“So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out
like this and breathed His last, he said, ‘Truly this Man was the Son of God!’”
The centurion was a man familiar with death. He had experience in seeing men die, probably
by his own hand in battle, maybe even his own men from the enemy, but certainly
from the people he had crucified. He
knew death could be tortuously slow or could happen in an instant without
warning. So why was his experience with
the death of Jesus so different than the others he had observed? What transpired that made such a hardened
man, who was responsible for carrying out the crucifixion, exclaim aloud ‘truly
this Man was the Son of God!’?
Part of it could have been the three hours of darkness
preceding the death of Jesus. In the
account in Luke, there was darkness that was then followed by the sun being
obscured. “Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the
earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun
was darkened” (Luke 23:44-45a). That
was difficult and certainly could have bothered the centurion.
Add to that, the centurion had never observed someone with
such control over their own death.
Doctors say that death by crucifixion comes from suffocating. The body is hung in such a way that the
victim must push from the feet to take a breath of air. Breathing would be painful labor. Speaking would require great effort. Yet – “And
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.” (Mark
15:37) The centurion watched Jesus cry
out with a strong voice and the next moment give up his life. This was unique.
But I imagine, even more than the darkness and the control
over His own death, was the love that Jesus showed to the centurion. How did Jesus show the centurion love? Forgiveness.
“And when they had come to the
place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the
right hand and the other on the left.
Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they
do.’ And they divided His garments and
cast lots.” (Luke 23:33-34) Jesus
prayed for the forgiveness of those who crucified Him.
“The centurion looked at the crosses and stood vigil as
death reduced them to a mass of lifeless flesh.
Yet one victim seemed unlike any the veteran soldier had ever seen. This man didn’t fight as the others had. Nor did He beg or curse, condemn or plead for
mercy. In fact, He did something that
tore at the centurion’s heart. He
forgave. In all his career, only Jesus
had ever offered the centurion mercy.
Even though he stood for everything that put Christ on that cross, Jesus
forgave him.” (Charles Stanley)
My dear friends, we live in a world full of darkness, a
world full of sin. Jesus took that
darkness on Himself for our sake. He
freely gave His life so that we who believe in Him could have eternal
life. He now sits at the right hand of
God and intercedes in prayer on our behalf.
I pray that you look upon Jesus as the centurion did. Regardless of your past, Jesus will forgive
you. You are not beyond His grace. He loves you so much He died for you.
What is your confession about Jesus?
May you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
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