faith, “speak the word only.” In the corresponding case of the centurion in Luke 7:2 (if we suppose the party not the same), there are still exhibited the same virtues; with the addition that he “loved the nation of the Jews, and had built them a synagogue.”

In Matthew 27:54, the centurion at the Crucifixion appears to advantage; “Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God:” in St. Luke’s account, 23:47, to still greater; “Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.”

In Acts 10:1, 2, we find the same honourable mention made of a centurion. Cornelius was “a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”

In Acts 22:25, When Paul had been rescued from the populace at Jerusalem, by the guard, and the chief officer having lodged him in the castle, commanded that he should be examined by scourging; “Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?” And accordingly he found in the centurion a reasonable man, who at once reported his case to his superior, and the sentence was not carried into execution.

And in the sequel of this transaction, when it had come to Paul’s knowledge through his sister’s son, that forty persons had entered into a conspiracy to kill him, he at once “called for one of the centurions,” as though confident that he would see him protected, and desired him to take his informant to the chief captain, which he at once did (23:17).

In Acts 27:1, we read of another centurion, Julius, and still to the credit of his character—“He courteously entreated Paul, and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh himself”(3); and when in the wreck, “the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners;” “the centurion, wishing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose.”(43.)

It appears, therefore, as I have said, that often as a centurion is presented to us in the Gospels, it is uniformly to his praise.

I think there is truth at the bottom of this consistency, which is evidently undesigned. It is impossible to suppose that notices thus incidental, occurring from time to time, at distant intervals, and moreover exhibiting the centurion under a variety of circumstances calculated to test him in different ways, should have been constructed on a plan; should have been contrived for the purpose of giving a colouring of veracity to the narrative. The detection of such a token by the reader could not have been reckoned upon with certainty. It is probable that to most of those who may peruse these pages, the fact of such consistency had not presented itself before: it had not to myself, till my attention was recently called to it [By Mr. Humphry’s Commentary on Acts 10:3.] . I may not be able to account for it, but that does not make the argument the worse. Perhaps in the well-regulated Roman armies, the more intelligent and orderly soldiers were promoted to this command. Perhaps, too, their rank and position, not much removed from that of the teachers of the Gospel, might lead these officers to sympathize with them and their cause. Certain it is, that the Evangelists have no theory whatever on the subject. Their testimony would be less valuable for the purpose I use it, if they had. They simply make statements; the inference drawn from them is altogether our own.