You’re right — the name “Marcus” isn’t in the Bible. Scripture mentions a Roman centurion at the crucifixion in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but he’s never named.
So where did the name come from?
I created Marcus Aelius Vitalis as a historically accurate Roman name to give identity and depth to that unnamed centurion. It’s historical fiction built on real Roman military structure, real naming conventions, and the real events of the Gospels.
The centurion himself is absolutely biblical. The name is not — but the character is faithful to the text, the timeline, and the world Jesus lived in.
I’m simply giving a voice and a journey to a man the Bible presents but does not identify.
Absolutely helped. In the course of the story you correctly said “As Jesus stumbles under the crushing weight of the crossbeam…”. Main stream Religion and images always show the whole cross. There is NO WAY anyone could carry the upright and the crossbeam combined. The crossbeam alone was basically a railroad track tie notched in the center to accept the upright beam. Also studies has been conducted on cadavers that prove the nails were not driven through Christ’s ✋ the nails were driven through what we refer to as the wrists. Also the nails that were driven were Large in size (think railroad spike) not like the nails of today. Here is a link to a medical perspective of the crucifixion https://youtu.be/T-EVfxABSoU?si=OiulEc5cJgkph9A_
Curious where did you get the Centurion’s name from it’s not in the Bible anywhere?
Great question, Robert.
You’re right — the name “Marcus” isn’t in the Bible. Scripture mentions a Roman centurion at the crucifixion in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but he’s never named.
So where did the name come from?
I created Marcus Aelius Vitalis as a historically accurate Roman name to give identity and depth to that unnamed centurion. It’s historical fiction built on real Roman military structure, real naming conventions, and the real events of the Gospels.
The centurion himself is absolutely biblical. The name is not — but the character is faithful to the text, the timeline, and the world Jesus lived in.
I’m simply giving a voice and a journey to a man the Bible presents but does not identify.
Hope that helps, brother.
Absolutely helped. In the course of the story you correctly said “As Jesus stumbles under the crushing weight of the crossbeam…”. Main stream Religion and images always show the whole cross. There is NO WAY anyone could carry the upright and the crossbeam combined. The crossbeam alone was basically a railroad track tie notched in the center to accept the upright beam. Also studies has been conducted on cadavers that prove the nails were not driven through Christ’s ✋ the nails were driven through what we refer to as the wrists. Also the nails that were driven were Large in size (think railroad spike) not like the nails of today. Here is a link to a medical perspective of the crucifixion https://youtu.be/T-EVfxABSoU?si=OiulEc5cJgkph9A_