Worship Service on Sunday, April 27, 2025
It’s often scary and uncomfortable to discuss death. But as Christians, we have the hope and the joy of knowing that Jesus has overcome death and conquered the grave. Because of his victory, we have nothing to fear. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is one of the best attested facts on record. There were so many witnesses to behold that if we do, if we do in the least degree receive the credibility of men’s testimony, we cannot and we dare not doubt that Jesus rose from the dead.
The resurrection is a fact better attested than any event recorded in any history rather ancient or modern. Pretty interesting, isn’t it? It’s the only thing the testimony of the soldiers for Jesus’ crucifixion demonstrates the power of his death for all sinners. Most of the time our daily activities are dictated by the routine responsibility of our jobs. That’s how it was for the Roman soldiers who stood at the foot of the cross when Jesus gave up his life. They were simply out of duty to make sure the crucifixion was carried out properly and without interference. The life of a soldier was not an easy life back then and it is not today for even our soldiers today. Yet even soldiers who are hardened by battle and the struggles of military service can receive the hope and peace of God’s salvation.
My oldest son is one to attest to that. He went into the Iraq war with very very shaky faith. No faith really at all. And he came out of that war and all the devastation with a really really strong faith. So the hope and peace of God’s salvation came through him through him witnessing something that was really awful.
The soldiers probably had little knowledge of Judaism and had not heard of Jesus before unless it was by hearsake. Therefore, they really had no idea why the Jewish leaders and most of the crowd were so intent on killing Jesus. To these soldiers, Christ claimed to be the son of God and a king seemed harmless. What’s the big deal? they say. But the darkness and the earthquake, however, radically changed their attitudes. Their emotional fear produced by those events quickly turned to awe for who Jesus was. They sensed that something supernatural was taking place and came to the realization that Jesus was indeed the son of God as he had claimed. Jesus’s words spoken from the cross and his humble, selfless demeanor worked on the soldiers hearts. But it was the ministry of the Holy Spirit that ultimately convinced them to confess Jesus the son of God.
Mark 15:39, “When the centurion who was standing right in front of him saw the way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly, this man was the son of God.” On behalf of himself and his men, the centurion was professing his faith in Christ. A centurion back there was a Roman officer in command of a hundred men. In the Roman army, the position of the centurion was the highest rank a soldier could achieve. It was a position of great honor. A soldier’s position, a promotion to centurion was almost always based on his good conduct and ability. Centurions were not friends with the Jews in Israel. Their job was keeping the law of Rome in Israel. Centurions were known for their courage, intelligence, and loyalty. It has been said that the centurions were the finest men in the Roman army. Speaking of this specific centurion at the cross, legend has it that his name was Ligninus. The gospels do not name this centurion, but according to the legend, he was the soldier who pierced Jesus’ side while he was hanging on the tree. Remember – legend. As the legend goes, the centurion was nearly blind and was healed by the blood and water from Jesus that fell into his eyes. Supposedly he was then converted, left the army and took instruction from the apostles and became a monk. True or not? Who knows? But what we do know from the scriptures is the centurion disagreed with the authorities that Jesus deserved death and instead agreed that Jesus is indeed God. Perhaps it was Jesus’ mercy towards the mob and the soldiers, including the centurion, that gave him faith. Perhaps it was the earthquake and the things that were happening.
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”. The centurion was shocked by the events. The centurion and his group of battle hardened soldiers had learned to cope with fear. But now they experience terror. They had reason to be terrified because there was nothing ordinary about the events they were experiencing. The events terrified them and made them realize they were seeing God die. The centurion and the soldier’s conclusion came only from seeing the power of God on display, in Jesus’ response and in nature the earthquake and the darkened sky.
Matthew Henry who was a British nonconformist and Presbyterian minister and author wrote that we should respond like the centurion did. Here’s what he said. Let us with an eye of faith see Christ and him crucified and be moved by that great love with which he loved us. Why, you might ask, did he say that? Because what we see on the cross, as the centurion did, is the perfect son of God dying a terrible death for us. The death he died, we deserve because we reject and ignore our creator. Jesus was receiving all God’s anger towards us for how we have lived so that might bring us to God. We might have not seen Jesus physically, but we can see him through the pages of God’s word, finding solid ground for believing in him as God’s son.
Romans 10:17, “So faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of Christ”. We Christians find strong reasons for trusting Christ by reading the accounts in the Bible of his life, death, and resurrection. We don’t need to have been there at the time of the crucifixion to know and be certain of what he did.
Although the testimony was uttered by someone else after Jesus had died, “truly this is the son of God”, it became in essence his final testimony from the cross. It also offers us compelling proof that his grace can extend to all sinners, even to those who helped put him to death. Think about the thief on the cross. I’d like to find that guy someday and ask him, “You never went to a Bible study. You’ve never been baptized. And yet you made it. You made it! How did you make it?” Then the angel’s up there when he gets there. That’s what the angel must have said. You know, like, “What are you doing here?” “I don’t know.” The thief says, “What do you mean you don’t know?” “Excuse me,” the angel says. Let me get my angel supervisor. So the supervisor angel says, “Just so we’re clear. A few questions for you, sir. First of all, are you clear on the doctrine of justification by faith?” The thief looks at him and says, “Never heard of it in my life.” “And what about…” Let’s just go to the doctrine of scripture immediately. The thief is just staring and eventually in frustration the angel says oh and what bases are you here and the thief says the man on the middle cross said I could come. That is the only answer if I don’t preach the gospel to myself all day and every day. Then I will find myself beginning to trust myself, trust my experiences, which is part of my fallenness as a person. All who are saved are saved because of the death of Jesus on the cross and the resurrection conquering death and the devil.
“Truly, this is the son of God,” the centurion said. We Christians have heard and we have believed. But it mustn’t end there. We must burn with the passion to know him. The passion to spread the truth of the resurrection. The very passion of the Apostle Paul who wrote what his life goal was. Philippians 3:10, “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his suffering being conformed to his death. May that same desire burn in our hearts as well that we might truly know the one who loved us and gave himself for us, who beat death on the cross and rose victorious for us. That is what it is all about for us Christians. The cross is victory. The resurrection is the triumph. The resurrection is the public display of victory. The triumph of the crucified one. The power of the resurrection gives our lives meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what our circumstances are. Amen.
