Soldiers in Luke-Acts

One of the questions that Christians disagree on is whether Christians can serve in the military. It is a complicated issue and people on both sides have strong convictions.

Quoting “turn the other cheek” or “love your enemy” should not shut down the conversation. Those verses are part of the conversation but they are not the end of the conversation.

It is interesting to note that there are a number of encounters with military members in Luke-Acts. While this may not give the full answer to the question, we might get a sense of what Luke thought about military service.

John the Baptist and Soldiers

Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’ (Luke 3:14)

In this passage, some soldiers come to John the Baptist in response to his call to repentance. They ask John directly what they should do in terms of aligning with the message he was preaching. John had a good opportunity to tell them to leave the military.

What John tells them to do is serve in an ethical way. They are not to abuse their power but to do their job in a way that is moral. And what this looks like does not require leaving the military.

Jesus and the Centurion

After Jesus had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave whom he valued highly, and who was ill and close to death. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him, asking him to come and heal his slave. When they came to Jesus, they appealed to him earnestly, saying, ‘He is worthy of having you do this for him, for he loves our people, and it is he who built our synagogue for us.’ And Jesus went with them, but when he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to say to him, ‘Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; therefore I did not presume to come to you. But only speak the word, and let my servant be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to one, “Go”, and he goes, and to another, “Come”, and he comes, and to my slave, “Do this”, and the slave does it.’ When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, he said, ‘I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.’ When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health. (Luke 7:1-9)

In this passage, Jesus has an encounter with a centurion, although not directly. The centurion sends some people to seek Jesus’ help for his servant. This would be the perfect time for Jesus to make a statement about military service.

Now, silence about his military service does not mean that Jesus approved of it. However, this centurion is praised. The Jewish elders explain to Jesus that the centurion was a good man who was good to the Jewish people. Even more than that, Jesus is amazed at the centurion’s faith. This is the only time such a statement is made by Jesus. Not only is there a lack of criticism of the centurion, there is some over the top praise for the man.

Peter and the Centurion

In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. One afternoon at about three o’clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, ‘Cornelius.’ He stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ He answered, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter; he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside.’ When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him, and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa. (Acts 10:1-8)

This is an important passage as God begins to welcome the Gentiles into the church. The one who is chosen to participate in this is Cornelius, the centurion. Now just mentioning that he is a centurion is not necessarily approval. However, like the centurion in the Gospel, Cornelius is highly praised. And not just in the eyes of humans, part of his being chosen was God accepting his righteous deeds. This is not just some random sinner that is offered grace, but a person chosen for being righteous.

If one only read Luke-Acts, what would we think was the attitude toward military service? There are three opportunities to comment on the problems of military service. But instead of criticism, in two cases the soldier that is mentioned receive extremely strong praise, arguably better than that offered to the apostles.

Does this mean that Christians are allowed to serve in the military? Full disclosure: I am a military chaplain. I do not believe what I shared here is the final word. But it does suggest that soldiers are not to be excluded from the ministry of the church, and not just in spite of their career. Luke describes two centurions that are highly praised without being criticized for their service. I believe this should be part of the conversation in the church’s attitude toward the military.