Maximus meets and is saved by Longinus

When the two Roman soldiers started to whip Jesus, Maximus shouted "No!" Running from amongst the crowd, he flung himself at the nearest soldier with all his strength. But he was merely a child and was not able to attack a full grown man wearing hard bronze armor and do any harm to him. In fact he hurt himself more than he did the soldier when he impacted with him and that armor. Maximus was stunned for a moment, but he recovered quickly and hit the soldier with his small fist, again hurting only himself. Just as he was about to strike the soldier again, he was knocked down to the ground with one blow from the soldier's heavy fist. As he lay there trying to catch his breath, the soldier raised his whip over his head and was about to strike Maximus across the face, but before he could, the centurion Longinus shouted
"Soldier! Hold!"
The Roman soldier stopped the whip on it's down-stroke just before it could make contact with the boy.
"Hold your hand Soldier. He's the bravest lad I've ever seen and I'll not have him whipped." He paused for a moment. " At least not until I've spoken with him and see what this is all about."
Longinus thought that the condemned rabbi might be the boy's father or other close relative, and so there might be a legitimate reason for him doing what he had, however foolish and futile.
The centurion commanded in his booming voice, "Boy come here, now!"
Maximus picked himself up, his ears still ringing from the blow that the soldier had given him, and walked over to the centurion. He hadn't heard what Longinus had said to the soldier about wanting to speak with him, because of his ringing ears, so he expected to be killed immediately for having had the audacity to attack a soldier of Rome. But Longinus me...

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...fe, but he knew to follow Longinus order not to let any harm come to the him. The centurion was a fair and just commander, but he was also swift in carrying out punishment for disobeyed orders. The soldier was not about to suffer the same fate as the rabbi just for a moment of revenge.
Maximus struggled with the soldier as he was being carried away, but it was no use. He was only 10 years old and no match for a full grown and battle hardened Roman legionnaire.
The soldier held him firmly and marched briskly to the centurion's quarters. When they arrived there the guard on sentry duty asked the soldier what he was doing there with the boy.The soldier told him what had happened and what centurion Longinus had ordered. The guard allowed him entrance to the centurion's quarters and there the soldier and Maximus waited for what seemed to both of them a very long time.