And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"
Mark 15:39
"When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!""
Matthew 27:54
Today I had an opportunity to see the Lord Jesus, through the eyes of another, one who was both witness and party to the crucifixion of the Lord: the Roman centurion.
It was another day, the centurion was carrying out his orders, another execution. Almost mechanically, his men, hardened by war, and exposure to brutality and death, hammered the nails into their human subjects, and amid the screams and smells of sweat, blood, and human excrement, they raised the crucifixes. The thieves to the left and right, were suffering and were dying like most, but the one in the middle, this man, Yeshua, the one who Pilate had resisted condemning, the one who was claimed to be King of the Jews, and the Son of God, was highly unusual. He didn't scream, complain, curse his attackers, or beg for mercy, no... his countenance was extraordinary, even as he was dying. As the hours went by and the cross exacted its toll, the centurion found himself standing at the foot of Jesus's cross, staring up at this King, and at that moment, Jesus looked at him, with eyes ablaze with love, and something else that the Roman soldier could not describe ... In that moment, as the ground shook violently and the skies darkened, he knew. Falling to his knees, partly because of the earthquake, and mostly because of what he suddenly realized, that Jesus is the Son of God, he was overcome by the waves of revelation- the agony, horror, and remorse he felt at being the instrument of crucifixtion, but mostly because of the sheer majesty and love he saw in the blazing eyes of the One who was now his Messiah. And for this centurion and many who witnessed this event- it changed everything.
Just like us, that centurion was never the same after meeting Jesus
ReplyDeleteIn 1953, during the filming of the movie, THE ROBE, Ernest Borgnine who was cast as the centurion, had a supernatural revelatory experience during that moment when he, in character , was looking up at the Lord!
ReplyDeleteAs we look up and call on His Name we are saved!
ReplyDeleteodd, I saw Bill O'Reilly interview with 94 year old actor (Ernest Borgnine) last night and could not help but think of his portrayal of the centurion in the 70's movie "Jesus of Nazareth"
ReplyDelete