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The Centurion

The centurion's name is Gaius Marcus Maximus III, the grandson of a freed slave named Maximus who served a previous emperor well, as his personal military attendant (known as the general's "batman" in English and Commonwealth military phraseology). He would have been promoted to the rank of an officer because of bravery and ability, although he would never have advanced to or beyond the rank of Tribune because of Roman protocol regarding "upper-class" families from which senior officers were drawn.

It seems that Maximus III has served with distinction in several trouble-spots in the empire, and while many postings to Judea are for individual disciplinary reasons, he was actually loaned by the Governor of Syria who succeeded Quirenius, because of his great ability to instill good order and discipline, when it was realised that the Passover celebration in the year Jesus was crucified was going to attract an unexpected number of militant people of Jewish descent from other parts of the empire. This is probably why he was personally assigned by His Excellency, Governor Pilatus, to the execution detail, and he would have hand picked battle-hardened reliable soldiers to escort his three prisoners to the gallows.

Max has a lot to share when he compares the disciplines of soldiers and followers of Christ and often refers to the Father as the Supreme Commander.

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