Seeing God In the Crucifixion
February 18th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
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!” (Matthew 27:54 ESV)
I’ve always identified with the centurion. I guess it’s because I spent a little over fourteen years as a police officer and still work in law enforcement as a civilian crime analyst. In a way I can identify with him. Likely, he knew little about the religious/political intrigues that got Jesus crucified. Had he been in Pilate’s position, he may or may not have come to the same decision to hand Jesus over for crucifixion. However, he did understand the need for the rule of law to keep order in society.
It was probably that understanding that caused him to carry out his orders to oversee Jesus’ crucifixion. After all, Jesus and the two thieves being executed with them had been judged and found guilty by the legal system of the day. Like the scene with a centurion in Matthew 8, he was a man under authority and knew the importance of carrying out orders.
As a centurion he had probably served as a soldier for quite some time. He had risen through the ranks and now was in charge of a detachment of 100 soldiers. In addition to fighting Roman wars, the soldiers acted to keep the peace in occupied territories.
Like soldiers and police officers today, he had probably seen plenty of depravity and death during his service. You don’t have to convince a police officer or a soldier that all men are sinners. They have seen it first hand. They have seen what sinful men will do to one another. They have seen the blood flow and smelled the peculiar smell that accompanies death. In this case, the centurion had likely carried out orders to crucify some poor wretch more times than he could count.
But this time it was different.
While the centurion had likely crucified hundreds of condemned men in his career, he had never crucified the Son of God before. Never had he seen someone die as Jesus did, not cursing his tormentors but blessing them. And never had he seen all creation rebel against this execution with darkness and earthquakes and strange happenings.
This centurion may have never set eyes on Jesus before that Friday. But in spite of that, he recognized who Jesus was by the way he died.
Who is Jesus to you?
