Roman Centurions: A Historical Analysis of Their Role in the New Testament

by Steven A Mercer, Michael A.G. Haykin (Foreword)

Roman Centurions feature prominently in the New Testament. A centurion stood at the foot of the cross when Christ was crucified. Jesus healed a centurion's servant and Paul interacted with centurions on multiple occasions. A centurion was even the first non-Jewish convert to Christianity. But who were these men, really? What did it mean to be a centurion? Why did the New Testament authors include them in their writings? This illuminating work provides the most thorough and comprehensive treatment to date on New Testament centurions in order to answer these questions and bring to light these often overlooked characters. Through a careful analysis of available military history and primary source texts, this book highlights the importance of centurions to the biblical narrative and sheds new light on the role these men played in the early church.

96 pages, Paperback

Published January 24, 2023

Reviews

[Jake Bronson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This analysis of the centurions role in the New Testament humanizes and historicizes the centurion in the context of first century Judaism. Mercer highlights the unique emphasis different biblical authors place on the role of the centurion and how that impacts their overall argument.

One of the most interesting vignettes to me was the story of the centurion at the cross. Mercer highlights the likelihood that that centurion who recognizes Jesus' deity not only was the one who oversaw his crucifixion, but also very likely was of fellow Palestinian decent. The vulgarity of the centurion receiving access to the kingdom should not be lost on the reader.

I too easily make biblical players into caricatures that lack humanity. Merecer's work helped paint a clearer picture of who the centurions actually were, what experiences shaped them, and how their presence in the Redemptive narrative is not accidental.