The Legion of Martyrs
In the year AD 286, the elite Theban Roman legion of more than 6,600 Egyptian youths was dispatched to Gaul for action. The amazing fact about this legion was that all its members were Christians.
Immediately before the battle, an order was issued that a pagan sacrifice be conducted for the emperor, followed by an oath to kill all the Christians in Gaul. Every member of the Theban legion refused to participate in the sacrifice or take the oath.
Furious at the insubordination, Emperor Maximian ordered that the legion be decimated. This meant every tenth man was put to death. Still the youths maintained their conviction. So, a second decimation was ordered. Still the remaining soldiers held fast to their devotion. Seeing that it was useless to continue his attempts, Maximian commanded that the entire legion be killed.*
This historic event displays an awe-inspiring application of putting on the whole armor of God. Doing so means putting on the “Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14). Christians are expected to be clothed continually with the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:11, 13). Only then will it be possible for us to remain steadfast when facing suffering or even death.
As King David wrote, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?” (Ps. 56:3–4).
The martyred Theban legion did not fight back but submitted to its fate, much like John the Baptist (Mt. 14:3–10), Stephen (Acts 7:54–60), and many other Christians throughout history—including those being martyred today.
Perhaps their confidence came in part from the words of the apostle Paul, who was beheaded for his faith by the Romans: “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live [together] with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Rom. 6:8; 8:18). “For to me, to live is Christ,” he wrote, “and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
May God give us all the courage and grace to remain faithful to Him until He calls us home.
*For more on this subject, see Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe and Lost Legion Rediscovered by Donald O’Reilly.
