Mark 15:33-41
Let’s continue to pray for Jim and Marty.
“Notice what you notice.” The centurion… First, I wonder why a centurion, a commander of 100 men would be at the crucifixion. Second, Mark is more complete than Matthew in the centurion’s response: When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He [cried out and] breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (v. 39, NASB) [NOTE: Some manuscripts include “cried out”, some do not, but in or out is not so important.] What is important, however, is the centurion noting the manner of Jesus’ death. My Study Bible described an “ordinary death” whereby the crucified “suffered long periods of complete agony, exhaustion, and then unconsciousness before dying”. Jesus’ death was far from ordinary and the centurion saw that. For him there was something different, something “special” in the way Jesus died. His concluding comment reflected his awareness of this different manner of Jesus’ death: Truly this man was the Son of God. (v. 39b)
All this is consistent with what we saw a few days ago, that Jesus refused the pain-killer (the intoxicant?) and wanted to be fully aware of what He was going through. Even as I write this, I wonder at how much we really understand it all. It is beyond my comprehension that Jesus would so willingly suffer, yet I have no doubt that He did. For us…
Slava Bohu!