I invite your attention to the
gospel according to Matthew chapter 27, the 27th chapter of Matthew's
gospel. My text is found in verse 54 and the title of my message is
taken from that text in the words, truly this was the Son of God. I'm going to read only that one
verse. Matthew's Gospel chapter 27 verse
50 forward. Now when the centurion and those
with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things
that had happened, they feared greatly saying, Truly, this was
the Son of God. That is one of the most remarkable
confessions made in scripture. Truly, this was the Son of God. And it was made by a centurion
and those who were with him. This centurion was a high-ranking
military officer in the army of Rome. You'll notice the similarity
of that word centurion and the word century. It indicates that
this man was over a group of about 100 Roman soldiers. He was in charge of those who
were with him, the ones guarding Jesus. This centurion was given
the charge of seeing that Jesus was crucified and to guard the
cross and to see that the execution took place as required. But we read of these things that
had happened and we may wonder what were they. The centurion
and those with him, they saw some remarkable things that caused
them all to exclaim truly, this was the Son of God. All these
things are recorded in all four of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark,
Luke, and John. We're going to consider them
this morning, and I'm going to take you first to the judgment
hall of Pilate, the Roman governor. Rome at this time ruled the Mediterranean
world in Kulini, Palestine. In Palestine was Israel, the
land of the Jews, the land where Jesus lived. Jesus had been brought
to Pilate by the Jews and particularly by the Sanhedrin The leading
council of the Jews, the government of the Jews, they delivered Jesus
to Pilate and said, this man needs to be crucified. Pilate
at first was not wanting to do so. He tried his best to get
out of doing so, but could not get out of doing so. And eventually
he acquiesced to the Jews and he delivered Jesus to the Roman
soldiers. in order that they might crucify
him. This centurion and these soldiers
took Jesus to their barracks and there they scourged him with
the Roman method of scourging. He probably was stripped of all
his clothing. He evidently was tied to a chain
or to a stake or to a pillar And then one of those strong
Roman soldiers would have taken a whip. Tradition says a cat
of nine tails, a whip with nine whips in it. In this whip would
have been pieces of bone and lead. And this soldier would
have taken his whip or his cat of nine tails, and he would have
lashed Jesus Christ 39 times. If indeed it was a cat o' nine
tails, you can take thirty-nine and multiply it by nine, and
you can imagine Jesus there being tied to that pillar or to that
post, this whip coming across his back, this whip wrapping
itself around his torso and around his chest, this whip coming across
his face, pieces of bone and blood embedded into his skin
and being jerked back. He was plowed, as it were, in
all his skin across his back, across his chest, and across
his face. His scourging was so severe that
Jesus said, I can see all my bones. The Jewish historian Edersheim
calls it Intermediate death because they were able to bring a man
under this scourging as close to death as he could come without
fully dying. And all this time, Jesus never
whimpered, never cried out, never said a word. He was led as a
lamb as it were to the slaughter. And as a sheep before its shearers
is mute, so he opened not his mouth. And that centurion undoubtedly
watched that and wondered, what kind of man is this? Then the whole garrison of Roman
soldiers conducted a mock coronation of Jesus Christ. They took his
outer garment off of him. They put it back on him when
he was scourged, after he was scourged. They removed it, and
they said, he's a king. A king deserves a robe. And someone
found a robe of scarlet or dazzling red, and they put it on him. Someone said, a king deserves
a crown. And someone found a branch of
thorns and plaited it into a crown and crusted onto his brow. Someone
said, a king deserves a scepter. And so they found a reed or a
piece of stick and put it into his hand. And then they mockingly
bowed before him as though adoring him and worshiping him and saying,
Hail, thou King of the Jews. When they were done, they went
by him, and one by one they smote his face, and they spat upon
him, so that now his face, which had already been lacerated by
the whip, is now mangled and bruised and swollen. They have
done this in such a way as to inflict the worst kind of punishment
upon him. They know that He may stagger
and stumble along the way, they do not want his crown of thorns
to fall off. Someone takes the scepter from
his hand and beats that crown of thorns into his brow. They've
mocked him, and all this time he never whimpered, never said
a word. never cried out, but was like
a lamb led to the slaughter. And this centurion has to wonder,
what kind of man is this? Then the soldiers led Jesus to
Pilate. He presented Jesus to the Jews. He was still wearing this scarlet
robe, this crown of thorns, which the soldiers had put upon him
in mockery. His head is pierced. The blood
is flowing down from the wounds. It's mingling with the spittle
on his brow and on his face and dripping onto his robe. Underneath
his body, the blood is still losing from where the whip had
lacerated him, and it's dropping to the ground. He is, as it were,
a most pitiful creature, this Jesus of Nazareth, King of the
Jews. And Pilate, wanting the Jews
to know that they have nothing for which to be afraid, said,
behold the man, as though to say, you have nothing to be afraid
of. There's no need to crucify him. You have nothing to be afraid
of. Look at him, how pathetic, what a pitiful example of a man
he is. And this Roman centurion undoubtedly
said, yes, we agree. What a pathetic specimen of a
man is this. The Jews had no pity on Jesus. They beheld the man, but they
remembered that he had said he was king of the Jews. And they
reminded Pilate, we want him crucified. He said he was king
of the Jews. And so Pilate had no option in
this matter. But you can imagine the centurion
and these soldiers talking among themselves and saying, he's a
king? He's a king? What kind of king
is this? Pilate handed Jesus to the centurion
and evidently four soldiers. They led Jesus to a low prominence
called Calvary, a place that was shaped like a skull. the
Hebrew called Golgotha. There they laid a cross upon
the ground. There they laid Jesus on that
cross. They drove spikes into his hands
and into his feet. They wanted to give him some
wine mingled with gall to deaden the pain. The scriptures declared
that when he tasted it, he would not take of it any further. And
so these soldiers wondered, what kind of man is this? He wants
to endure the full pain of crucifixion? He refuses this wine with gall
that we would give him, it would deaden his senses. What kind
of man is this that would voluntarily experience all the pain of crucifixion? Having nailed him to the cross,
they lifted it up, they dropped it into the hole that had been
prepared for it. There were two others to be crucified
with Jesus that day. They put one on either side of
Jesus, Yes, this centurion and these soldiers considered Jesus
Christ of Nazareth to be the worst of the criminals. At the top of his cross was put
a placard that read, this is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the
Jews. They had paraded him through
Jerusalem as he bore his cross to the place of crucifixion.
And according to the custom, so that the crowd would know
who was being crucified, the placard had been made. Someone
would go before the parade, probably the centurion holding it up,
so that everyone knew who it was to be crucified. Here he
is, folks. This is Jesus of Nazareth, King
of the Jews. And you can imagine the chuckling
of all who beheld him, the King of the Jews. This is who he is. This is what he has come to.
When the soldiers had crucified him, they took the garments of
Jesus. They divided them, his garments
among themselves, casting lots. having no idea that when they
did so, they fulfilled the scriptures, and then having divided his garments,
they sat down, the scriptures declare, to watch him die, and
to guard him, to ascertain that no one came to deliver him, and
that he died according to the custom of the Romans. As this centurion and these four
soldiers beheld Jesus on his cross, scourged and beaten and
pierced until his body was a bloody mass, naked there before the
world, they undoubtedly would have agreed with the prophet
who said of him, his visage or appearance was marred more than
any man. his form more than the sons of
men. He has no form or comeliness,
and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him. He is despised and rejected by
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it
were our faces from him. He was despised and we did not
esteem him. And this centurion and these
soldiers could have looked around and they could have seen people
looking at this Jesus of Nazareth and hiding their faces so repulsive
was the sight of him on his cross. This centurion and these four
soldiers heard Jesus pray from his cross in his pain and agony
Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. They may have been touched by
his forgiving spirit, but they undoubtedly felt that we know
what we're doing. We know who he is, this man claiming
to be the King of the Jews. He says we do not know what we're
doing. We know what we're doing. And
we are rather enjoying this. This centurion and these four
soldiers also heard the jeers cast at Jesus by his own countrymen
who passed by his cross. If you are the Son of God, Come
down from the cross." And this centurion and these four soldiers
heard also the jeers cast at Jesus by members of the Jewish
chief priests and scribes and elders who said, he saved others,
himself he cannot save. If he is the king of Israel,
let him come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted
in God. Let God deliver him, if God will
have him. For he said, I am the Son of
God. And this centurion and these
four soldiers heard also of the other two criminals crucified
with Jesus, mocking him with the same jeers. These soldiers
themselves joined the mockers by saying to Jesus, if you are
the king of the Jews, save yourself. And then they watched. And when nothing happened, when Jesus did not save himself,
and when God himself would not save him, they assumed He's not
who he says he is, is he? But then, but then, this centurion and these four
soldiers witnessed some strange things. Things they had never seen. at
a crucifixion before. First, one of the criminals crucified
with Jesus, repented of his sins and said, Lord, remember me when
you come into your kingdom. Jesus looked at this repentant
criminal and said, assuredly I say to you, Today you will
be with me in paradise. And this centurion and these
four soldiers had to have looked at each other and wondered, well
now what sort of man is this? He still is convinced he's the
son of God? He's convinced he's the Lord
of all? He's convinced he's the savior
of others and the king of God's heaven. He's convinced that both
he and this criminal are going to be in heaven before
the sun has set. He's convinced of it. What kind
of man is this? He's not drunk. because he refused. The wine mingled with gold that
we gave to him, the dead in his senses. He's not deranged, for
he is calm, cool, and collected. What sort of man is this? The
second thing they observed was Jesus looking from his cross
He saw his mother, Mary, and he saw his beloved apostle, John. He said to Mary, his mother,
woman, behold your son, meaning John. From now on, John was her
son. He said to John, behold your
mother, meaning that henceforth, John was to take Mary as his
own mother and to take care of her. And undoubtedly this centurion
and these soldiers had to have wondered what kind of man is
this that in this deep pain and agony he's concerned not for
himself but for this woman and for this man standing there before
him. The third strange thing that
was noticed happened at high noon. The sun is at its zenith
and all of a sudden it refuses to shine. The sun was darkened. The sky became darkest night. And they waited. Someone said, it's an eclipse. Another says, no, it's Passover. Full moon. The moon cannot eclipse the sun
at Passover. And this is no eclipse. It lasted
for one hour. Two hours. Three hours. This is no eclipse. Something
remarkable is going on. The sun has refused to shine. And after three hours of darkness
on that cross, after wondering if it might be
a sign of divine judgment, They heard Jesus cry out, my God,
my God, why have you forsaken me? And this centurion and these
Roman soldiers had to have wondered, yes, why would God forsake His
Son? And why would this one continue
to trust in God if God forsook him? Why would he do so? Something strange about this
man. Then Jesus said, I thirst! And the soldiers went to a bucket
that evidently was there. They took a sponge, dropped it
down into the bucket. into this bucket was sour wine. The sponge filled with the wine
they put it on a pole and extended it up to the lips of Jesus. He
took the wine or he took the sponge into his mouth and sucked
it dry and then As though he was a glorious victor,
he cried, It is finished! Then he confidently prayed, Father
into your hands I commit my spirit. Then he reverently bowed his
head and deliberately breathed his last. When Jesus breathed his last, the sun began to shine. The darkness over the land was
dispersed. A rumbling sound from Jerusalem
is heard. It increases in crescendo until
the sound reaches Calvary itself. And word has arrived that the
veil of the temple has been torn in two from top to bottom, as
though God himself reached down to the temple and tore that veil. and said, come into this place
never again. We read that the earthquake,
we read that the rocks were split, and we read that the graves were
opened, meaning that dead bodies had come out of the
graves. And the people saw them. What
kind of man is this? This Roman centurion and these
four soldiers with him looked around. They could see Jesus,
he's dead. They could see the sun is shining.
They felt the earthquake. They'd seen the rock split. They
witnessed the graves open. They could testify that the dead
were walking. This is miraculous. This is marvelous. The centurion said, certainly
this was a righteous man. Comrades, I must tell you, we
have crucified a righteous man. And then he and all the other
soldiers there said truly, This was the Son of God. Truly, this was the Son of God. What a remarkable statement is
that. Truly, this was the Son of God. Not perhaps, not probably, this was the Son
of God. They were thoroughly convinced that the Jews had lied when they
accused Jesus of blasphemy for confessing that He is God's Son. They were convinced that Jesus
was not intoxicated or deluded when He repeatedly in their presence
spoke to God as His Father. They were convinced that the
supernatural events that occurred at Jesus' death were proofs from
heaven that God owned Jesus as his son, and their hearts, which
formerly had been hard and cold and malicious against Jesus,
became soft and warm and reverent toward him. Truly, this was the
Son of God. Folks, that is the Christian's
confession of faith. Truly, this was the Son of God. The Holy Spirit declares that
whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides
in him and he in God. This is not some mantra. This
is not some mysterious religious saying. When we say truly this
was the Son of God, that is our confession of faith. Here's a
eunuch from Ethiopia. He desires to be baptized. What
hinders me from being baptized? And the preacher says, if you
believe you may. And he said, I believe that Jesus
is the Son of God. That's a confession of faith.
That is our confession of faith. And I tell you, this centurion
and these four soldiers, they made that confession of faith.
Truly, this was the Son of God. Surely, this confession of faith
from this centurion and these Roman soldiers was an answer
to Jesus's prayer When he prayed for them, Father, forgive them,
for they do not know what they do. I can assure you of this. When Jesus prays to the Father,
regardless of what the request is, the request is granted. Jesus receives from his Father
all that he prays for. And as those soldiers were driving
those spikes into his hands, into his feet, Jesus prayed for
them and said, Father, forgive them. They do not know what they
do. And as proof that God had answered
the prayer, this centurion and these four soldiers said, truly,
this was the Son of God. The blood they had shed had redeemed
them and purchased their salvation.
had justified them, had sanctified them. Truly, this was the Son
of God. This was also the realization
of many of the Jews who were there that day. A few moments
ago, they'd said, crucify him! Now they heard him say, or heard
this centurion say, truly this was the Son of God. And many
of the Jews right there at that crucifixion were convinced of
the same. Luke tells us that the whole
crowd who had come together to that site, seeing what had been
done, beat their breasts and returned to Jerusalem knowing,
we crucified the Son of God. We demanded the death of God's
Son. They beat their breasts as though
smithing their hearts in acknowledging their guilt for what they had
done to Jesus and for fear of impending judgment from God his
Father. They returned to their homes
knowing that they had crucified the Son of God. We know this
because 50 days later all those Jews were back in Jerusalem on
the day of Pentecost. Peter, under an anointing of
the Holy Spirit, stands and preaches to them. And he tells them that
you, you Jews, you murdered God's Son. You murdered Jesus of Nazareth. You nailed Him to a tree. And
they remembered what had happened at His crucifixion. And they
were cut to the heart and said, Men and brethren, what shall
we do? We have murdered the Son of God. Repent and be baptized for the
remission of sins. Three thousand of them did so
that day. They, like the centurion, were
convinced that truly this was the Son of God. Truly. This was the Son of God. One of these days, I'm going home to glory. I'm looking forward to going
home to glory. I first wanted to see that one who was crucified on
Calvary. I want to see Him. I want to see Him in His glory. I want to see Him as God has
exalted Him. I want to stand there before
Him and acknowledge that He is the Son of God. I am convinced
that when I do so, I'm going to stand there with that Roman
centurion and these soldiers and they will agree He is the
Son of God. I'm going to stand there with
3,000 Jews who that day demanded He be crucified And then we're
convicted of their guilt. I'm going to stand with them
before the throne of Jesus Christ, and they're going to say, yes,
Moose Parks, you're right. He is the Son of God. I'm going to say it. That Roman
centurion's going to say it. Those Roman soldiers are going
to say it. Those 3,000 Jews are going to
say it. Will you? Will you? I hope no one walks out that door today without acknowledging in full
repentance and true faith that truly this was the Son of God, and the Son of God He is.