In another of his books, Six Hours One Friday, Lucado describes what he believes it must have been like for this Centurion (read excerpt as presented in Nelson’s “The Cross: An Anthology”, pp. But that was all it took to cause this weather-worn soldier to take a giant step in faith. He never witnessed him still the wind he only witnessed the way he died. He never heard him preach or saw him heal or followed him through the crowds. “If is true that a picture paints a thousand words, then there was a Roman centurion who got a dictionary full.
In his book, No Wonder They Call Him The Savior, Max Lucado writes: In other words, he was not trained or learned in the ways or words of the One True God.įor all of the experience this soldier of soldiers had with war, violence, and crucifixion, as routine and boring as these events likely became, this Roman Centurion soon discovered that THIS one was profoundly different from and more important than any other! It was likely these same soldiers under the command of this same Centurion who earlier mockingly dressed Jesus as a farcical king, beat Him, teased Him, whipped Him to the very edge of death, spat upon Him, nailed Him to that rugged cross, mocked Him there, gambled for his garments and challenged His person.įinally, the Centurion would have been a Gentile. This Centurion and his soldiers, then, were not only veterans of war, but veterans of crucifixion!
He then was the captain or commanding officer in charge of keeping political order in Jerusalem, and handling the prisoners right down to their execution. The fact that this Roman Centurion was at the Place of the Skull tells us that, at least for a time, his unit of soldiers were assigned to ’crucifixion duty’ in Jerusalem.
#Centurion bible meaning professional
He himself was a professional killer who had likely long ago learned to numb himself to the sufferings and deaths of others – no matter who they were, why or how they died. He was obviously, then, a man much accustomed to violence, death, and political assassinations. The ancient historian, Polybius, recorded that centurions were chosen for their command based on proven merit over years of military service and were known not only for their courage and prowess in battle, but also for their cunning, intelligence, and strength of both body and mind. What is important is the kind of person he was and this made him a particularly interesting and important witness.Ī “centurion” is an experienced Roman soldier who has been placed in command over 100 of the world’s best-trained and most feared soldiers. We are not told his name, because his name is unimportant. To better understand this we will, as I already mentioned, try to examine it anew through the Centurion whose life was so profoundly affected at the cross. SCRIPTURE: Luke 23:33-49 (emphasis on vv. Through the eyes, heart and spirit of our next “Surprising Star of the Passion” we too may observe and experience this life-changing truth here this morning! So, even accepting the truth of Jesus’ bodily resurrection, what really makes His so much more special and different from all others? As we examine God’s Word this morning, it is my prayer that we will all greater see and understand that His resurrection and it’s meaning is so infinitely wonderful and unique, because Jesus Himself is so infinitely wonderful and unique! The key to discovering this, however, is not in the empty tomb but about the cursed tree. In our advanced, technological world today, it has become almost expected to hear the occasional account of someone who had been declared medically dead but then lived. The Bible even tells us of a prophet named Elijah who God took up to heaven without ever experiencing physical death. Leupold, Perth Bible Church, Easter Sunday AM Īs I certainly hope everyone has realized by now, today is Easter – Resurrection Sunday! It is the day in which we commemorate that day of days when Jesus the Christ, son of God and Savior of the world, resurrected Himself from physical death! It is truly an amazing and miraculous event.īut is it genuinely unique? Does Jesus’ bodily resurrection really warrant the 2000+ years of ’hoopla’ and honor that has been credited to Him? The Bible tells us of others – Lazarus, a young girl, a young boy, many at the time of Jesus’ death – who were brought back from life, but we don’t have a special day to commemorate their resurrections.
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