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And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:50-53)
The centurion and his soldiers saw a Man die like no other crucifixion victim ever had. And it got their attention!
People in Jerusalem had dead friends and family members return to life. And it got their attention!
The religious leaders felt the earthquake and saw the curtain that shielded the Holy of Holies ripped in half. And it got their attention!
Now all of them had a choice: Would they acknowledge that Jesus was who He said He was or not. The Bible gives us only one man’s response: the centurion at the Cross. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit.” And having said this, He died. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “This Man was in fact innocent” (Luke 23:46-47).
I wonder if there were others?
More importantly, with all of God’s miracles around me every single day, does it get my attention?
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Mobs are scary things! Almost anyone can get caught up in the ugly mentality, vile words, and inexcusable actions.
Even professional soldiers. When Jesus was arrested, He was turned over to “the governor’s soldiers” (Matthew 27:27). These are professional soldiers. Punishing people—even carrying out capital punishment—was their job. But they gave in to the mob’s thirst for blood and made a sport out of punishing Jesus, doing what was outside of their job description.
The mob outside Pilate’s courtroom was stirred up by the religious leaders, and they “shouted all the louder” for a murderer to be released to them instead of a Healer (vv. 20, 23).
Even as Jesus hung helpless and dying on the Cross, the religious leaders continued to incite the crowds with their taunting, prompting even other condemned men to join in (vv. 39–44).
How easy it is to get caught up with the loud voices of the hour and to join our voices and actions with theirs! Mobs are hungry things and they continually devour almost anyone around them.
But Jesus didn’t succumb to the mob mentality. He didn’t even say a single word to those who taunted Him so mercilessly. Instead, as Peter recorded for us,
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.’ When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:21-23)
The unexpected way that Jesus responded got people’s attention. A professional soldier, a centurion, after watching how Jesus conducted Himself as He died, had to admit He was the Son of God.
It’s so tempting to join with the loud voices around us. It’s even more tempting to shout back at those who are insulting us. But let us remember the example of Jesus, and perhaps offer a prayer like this:
“Holy Spirit, help me to not succumb to the loud voices, nor to lash out against people who torment me. But, like Jesus, may I entrust myself “to Him who judges justly.” May my quiet lifestyle be a testimony that gets the attention of others. In the name of Jesus I pray this. Amen!”
There is a man that we meet in just a couple of verses of Scripture. We know that he is a Roman centurion. I gave him an appropriate Roman name of Vitellius. I created a fictional backstory for this centurion, but all of the events are well documented in both biblical history and contemporary history books of the time. I have listed below all of the scripture references that you may want to consult, along with some quotes from notable historians.
What isn’t fictional is the fact that the Cross didn’t happen to Jesus, but He came to make Calvary happen.
Jesus said this about His crucifixion, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself” (John 12:32). That’s what happened to the thief, and to the centurion Vitellius, and to me, and to all who have acknowledged that Jesus is the Savior.
Vitellius’ bold claim on the day Jesus was crucified still rings true 2000 years later: “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”
Looking at Jesus who was lifted up on that Cross, we can appreciate the beauty of the 700-year-old prophecy about Him:
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:2-5)
Which is what we celebrate in Communion still to this day. “And [Jesus] took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:19-20).
The way Christians live today can still lift Jesus up for all to see. Jesus told His followers, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).
When we live this way, our lives become the aroma of life to even sin-hardened thieves and war-hardened soldiers.
Check out this video of Vitellius’ personal experience—
Here are some further resources for you to check out:
Historian William Barclay wrote this about the centurions, “The centurions were the backbone of the Roman army. In a Roman legion there were 6,000 men; the legion was divided into sixty centuries, each containing 100 men, and in command of each century there was a centurion. These centurions were the long-service, regular soldiers of the Roman army. They were responsible for the discipline of the regiment, and they were the cement which held the army together. … A centurion was the equivalent of a regimental sergeant-major; and the centurions were the backbone of the Roman army.”
…Gentile—to Jews, Gentiles were just the fuel to stoke the fires of hell.
…resident of the city of Caesarea—since this was the headquarters of the Roman government for Palestine, not many Jews would venture there.
…Roman—historians say only 10% of Romans in this era were monotheistic.
…centurion—not just any centurion, but an extremely powerful centurion from the Italian Regiment (not just a local mercenary who was in it for the money). And he took his name from Cornelius Sulla, a Roman general known both for his mercy and his ruthlessness.
All of this makes Cornelius a fully self-sufficient and a well-to-do man who was not likely to look for help from God. Nor was he the type of person that a Christian missionary might seek out.
But clearly, something was missing in Cornelius’ life because he was completely countercultural in his pursuit after God. Not just his pursuit of God, but his quick understanding of exactly who Jesus was.
Luke the historian describes Cornelius as:
…devout and God-fearing. The Greek word for devout literally means “a right worshipper.” It’s a word Luke only uses three times in Acts, and two of those times are describing Cornelius.
…prayerful. The word Luke uses for him means someone who makes prayer personal and ongoing.
…generous. Cornelius took care of people who couldn’t take care of themselves.
When Peter came to Cornelius’ house, twice he said “as you know” (vv. 36, 37), showing us that Cornelius was aware that there was not only one true God, but that a relationship with Jesus was the only way to be in right relationship with God. As Peter spoke with Cornelius, his family, his relatives, his close friends, and even his fellow soldiers, the Holy Spirit baptized them just as He had done with the disciples of Jesus on the day of Pentecost.
So here are 3 vital lessons for all men to learn from the life of Cornelius the centurion—
Your devotion to God is influential. People around you do notice your devoted pursuit of God.
Your openness to all that God has puts your family, friends, and coworkers in a place to receive God’s blessings too.
God’s blessings flowing through you have lasting and far-reaching results. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Cornelius may have opened the door for Christian evangelism to Gentiles unlike anything that had happened before.
Dads, be devoted to God. Desire all He has for you, and all He has for those around you. Pursue Him no matter how many “strikes” there may be against you.
No matter how you look at it, being a Dad is hard work! Men have this constant balancing act between being tough and being tender. Guys have to have their game face on at work, and their family face on at home. They’ve got to work hard knocking down work competitors, and then work just as hard building up their family members.
But there is one key decisionthat will determine how successful a man will be at work, at home, in his social circles, and even in his relationship with God.
In Acts 10 we meet a centurion named Cornelius. Centurions were professional military officers in charge of a centuria (usually 100 soldiers). Centurions were always “on the clock,” never letting down their guard nor their professionalism.
All of the centurions mentioned in the New Testament have noble characteristics associated with them. Whereas someone might be uncertain how a typical Roman soldier would behave, people felt more assured when the centurion was on the scene. Even Roman governors like Pilate, and Jewish kings like Herod, all seemed to fully trust the judgement, honesty, and resourcefulness of centurions.
Centurions worked hard to get where they were, and had some well-earned perks:
“Men of authority” with soldiers and servants reporting to them (Matthew 8:8-9).
Opportunity for advancement (Rome was the dominate world force).
A certain degree of autonomy (they had their own residences (Matthew 8; Acts 10).
In order to keep this position, they would have to buy into kurios Caesar (Caesar is lord). To do otherwise was to put their position and future advancement at risk.
Yet Cornelius was different.
He was a trusted centurion, but something unusual stood out about his life. Luke the historian describes him as devout and God-fearing, mentioning his pious activities of prayer and giving to the poor. Cornelius’ own soldiers referred to him as righteous and respected by notable people in the community.
But probably most telling of all: God noticed how committed Cornelius was (see Acts 10:3-4)!
Cornelius had a lot to lose by rejecting kurios Caesar for, as the Christians said, kurios Iesous (Jesus is Lord). Yet after carefully weighing his options, he saw that trusting God was the best thing he could do for his family. His view of the eternal outweighed anything that he could gain in the temporal.
This one decision changed everything!
Because Cornelius trusted God, look at the expansiveness of his influence, not only at home, but at work, and among his friends and extended family, and throughout his community:
His family—ALL his family were devout and God-fearing (v. 2)
His employees—a devout soldier (v. 7)
His community—respected by ALL the Jewish people (v. 22)
His relatives and friends—his relatives and close friends (v. 24)
In fact everyone around him—we are ALL here in the presence of God (v. 33)
And most importantly, with God—your prayers and gifts have come up as a memorial offering before God (v. 4)
Fellas, you can have this same level of influence if you, too, will decide to live karios Iesous: Jesus is Lord. If you will do that, you can have said about your life what was said about Cornelius and Jesus: “God anointed ___________ with the Holy Spirit and power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him!” (see Acts 10:38).
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. Also the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:50-53) 
Craig T. Owens 