33 At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling Elijah."
36 One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 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!"
36 One man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down," he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 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!"
This is an astounding statement for a Roman army officer. This man was in charge of the execution squad and would have seen countless criminals die by crucifixion. He was obviously not expecting anything out of the ordinary but found the death of Jesus so unusual that he was prompted to affirm Jesus as God’s Son. It states that it was because he “heard his cry and saw how he died” (39) that led him to this conclusion. Part of his astonishment was that at the time of death, Jesus still had the strength to shout out with a loud cry. Other factors as well may have led him to this conclusion. The scene was clothed in a supernatural darkness, he heard another cry asking why God had forsaken him and the final shout was accompanied by the ripping of the temple curtain.
The previous verses describe the bystanders as mocking and jeering (30-32) but this bystander did not mock. The religious leaders who were saturated with the Scriptures rejected him and hardened their hearts against him but this man who rightly acknowledged Jesus was not even a Jew let alone one conversant with Scripture. All through Mark’s Gospel the characters puzzled over the identity of Jesus. No human person in the Gospel of Mark rightly acknowledged Jesus by this title Son of God, even though the first verse of the Gospel (1:1) asserts that this is who Jesus is.
The centurion was unlikely to understand all that this title entailed and he spoke more than he knew. In using the term Son of God he is stating where his ultimate allegiance lies. It was common for the Roman emperor to call himself son of God and for his subjects to proclaim him as such. This man, however, states it is Jesus and not Caesar who demands our ultimate allegiance.
We might wonder why this pagan soldier is correct in his assessment of Jesus while all others are either incorrect or unsure. The reason can be stated simply in that he is open to the evidence, while others are not. Our own response to Jesus requires the same honesty. Is it possible we have created a picture of Jesus that is not entirely accurate but which may reinforce our prejudices? Have we so stressed his deity that we deny his full humanity? Is our picture of Jesus more that of a modern North American Jesus than a Jesus who is a first century Jew? Where does our portrait of Jesus need to be brought into sharper focus?
Lord Jesus, I long to know you as you really are and not just as I have hoped you would be. Correct my misconceptions as I study the Gospels afresh. I acknowledge you as the one to whom I give my ultimate allegiance.
Old Testament Reading Psalm 2
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