From Sword to Savior: It's Time To Rethink The Roman Centurion

One of the greatest questions that faced the early church was whether Christians could join the military and participate in war.

When the question of Christians joining the military and using the sword arises, inevitably someone will turn to Matthew 8:5-13 where Christ publicly praises the faith of a Roman centurion (soldier) who requests a miracle.

Put simply, the Centurion’s “faith” coupled with Christ's silence on the Centurion's occupation has long been used as a reason why Christians can join the military.

Here’s what the Bible says:

“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." (Matthew 8:5-13)

The logic goes like this: Since Christ applauded the Centurion’s faith, and because Christ does not explicitly command the soldier to forsake his military occupation, it must mean that Jesus supports the idea of Christians joining the military.

But is that really what is going on in this Biblical account? Are we to assume that Jesus approves of His followers joining the military simply because he was silent on the Centurion’s choice of occupation?

In this new teaching, we dive headlong into this question and many others in an attempt to discern how Christ's followers are to respond to military service. We will also consider other examples of Centurions throughout the New Testament in our investigation.

Learn more about Jerry Robinson and our ministry work at https://truerichesradio.com