Good Friday
I'll be speaking at church on Good
Friday, and thought I'd share my thoughts here as well - on the Centurion's
confession, "Truly this was a righteous man"
I've been asked by my pastor to speak at our Good
Friday service on Luke 23:44-49, the confession of the Centurion
that "truly this was a righteous man." At my church we usually have a Good
Friday service comprised by a couple little sermons on specific texts. This
will be my third time speaking at this service; in fact this
poem was inspired by my studying in preparation for speaking at the
Good Friday service two years ago. I thought that I would share my thoughts on
the passage with all of you as
well.
The confession of the Centurion is one of the many miraculous testimonies that accompany Christ's death. Matthew Henry notes that we should have expected that after Christ's life had produced so many miracles that his death would also be attended by miracles. If Christ had been snatched away in a fiery chariot like Elijah, that might have been miracle enough. But since He was dying a brutal, shameful death of a criminal, it was fitting that God testified to His divine glory in powerful ways.
Here, in our text from Luke we see first that the earth was darkened for three hours before Christ's death. An ominous reminder of the awful act being committed. The Son of God was dying, and here it seems almost as though the Earth itself cannot contain its grief, and must hide its eyes from the brutal acts taking place. It also illustrates the darkness that has fallen on Man - he is so blinded by sin that he kills the Son of God.
Next, the veil of the temple was torn in two - in Matthew it even specifies from top to bottom. The is the veil of the temple that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. The Holy of Holies was where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and where God was present. No one was allowed to even enter the veil, except the High Priest and even he was only to go in once a year after performing numerous ceremonial acts to purify himself. When the veil is torn it is God's testament to the finished work of Christ - the awful gulf that separates us from God had been crossed. Our sins no longer cast us outside the presence of God and we no longer need to be carefully protected from His wrath. Christ's death has won for us a full and complete atonement.
Lastly we come to the confession of the Centurion. If we are to understand this man's confession, we must first take a look at who the centurion was. His title as a centurion means he was a military leader, in charge of 100 men - "Cent" coming from the Latin word for 100 (e.g. per-cent, dollars and cents, etc). It is probable that he was the commander of the legion of men who actually carried out the crucifixions that day - in fact, he may have even been the highest ranking officer there. It is also very likely that he was part of the mocking Christ had received earlier (Luke 23:36) - if he was not the one mocking directly, it was likely one of the men under his command who was allowed (and most likely encouraged) to do so. This was not a man who was easily shaken, as his job as a soldier would have left him with quite a calloused heart.
He must have also been amazed that a man could cry out with such a loud voice right as he was on the edge of death. Crucifixion is an awful, defeating death that eventually kills its victims by suffocating them. He would have seen many proud young men crushed under the weight of the cross, their swagger and pride easily defeated by its might. Christ crying out with a loud voice signified that He willfully went to the Cross, that He had the power to lay down or take up His life, and that He was now willfully laying it down into the Father's hands. This act of power and will was not lost on the centurion, and led to his confession.
He was a Roman, and therefore a Gentile, ignorant of the law and the prophets which were being fulfilled before his eyes. Those who had been given the law, those who new the signs to look for, had overlooked the promised Christ. And yet here is a Gentile who recognizes that something was different about this man. Not only is he shaken by the miraculous events that unfolded before his eyes, but he, though a Gentile, is able to correctly comprehend what they meant - "Surely, this was a righteous man."
In fact, we see in similar recounts of the Centurion's confession (in Matthew 27:50-56, and Mark 15:33-41) his confession goes even further "Truly, this was the Son of God." It is interesting to note, as Matthew Henry does, that these are essentially the same thing - if Christ was truly a righteous man, then His testimony concerning Himself being the Son of God must be accepted. In the words of Henry, "How soon can God, by the power he has over men's consciences, alter their language, and fetch confessions of his truths, to his own glory, out of the mouths of those that have breathed nothing but threatenings, and slaughter, and blasphemies!"
May that same changing power of God grip all of your hearts as we examine Christ's death. I pray that we, like the centurion, will be given the boldness to confess the truth of Christ. Amen.
The confession of the Centurion is one of the many miraculous testimonies that accompany Christ's death. Matthew Henry notes that we should have expected that after Christ's life had produced so many miracles that his death would also be attended by miracles. If Christ had been snatched away in a fiery chariot like Elijah, that might have been miracle enough. But since He was dying a brutal, shameful death of a criminal, it was fitting that God testified to His divine glory in powerful ways.
Here, in our text from Luke we see first that the earth was darkened for three hours before Christ's death. An ominous reminder of the awful act being committed. The Son of God was dying, and here it seems almost as though the Earth itself cannot contain its grief, and must hide its eyes from the brutal acts taking place. It also illustrates the darkness that has fallen on Man - he is so blinded by sin that he kills the Son of God.
Next, the veil of the temple was torn in two - in Matthew it even specifies from top to bottom. The is the veil of the temple that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. The Holy of Holies was where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and where God was present. No one was allowed to even enter the veil, except the High Priest and even he was only to go in once a year after performing numerous ceremonial acts to purify himself. When the veil is torn it is God's testament to the finished work of Christ - the awful gulf that separates us from God had been crossed. Our sins no longer cast us outside the presence of God and we no longer need to be carefully protected from His wrath. Christ's death has won for us a full and complete atonement.
Lastly we come to the confession of the Centurion. If we are to understand this man's confession, we must first take a look at who the centurion was. His title as a centurion means he was a military leader, in charge of 100 men - "Cent" coming from the Latin word for 100 (e.g. per-cent, dollars and cents, etc). It is probable that he was the commander of the legion of men who actually carried out the crucifixions that day - in fact, he may have even been the highest ranking officer there. It is also very likely that he was part of the mocking Christ had received earlier (Luke 23:36) - if he was not the one mocking directly, it was likely one of the men under his command who was allowed (and most likely encouraged) to do so. This was not a man who was easily shaken, as his job as a soldier would have left him with quite a calloused heart.
He must have also been amazed that a man could cry out with such a loud voice right as he was on the edge of death. Crucifixion is an awful, defeating death that eventually kills its victims by suffocating them. He would have seen many proud young men crushed under the weight of the cross, their swagger and pride easily defeated by its might. Christ crying out with a loud voice signified that He willfully went to the Cross, that He had the power to lay down or take up His life, and that He was now willfully laying it down into the Father's hands. This act of power and will was not lost on the centurion, and led to his confession.
He was a Roman, and therefore a Gentile, ignorant of the law and the prophets which were being fulfilled before his eyes. Those who had been given the law, those who new the signs to look for, had overlooked the promised Christ. And yet here is a Gentile who recognizes that something was different about this man. Not only is he shaken by the miraculous events that unfolded before his eyes, but he, though a Gentile, is able to correctly comprehend what they meant - "Surely, this was a righteous man."
In fact, we see in similar recounts of the Centurion's confession (in Matthew 27:50-56, and Mark 15:33-41) his confession goes even further "Truly, this was the Son of God." It is interesting to note, as Matthew Henry does, that these are essentially the same thing - if Christ was truly a righteous man, then His testimony concerning Himself being the Son of God must be accepted. In the words of Henry, "How soon can God, by the power he has over men's consciences, alter their language, and fetch confessions of his truths, to his own glory, out of the mouths of those that have breathed nothing but threatenings, and slaughter, and blasphemies!"
May that same changing power of God grip all of your hearts as we examine Christ's death. I pray that we, like the centurion, will be given the boldness to confess the truth of Christ. Amen.
Posted: Fri - March 25, 2005 at 04:45 PM | | | | | | |
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