Last week I reflected on the brave Roman centurion who while overseeing Christ’s crucifixion declared that Jesus was an innocent man who truly was God’s Son. This centurion charged with ensuring efficient, incident-free crucifixions provides us with proof of the power of the cross.
Matthew records that the centurion and others who watched on were awestruck by supernatural happenings as they said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54). Mark records that the centurion, who faced Jesus when He drew His last breath, said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39). Mark assigns the declaration of Jesus’s divinity to one man, the centurion. Luke 23:47 states that the centurion praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” A Roman who indorsed Ceasar and Roman law, renounced both by proclaiming that Jesus was a righteous man, innocent of wrongdoing. The three first gospels proclaim the centurion’s faith.
What stands out in these readings, especially considering Jesus’s divinity and bodily resurrection, is that Jesus is spoken of in the past tense. He was the innocent Son of God. Maybe this was said the day that He died because no one knew Jesus’s death was just the start of many unexplainable miraculous events. After the tomb was found empty the talk was about what is and will be!
Supernatural events require that we use our senses. We are sentient beings. God left the Bible to help us discern what is of God from what is not. Too many people equate the supernatural with emotions. We must be wary. Emotions can lead us astray when our eyes and ears do not. We must use our God-given senses wisely to ensure our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
Jesus’s supernatural death and resurrection was witnessed by all of creation who Scripture tells us know the Creator, for even the rocks cry out. Created things know that creation is not to be worshipped; only the creator is to be worshipped. Many people worship creation; they worship creatures, events, science, and scientists. God is God of everything, all of creation, even science.
At the cross, a courageous centurion discovered that the man he was crucifying could save even him, a common centurion doing a hard day’s work. That day he found out how much he needed a Savior. Yet, the billions who know and read this centurion’s story do not even know his name.
We do not know what happened to the centurion at the cross. It is possible that after his life-changing experience he could not be silent about it. He could not keep the best news he had seen and heard to himself. He could not unsee or unhear what he knew to be true! He may have been responsible for the salvation of hundreds, even thousands of others, more than he ever oversaw. Or, he may have been arrested, tortured, and killed when he refused to recant his faith in Jesus.
What happened to the centurion after the cross mattered to the centurion, to God, and to those who accepted Jesus because of his witness, but it does not really matter to us. The centurion’s story, told for 2000 years, tells us that his legacy is assured. His cry of faith is more valuable than anything else about him. Once a person truly knows Jesus, he or she has no choice but to share it.
Men and women who have hit rock bottom, like this centurion, realize that Jesus is their only hope. Others are compelled to renounce non-Christian beliefs when they meet Jesus. Like the centurion, they have seen and heard things that they just cannot forget. Some are courageous enough to share Jesus with their family, friends, and others imprisoned in unbelief while too many regular churchgoers having everything that they need will never share their faith.
The centurion at the cross led the Gentile Roman soldiers who guarded Jesus as He was being crucified. These soldiers must have been shocked by their superior’s words and actions. Perhaps they too were moved to pursue Christ. The centurion’s confession and witness were instrumental in passing on the most important news there is: Christ’s sacrifice is for all of mankind.
As the first Gentile convert, this centurion’s faith set him apart and set him free from the snares holding so many captive to a sinful world. He is a remarkable hero who inspires and encourages believers to evangelise to nonbelievers so that they hear and heed God’s call and accept Jesus.
Jesus never said that he was. John’s gospel is filled with examples of Jesus saying who He is. … After feeding the multitudes and walking on water, “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; Whoever comes to me shall not hunger and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. … I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh,’” (John 6:35,51). Here Jesus speaks of spiritual nourishment which is superior to nutrition for the body.
Jesus told the Jews who accused Him of having a demon that “before Abraham was, I am,” (John 8:58). In addition to calling Himself 1) the bread of life, Jesus said that he was 2) the light of the world, 3) the Good Shepherd, 4) God’s Son, 5) the resurrection and the life, 6) the way, the truth, and the life, and 7) the true vine (John 6:35; 9:5; 10:14; 10:36; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1).
The centurion began his faith journey by witnessing to the bread of life who gave His all for him and for the world. The cross was necessary for Jesus’s resurrection, but what followed was more shocking: His appearing and ministering to hundreds of others before His ascension into heaven. If the centurion was not martyred, he fearlessly served during those first days of Christ’s Church.
The author of the letter to the Hebrews pleads for Christians to live lives pleasing to God. Using the last Psalm sung at the Last Supper, the writer says that believers should have no fear because Jesus said that He would never leave us nor forsake us. “So, we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper; I will not fear; What can man do to me?” (Heb. 13:8 quoting Ps. 118:6).
