Bible Word of the Day
Cornelius (A God-Fearing Roman Centurion)
Meaning
Cornelius is one of the more well known Roman Centurions in the Bible. This was because of his great faith in God. We can read about him in the book of Acts chapter ten. Cornelius is also one of the first Gentiles to be saved by faith along with his family. In addition, Cornelius has the distinction in the Bible as being the person who signals to the Apostles that salvation had come to the Gentiles as well as the Jewish people. Also, Cornelius is a great example of how much Christianity was spread throughout the Roman Empire by the Roman soldiers themselves.
A Roman Centurion was the toughest of the tough. The smallest organized unit of soldiers in the Roman Army consisted of eight to ten men led by an officer called “Decanus.” This small group of men was called a “Contubernium.” In the Roman army ten Contubernia formed a Centuria. This means a Centuria consisted of eighty to one hundred men under the command of a Centurion and his “Optio” or junior officer. Senior Centurions could command a “Cohort.” A Cohort consisted of approximately five to six-hundred men under the command of one Centurion. A cohort consisted of six Centuriae of eighty to one-hundred men each. Commanded by their own Centurion assisted by his junior officer, which in turn would be commanded by a senior Centurion. A cohort was the basic tactical unit of the Roman Legion. And six Cohorts formed a “Regiment.”
The Bible tells us Cornelius was from the “Italian Regiment.” Cornelius lived in Caesarea Maritima which was a large Roman city off of the coast of modern day Israel. His generosity to the Jewish community was well known. Cornelius and his family were devout “God Fearers.” A God Fearer was a Gentile who adopted Judiasm and followed the Mosaic laws and customs. Both Cornelius and the Apostle Peter had a vision from God to meet one another. And through the direction of the Lord, Peter explained the Gospel to Cornelius and his family. As a result, he and his family were saved. We see with their salvation that the Holy Spirit came upon all of them.
“There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming in and saying to him, ‘Cornelius’ And when he observed him, he was afraid, and said, ‘What is it, lord?’ So he said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have come up for a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa, and send for Simon whose surname is Peter. He is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea. He will tell you what you must do.'” (Book of Acts 10:1-6)