Historic Jesus
Centurion

The Roman army comprised legions, cohorts, maniples, and centuries. There were three maniples to a cohort and two centuries to a maniple. There were one hundred men in a century, and their commanding officer was called a "centurion." Two centurions are mentioned in the Gospels. Of the one who sought Jesus' help to heal his slave, Jesus said he had not found such faith among all the sons of Israel. The other centurion mentioned in the Gospels commanded the detail of soldiers who crucified Jesus. This centurion concluded that Jesus "truly ... was the Son of God" (Matt. 2754).