THE CROSS: And What It Means for Lost Humanity
The Centurion: From Skeptic to Believer
Matthew 27:50–54 (ESV)
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Luke 23:44–47 (ESV)
“It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!”
“Truly this was the Son of God!”
Leon Morris, in his commentary on Matthew, states,
“The centurion’s confession, ‘Truly this was the Son of God,’ was the same confession the disciples made earlier (Mt 14:33). The word “Truly” points to certainty; he was not making a tentative suggestion. He understood that the death of Jesus showed him to be the Son of God. (The Greek grammar attests that the centurion’s confession was, “This was the Son of God,” not “This was a son of a god.”) It was clear that there was something in the death of Jesus, together with the attendant phenomena, that showed that he was not just another man. He had a special relationship with God.
How did the Centurion come into the conclusion that Jesus was the son of God?
What did the Centurion witness?
What does it mean for Jesus to be “the Son of God”?
THE WITNESS OF JESUS:
A display of the Son’ obedience and trust to his Father.
Jesus’ silence speaks loudly of His deep resolve to obey His Father to go all the way to the cross…and that silence reverberated loudly in the heart of the Centurion.
What may seem to us as God’s silence is Him quietly and faithfully accomplishing His will in our lives.
THE WITNESS OF NATURE: A display of God’s power and might.
Mt 27:51b/54
“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Luke 23:44-45 ESV
“It was now about the sixth hour,[a] and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.”
THE WITNESS OF GRACE: A display of God’s mercy and love
Mt 27:51 ESV
“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.”
Hebrews 10:3 ESV
“But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.”
Hebrews 9:12 ESV
“He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”
Hebrews 10:19–20 ESV
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh”
The cross transforms the way we approach God because it opens the way for us to know God.
THE WITNESS OF FORGIVENESS: A display of God’s constant love
Luke 23:34 ESV
“And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”[a] And they cast lots to divide his garments.”