The Centurion

June 12, 2023

Mark 15:22-41 |

There are many reasons to return to the gospels over and over again. One of them is to catch details, nuances, and little stories that you might not otherwise. Sometimes, the grander scheme of the whole story can overshadow smaller things. So we’re reading a longer passage today, most often read only during Lent and Good Friday. But the passion narratives are chock full of people, places, and points to ponder. Like the Roman Centurion overseeing Jesus’ crucifixion.

It’s likely the centurion himself was in charge of the whole crucifixion process. He would have chosen which soldier was to do what. If he didn’t participate in the earlier mocking of Jesus, he certainly didn’t stop it. Perhaps he was one to help gather the thorn branches for the mock crown. Maybe he found the purple robe.

…maybe he even held the whip.

Regardless, he was a man of power and he’d seen any number of crucifixions in his military role.

And at the death of Christ, he declared him to be God’s son. The centurion was not a Jew. He was Roman. To declare Jesus God’s son to him would be akin to the Roman religion’s stories of Hercules or even Caesar himself (who was referred to as the “son of the gods”).

But perhaps the most interesting thing about this one sentence in Mark’s gospel is that the centurion made this declaration not at the resurrection of Jesus, a miracle of Jesus, or even a teaching of Jesus…but at his death.

Why?

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Mark 15:22-41

They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place. They tried to give him wine mixed with myrrh, but he didn’t take it. They crucified him. They divided up his clothes, drawing lots for them to determine who would take what. It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The notice of the formal charge against him was written, “The king of the Jews.” They crucified two outlaws with him, one on his right and one on his left.

People walking by insulted him, shaking their heads and saying, “Ha! So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, were you? Save yourself and come down from that cross!”

In the same way, the chief priests were making fun of him among themselves, together with the legal experts. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross. Then we’ll see and believe.” Even those who had been crucified with Jesus insulted him.

From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. At three, Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?”

After hearing him, some standing there said, “Look! He’s calling Elijah!” Someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down.” But Jesus let out a loud cry and died.

The curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who stood facing Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “This man was certainly God’s Son.”

Some women were watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (the younger one) and Joses, and Salome. When Jesus was in Galilee, these women had followed and supported him, along with many other women who had come to Jerusalem with him.

Colossians 1:13-16

He rescued us from the control of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. He set us free through the Son and forgave our sins.

The Son is the image of the invisible God,
        the one who is first over all creation,

Because all things were created by him:
        both in the heavens and on the earth,
        the things that are visible and the things that are invisible.
            Whether they are thrones or powers,
            or rulers or authorities,
        all things were created through him and for him.

Prayer

God,

Thank you for Jesus. Thank you not simply for his death on the cross (though thanks for that, indeed). But Lord, thank you for Jesus the person, the human one, like me. Thank you for coming as a human to show us the way. That he would both love and suffer means the world. Nothing more and certainly nothing less.

Use me today to exemplify Jesus, his character, his love.

By your spirit & in Christ,

Amen.