TEXT:"THERE was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,"-Acts 10:1

There are many definitions of a band, but the one definition I want to center on is, a band is a group of people, especially soldiers, who do something together or who have the same ideas. The whole Roman soldiers are called the Italian band. This band is commanded by the Emperor Caesar, who ruled from Rome.

In the Italian band, there are other smaller bands of soldiers. There are chief captains, captains, and centurions. The Romans copied this from the Israelites, Numbers 31:48. The chief captain commands the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds. The captain command a band of a thousand soldiers known as a legion. And the centurion is a captain of a band of a hundred soldiers.

Furthermore, it was a band of a hundred soldiers commanded by a centurion that took Jesus into the common hall, stripped him, put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had plaited a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and they also put a small thin piece of cane in his right hand: and they bowed their knees before him, and mocked him saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

Not yet done, they spat on him and took the small thin piece of cane, and hit him hard on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own clothing on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Also in Jerusalem, when the Jews was about to kill Paul, because they thought that he had brought a foreigner, an Ephesian, by name Trophimus, into the temple. News got the chief captain, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately took legion of soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when the Jews saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul, Acts 21:31, 32.

Again, when Paul's nephew told the chief captain, how the Jews have planned to kill Paul. From the legion of soldiers under his command, he called two bands of two hundred soldiers with their centurions, Acts 23:23. He also mobilised seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to accompany Paul, with a letter, to the governor in Caesarea, for his trial.

During his trial, Festus the governor, wanted to do the Jews a favour against Paul, but Paul appealed unto Caesar. And when it was time to go to Italy to meet with Caesar Augustus for his trial. Paul was delivered, with certain other prisoners, to a centurion named Julius in the Italian band commanded by Caesar Augustus.

Moreover, majority of these centurions feared God, Matthew 8:5-13; 27:54; Luke 7:1-5; Acts 27:42-44. Cornelius was also among these centurions. He was a man that believes in God; he obeys his laws and practices. He gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.

In one of the evenings, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a vision, and said to him that his prayers and his alms have come up for a memorial before God. And that he should send men to Joppa, for someone called Simon Peter. The angel also gave him the particulars of his host: one Simon a tanner. When Simon Peter comes, he will tell him what to do. You can read the full details in Acts 10.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.

Pastor K. C.