Biblical Context: Centurion

A centurion’s favorite slave was sick and about to die. So when he heard about Jesus’ arrival, he sent some Jewish elders, asking him to come and save his slave’s life, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, in terrible distress.”

So Jesus travelled with them. When he wasn’t far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself. I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof, which is why I wasn’t even worthy to come to you myself. But just say the word and my servant will be healed. I’m a man placed under authority too, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go and he goes, and another to come and he comes. And to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Then Jesus told the centurion, “Go. It’ll be done for you just as you’ve believed.”

The servant was healed that very hour, and when the messengers returned to the house, they found him healthy.

– The Story of Jesus 10.1

[Adapted from Mt 8:5-13; Lk 7:1-10]

Roman armies were called legions, consisting of about 5000 soldiers and officers, most of whom were Roman citizens. Each legion was divided into cohorts, the basic functional unit of the Roman military. A cohort had 400-600 soldiers further divided into six centuries of 80-100 men each. Each century was commanded by a centurion, with the most senior centurion also commanding the cohort. Units of cavalry and light infantry supported the main force of heavy infantry. 

Each soldier carried a long spear (hasta, pilum) and a large curved rectangular shield (scutum) over a meter tall. A short sword (gladius) was carried as a secondary weapon. Armor consisted of overlapping strips of metal over the torso (lorica segmenta), a helmet with cheek plates (galea), and greaves over the shins.

The Romans fought in a phalanx formation, where multiple rows of soldiers moved forward as a single unit, constantly pushing on and crushing the opposing force. Overlapping shields provided protection from enemy weapons, while spears held overhead and thrust downward made short work of the enemies themselves. Roman legions were highly disciplined and trained, and they were considered the deadliest military force of their time. 

The annual wage of Roman soldiers was 225 denarii, some of which was held back as tax for clothing and food. Soldiers would supplement their meager pay with whatever plunder they could get from battle or raids on enemy settlements. They could also take prisoners of war as slaves, which could be sold for profit later on. At the completion of their service (20 years), discharged soldiers received a bonus of 3000 denarii and farmland in frontier regions of the empire.

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