Roman Soldiers Submitted to John's Baptism.

It's really true - here's the facts.

Preachers & scholars have said the soldiers were not Roman.

Luke 3:10-14 recounts some conversations between John the Baptist and people who have just been (or are just about to be) baptized by him in the Jordan River. First he speaks with the general crowd, then with tax collectors, and then with soldiers.

I've encountered professors and preachers who say these "soldiers" must be temple police, for surely they could not be soldiers of the occupying Roman army. Others leave the possibilities open. But on the other hand, what would temple police employed by the Jewish establishment in Jerusalem be doing hanging out with an anti-establishment prophet down by the Jordan? That doesn't seem to be a career-friendly move on the part of such a "soldier." So this week I did the research.

Let's look at how Luke uses soldiers in the first (Gospel) and second (Acts) parts of the two-volume opus he prepared for a Roman dignitary. He refers to army-type soldiers 18 times across the 52 chapters of his opus, and introduces the first group of them in Chapter 3 of his Gospel, in the passage cited above.

The soldiers at the Jordan:

ONE: Before the conversations in Luke 3 begin, we catch the end of the Baptist's sermon, in which he says, "Don't say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham." He is telling his Jewish listeners that if they fail to confess their sins, they are in no better position than godless Gentiles.

The Jews ask what they should do, and the Baptist preaches social justice. Then some hated tax collectors ask the same question. They are told to do their jobs as they have been assigned, and not to extort more money than they have been ordered to collect. And then some soldiers (stratuomai) speak up, saying "What about us?"  The Baptist gives them the same instruction, that is, to do their own job and not extort money--to be content with their wages. Stratuomai are soldiers trained for warfare.

I see this as a three-part levelling of the plain. The Jews are not exempt, not even the Jewish tax collector. John doubles down for the soldiers: they must also behave the same. Remember that Luke is writing this opus to a Roman "friend of God," one Theophilus. Luke is implying that not even Theophilus is exempt from this lesson taught by John the Baptist.

The centurion and his soldiers:

 TWO: The next mention of a soldier is imbedded in Luke 7:2-10. A Roman military official (centurion) in Capernaum asks for Jesus'  help, but says that Jesus need not come to him because Jesus is in a position to order things done just like himself, who is a man placed under authority with soldiers (stratiotees)  placed under him that do his bidding. (I will deal in part EIGHT below with the difference in the Greek word used)

This centurion was a lover of the Jewish nation and put up the money to build the synagogue. The lesson for Theophilus is that a person of high office can love the Jewish nation even if he is a Roman.

Herod's soldiers:

THREE: During the trial of Jesus, Herod the kinglet of Galilee and Perea happens to be in town, along with his personal security detail of soldiers. Pilate sends Jesus to Herod, who questions him at length with the chiefs of the temple present. Then Herod and his soldiers (stratuma) mock Jesus, dress him in a royal robe, and send him back to Jesus (Luke 23:7-11). I will deal with the word stratuma in part Eight below.

Theophilus might have noticed that it was not Roman soldiers but Jewish soldiers who were mocking Jesus. This is the only mention of Jewish soldiers by Luke.

Pilate's soldiers:

FOUR: The Roman soldiers (stratiotees) of the crucifixion detail cast lots for Jesus' clothing and joined the temple officials in mocking Jesus, the "King of the Jews" (Luke 23:36). The Roman Centurion in charge of the crucifixion says, "Certainly this man was innocent!" (Luke 23:47). Theophilus' lesson is the great injustice done to Jesus, as attested by a Roman official.

A devout Roman soldier:

FIVE: Cornelius was a Roman Centurion who was a devout respecter of God and friend of the Jews (Acts 10:1-2). He had a devout soldier (stratiotees) working for him who he sent to Joppa to fetch Peter (Acts 10:7-8). Theophilus could certainly identify with these Romans.

Other Roman soldiers in Acts:

SIX: Squads of Roman soldiers are assigned to guard Peter, who escapes anyway (Acts 12:4,6,18).
SEVEN: Soldiers of the Roman cohort rescue Paul from a riot (Acts 21:32,35).
EIGHT: Roman soldiers take Paul to Caesarea in Acts 23:10,27 (stratuma) and Acts 23:23,31 (stratiotees). While Luke appears to use these words interchangeably, stratuma refers to a troop of soldiers while stratiotees refers to a simple plurality of soldiers.
NINE: Roman soldiers guard Paul and other prisoners on a ship (Acts 27:31,39,42).
TEN: A Roman soldier is assigned to guard Paul in Rome (Acts 28:16).

In sum, Luke portrays Roman soldiers in his two-part opus as men who could reasonably be expected to accept a baptismal  immersion at the hand of John the Baptist. When we are in tune with Luke's writings, there is nothing fantastic or unbelievable about such an act.

But still, what about the temple police? Could Luke possibly have meant that Jewish policemen were baptized?

Officers, Magistrates, and the Captain of the Guard:

A soldier is a man of war, trained in battle. A police officer is a civic official, trained to enforce the law. Luke uses a word entirely different from "soldier" to identify an "officer," namely, strateegus.

ELEVEN: The chief priests and officers (strateegus) conspire with Judas (Luke 22:4). Later the chief priests and officers arrest Jesus (Luke 22:52).
TWELVE: The "captain of the temple guard" (strateegus) comes to arrest Peter and John (Acts 4:1), then goes to the temple to fetch them again (Acts 5:24,26). This was the "chief of police" who had a magistrate's job, in that he sat with the chief priests on the Jewish High Council.
THIRTEEN: Paul and Silas are jailed then released by the chief magistrates (strateegus) in Philippi (Acts 16:20,22,36,36,38).
None of these uses of the Greek word quite fit our concept of a policeman.

Roman Policemen:

FOURTEEN: Policemen (rabdouchous) in Philippi do the jailing and releasing under the command of the Roman magistrates (Acts 16:35,38).

In sum, if Luke had meant that anyone other than a Roman soldier was baptized by John, he would have made that clear with different words.

But what did they do with their swords and shields? If they were expected to be baptized in the nude, how did they react? To find that out, you'll need to read the book: See http://rolinbruno.com/