As Jesus died on the cross,
it was a Roman soldier who said these words … “Truly this man was God’s Son” (v
39). We wonder, how did this Gentile soldier come to this conclusion? What did
this soldier hear, or see, or experience … that led him to make this
statement?? This soldier could well see that Jesus was flesh and blood, a human
being just like him. But here was this soldier referring to Jesus as “God’s
Son”! Remarkable! Here was a statement, from who you would have to say was an
unlikely source, that there was something about Jesus that was truly ‘divine’.
In the context of the cross,
declaring Jesus to be “God’s Son” … was very significant; for this actually
made sense of the whole scene. So many others didn’t get it, but this soldier
seems to have made a discovery! There seemed to be so much more significance
here than the average crucifixion. There was so much desperation to kill off
Jesus, even though he seemed to have done nothing wrong (except maybe upset a
few influential people). Interesting that the words recorded for this soldier
in Luke’s account were, “Certainly this man was innocent” (Luke 23:47). {You
could easily imagine this soldier making both these comments – for they fit
together perfectly.}
This Roman soldier had likely
witnessed some of the lead-up events; he might have been present when Jesus was
flogged, and then part of the group who mocked Jesus by dressing him in purple
and putting a crown of thorns on his head, going on to strike him and spit on
him. Who knows how much he may have personally participated in all this
physical and emotional torture of Jesus. We read that the soldiers even gambled
over taking possession of Jesus’ clothes.
Then this soldier would have
witnessed how passers-by scoffed at Jesus, followed by the chief priests and
scribes doing the same thing – mocking the words that Jesus had spoken
throughout his ministry. There was such an arrogance here … a real refusal to
look at themselves, and to consider the depths from which they themselves
needed to be saved. Again and again, the greatest gift ever given was being
tossed aside. They sarcastically challenged Jesus to use his power, as a
‘king’, to come down from the cross. What they should have understood, was that
Jesus would NOT save himself, because his purpose was to stay there … precisely
to save them! Did our Roman soldier begin to see this?! “Truly this man was
God’s Son”!
Perhaps because he was a
Gentile, this soldier, being free of religious baggage, was more open to
perceive correctly. We actually read in verse 39, that this soldier’s
confession of faith … was as a result of seeing the way in which Jesus
“breathed his last [breath]”. Let’s look at this scene from the Roman soldier’s
perspective:
(i)
There seemed to
be an unusual level of peace-filled acceptance by Jesus of what was happening
to him – as if he had expected it, as if there was some definite purpose here.
Jesus didn’t raise any particular protest or defence. Jesus refused to lash
back at those who were so badly mistreating him. If this was an unjust
crucifixion, as seemed to be the case, as was the case, then there just must be
a higher purpose. This soldier would have seen many people die in the past, both
in battle and execution – but there was something different about this scene!
(ii)
Let us NOT
underestimate the physical torture; and let us NOT underestimate the emotional
trauma of carrying the weight of all the evil racked up in all human history
resulting in such feelings of desolation – “My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me” (v 34). Yet, still, Jesus seemed to be in charge of proceedings –
deliberately acting toward the well-being of others.
(iii)
Also, as the
Roman soldier observed what was happening on the cross, Jesus died a lot
quicker than was normal – as this suffering could have gone on for days.
Abbreviating this would certainly be merciful! Could that last “loud cry” (v
37) that Jesus uttered, have been heard mercifully by God … who brought a quick
end to Jesus’ suffering. Could this have been correctly interpreted by this soldier,
as a ‘Divine’ response to a ‘divine’ sacrifice!? “Truly this man was God’s
Son”!
(iv)
This then, could
all interact with how this Roman soldier was feeling about himself. Where had
his loyal allegiance to Roman authority in the name of Caesar led him – to
torturing an innocent man, and watching powerlessly as Jesus suffered unjustly.
This soldier may have well and truly been ready to change his allegiance to a
much different sort of king – to one who responded to adversity … NOT with
violence, but rather as a servant to others. “Truly this man was God’s Son”! We
trust that for this soldier, this very ‘confession of faith’ … grew into a
life-long personal relationship.
There was creative genius behind all
this. God, who wanted to be able to establish proper relationships with all
humankind, each of us, determined to come to earth and make this happen … the
only way that this could happen! The blockage that exists between humans and
God … is one of selfish preoccupation on self (on the human side) – which is
the backdrop for all sin. We see this play out ... here at the scene of the
cross – in all those who would mock Jesus and agree with his crucifixion. To
make the point, though it was the middle of the day, darkness covered the earth
for three hours leading up to Jesus’ death!
God wanted to put an end to
this barrier that blocked the path of reconciliation and relationship with his
created beings. And God, in ultimate love, did exactly that – God initiated the
required action! The one and only perfect human, God’s Son, would become the
one and only pure sacrifice – the one and only human qualified to take all our
sin, shame and guilt to the cross … and vanquish it there! If we make the
choice, the correct choice, to take ourselves and our need for mercy to the foot
of the cross … and leave our burdens there with Jesus – then all this counts
for us!!
We are forgiven, we are set
free – the curtain of the temple, which once restricted access to God, has been
completely torn open from top to bottom. There is now no barrier that would
keep anyone from entering and maintaining a relationship with Jesus – no sin,
no failure, no cultural background, no government regulations, no religious
dogma, no abusive behaviour, no exclusive rules … to ever separate us from God
again! Everything has changed! We are God’s children – co-heirs with Jesus (who
is our brother as well as our Saviour). And, with what will happen in just a
couple of days, we become part of God’s new creation. The tide is turning. A
sense of expectancy is building.
Though most did NOT
understand it, Jesus did say on a number of occasions, that he would rise again
and return. Joseph of Arimathea, goes against his compatriots and provides his
own tomb for Jesus. Loyal women who had followed Jesus, noted carefully where
this tomb was located, with a view to tending to his body. Soon, these women,
along with other disciples, will be confronted with some very good news. How
will God respond to this perfect sacrifice by His Son?! We already know, and we
wait … with bated breath … to celebrate. In the meantime, we need to make sure
we have knelt at the foot of the cross, that we have engaged totally with this
sacrifice on our behalf, and that we have confessed our faith. We might also
say, “Truly this man was God’s son”!
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