Jesus and the Soldiers

The soldiers that were hired by Rome came from different lands and even from Israel itself. They were people who had families and helped support them as well as they could. They were also people who had the difficult responsibility of keeping law and order in Rome's empire during a time when riots were common place.

In all likelihood, most soldiers had little or no respect for the people they protected. The people of Israel didn't like the soldiers as they represented a foreign rule and foreign taxes. Furthermore, many of religious people in Israel despised the lifestyle of the soldiers.

The soldiers responded by forcing Israeites to carry there baggage up to the limits the law allowed. When there was corporate punishment, it was the soldiers who carried out the dirty deeds of torturing and killing the supposed criminal.

There is one event in Jesus' life that may reflect the feelings of many in Israel. There was a man who came to Jesus who was demon possessed. When Jesus asked what the demon's name was, the demon answered, "My name is Legion, for we are many." To us this means a group of up to 4,800 soldiers. We focus on the number of demons. But to the people that heard this in Jesus day it said something about the soldiers. The soldiers of Rome were like demons, powerful but evil and unclean.

Any contact that Jesus had with soldiers is left silent until his trial. They did however, play an important part at John's baptism, asking him what they should do in order to be ready for bapism. John told them to stop using violence with the people and to be content with the salary they were given.

Although Jesus said and heard little or nothing about or from the soldiers, Jesus did on occasion meet with Centurions who were in charge of up to 480 soldiers. Centurions were usually "good guys" in the Bible. In Matthew 8 and Luke 7 Jesus commended a Centurion for having more faith than anybody in Israel. And at the cross it is a Centurion who confessed that Jesus was the son of God.

In Acts a Centurion had a vision that caused him to send for Peter in order to be the beginning of a Christian revival among the Gentiles, and it was a Centurion who watched over Paul and helped him stay alive when Paul was a prisoner on a ship.