Note 1 at Mt. 8:8: A centurion was a captain of 100 soldiers which was one-sixtieth of a Roman legion of 6,000. Although under the command of the Roman army, this centurion was evidently a godly man, judging by the Jews' evaluation of him. Another example of a godly centurion is found in Acts 10. Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian band, was "a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway" (Acts 10:2).

A centurion was present at the crucifixion of Jesus (Mt. 27:54; Mk. 15:39; Lk. 23:47) and, judging from his reaction and "they that were with him," there may well have been some conversions among the Roman army who were watching Jesus. The fact that centurions had servants (Lk. 7:2; Acts 10:7), built synagogues for the Jews (Lk. 7:5), and gave "much alms" (Acts 10:2) would indicate that a centurion received an excellent income compared to others of his day.