Jump Start # 1740
Matthew 27:54 “Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God.’”
Our verse takes place at the Cross. A lot of things happened. Some were typical of most executions, but there were things that were most unusual. The centurion and the guards that were assigned to him, were Roman soldiers. They were the execution squad. Putting rebels and criminals to death was their job. I doubt this was their first assignment to that bloody detail. There had been others. Crucifixions were not nice, neat and quick. It was just the opposite. It was state sponsored torture. Death was slow and painful. Those dying on the cross often spoke final words. Those words were threats, cursing and pleadings to take them off the cross. The place of these executions were public and often the public gathered. Guards were needed to keep peace. Rome was making a statement. If you dare mess with the Empire, you will be crushed. These executions were as much of a statement to the living as they were a form of death to the rebellious.
Our verse reveals the feelings and the words of a centurion. There are many centurions in the N.T. They seem to be people of high moral fiber. We remember Cornelius, he was a centurion. Then there was the centurion who came to Jesus because of a servant that was suffering. He understood the authority of Jesus. We don’t see these men as being heartless, cruel and evil. In a pagan, worldly atmosphere that these soldiers have been in, they have a character unlike the image we would have of a tough Roman soldier.
Matthew states that the centurion and the guards with him, noticed the earthquake and the things that were happening, they became “very frightened.” Earthquakes are common in that area. The earthquake itself wasn’t too unusual. But remember, the sky became dark for three hours. An earthquake. The graves of the righteous were opened, and the righteous came back to life. And then there was Jesus. He didn’t die like other criminals did. He didn’t curse this torturers. Instead, He prayed for their forgiveness. He was talking about being in Paradise that very day. He promised to take one of thieves with Him, as well. He was prayerful. He didn’t say anything about Rome. Very strange to the eyes of those who witness executions often.
Then there was the reason for Jesus even being there. That was questionable. The others beside him were thieves, rebels and murderers. They were bad. They messed with Rome and they were getting the full force of Roman justice. But this Jesus, He’s different. There was doubt about what He had even done. Pilate, Herod and others had questioned Him and found that this was an internal Jewish problem and certainly not worthy of Roman execution. A riot nearly broke out. The Jews wanted Jesus crucified. Why? How strange?
Matthew said these soldiers became very frightened. They realized something bigger was at hand. The sky, the earthquake, the resurrections, it was as if the gods were shaking the earth. Maybe, just maybe, there was something to those rumors about who He was. He had followers, but they were peaceful. They didn’t cause fear. They didn’t cause trouble. Stories had been told about lepers being cured, blind receiving their sight and dozens and dozens of people who were helped by this one called Jesus. He was a teacher, a rabbi. He taught moral goodness and responsibility. Could it be that the gods sent one of their own down here and now Rome got caught up in this and put Him to death? What will the gods do to Rome? What will the gods do to the executioners? It’s too late now. They have gone too far. Jesus had died. Now, the curse of the heavens was falling upon them.
It is here that Matthew records the centurion saying, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Some translations, and some Greek texts word this statement as, “Truly this was a son of god,” showing that these pagan soldiers didn’t fully understand the concept of Jesus nor Jehovah. Either way, they recognized that Jesus belonged to the Heavens and not one of us. He was different. Different in life and different in death.
It is at this time of the year that the world gets excited about a baby in a manger. That’s how the story began. The baby in the manger is cute. The baby in the manger makes no demands. The baby in the manger is dependent upon us. It is the Savior upon the cross that changes the world. It is the risen Savior that demands obedience. It is the risen Savior that causes us to fall to our knees and makes us realize that we are dependent upon Him.
The thrust of the Bible, especially the New Testament, is to lead us to Christ. It is to get us to see who Jesus is and to develop a great trusting faith in Him. As we intersect with so many people, like this centurion, we are not told what happened to them later on. As Paul Harvey would make famous, “the rest of the story,” is not given. We wonder. What happened to the bent over woman after she was straightened up? What happened to that little twelve year old girl that Jesus resurrected? What became of her? And here, what happened to this centurion? After he saw all these things, did it change him? Did he look at other executions differently? Did he pursue some of the disciples to find out more about this one called “Jesus?” Did he turn in his resignation papers to Pilate and walk away from putting people to death? Did he become a believer? Will we see this one in Heaven? We are not told. We don’t know. Or, could it be, that he went to a pub drank himself drunk to forget the events of that day and lived out a pagan life putting criminals to death? Don’t know. I’d like to think he changed. I’d like to think that he’ll be with Jesus in Heaven.
A greater question comes to you and I. Now that we have stood at the foot of the cross, through the Scriptures, how has it changed us? Are we any better because of that? Are we different? Have we turned in our resignation papers to Satan and the world? Or, have we continued on, pretty much the same. Same attitudes. Same outlook on life. Same outcome to life.
Seeing Jesus at the cross…it ought to change us. I hope it has.
Roger