I invite your attention to the
Gospel according to Matthew chapter 27. The Gospel according to Matthew
chapter 27. My text is verse 54. My message is titled, Truly this
was the Son of God. And my text reads in these words,
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27, verse 54. Now when the centurion and they
that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake and
those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying,
Truly this, was the Son of God. Truly this was the Son of God. What an exclamation. This morning I must deviate from
my normal procedure in delivering a message to you. And I must
deviate because of a line that is found in our text where we
read that the centurion and those that were with him saw all the
things that had been done. We need to consider all the things
that they saw because all the things that they saw resulted
in this profound declaration. Truly, this was the Son of God.
I could try to recite from memory or even from short notes all
that they saw, but I would surely leave something out. So, I wrote them down. They're in the
tract. If you do not have a copy of
the tract, I believe there still may be A few copies left on the
track table, we can always make more. You can follow along with me.
My introduction is going to be a reading of this extensive passage,
but we need to know what it was that they saw that resulted in
this profound declaration. This centurion was a military
officer, over about a hundred soldiers in the Roman army. He was in charge of those with
him who were guarding Jesus, the detail of soldiers assigned
to execute Jesus Christ and who watched him as he died. What
were these things that happened that they saw and which caused
them to fear greatly and to exclaim, truly this was the Son of God. They are all recorded in the
four Gospels and this is one of those few instances where
all four Gospels record this same event. Our brother Chris read from the
27th chapter of Matthew's gospel a little earlier, in the parallel
passages in Mark's and Luke's and John's gospel, other details. We're going to be looking at
them. Come with me to the judgment hall of Pontius Pilate, the Roman
governor in Jerusalem, about 30 AD. Jesus Christ was brought to Pilate
by the Jews who demanded that Pilate put him to death. Pilate
at first objected to this demand but later reluctantly acquiesced
to it and delivered Jesus to the Roman soldiers including
this centurion and his subordinates. These soldiers scourged Jesus. Under the Roman method of scourging,
Jesus would have been stripped of his clothing, tied to a pillar
or stake, and whipped with a scourge made of leather thongs, weighted
with sharp pieces of bone or lead, which lacerated the flesh
of his back, chest, and face so severe was discouraging that
it exposed Jesus' bones, according to Psalm 22, verse 17, and was
known as the intermediate death by Adersheim. During all this
cruelty, Jesus did not open his mouth to cry out or revile his
torturers, but rather was like a lamb led to the slaughter. This centurion and these soldiers
witnessed all this. The whole garrison of Roman soldiers
conducted a mock coronation of Jesus. Having put his outer garment
back on him after scourging him and having led him into the praetorium
or courtroom of the governor, they again disrobed him and put
on him a robe of scarlet or dazzling red. They took a branch of thorns
and twisted it into a crown and placed it on his head. They placed
in his hand a reed staff as though it was his royal scepter. They
fell to their knees before him as though adoring him and worship
him. They mockingly saluted him by
explaining Hail, King of the Jews!" and spoke other mocking
words to him. Then they spat on him and beat
him with the palms of their hands. They took the reed from his hand
and used his own scepter to beat him on the head, driving his
crown of thorns deeper into his skull. Again, during all this
cruelty, Jesus did not open his mouth to cry out or revile his
torturers, but rather was like a lamb led to the slaughter.
This centurion and these soldiers witnessed all this. The soldiers then ushered Jesus
to Pilate, who presented him to the Jews. Jesus was still
wearing the scarlet robe. and crown of thorns with which
the soldiers had mocked him. His head was pierced and scratched
and torn by his thorny crown. His face and eyes were swollen
from the blows inflicted upon him by the palms of the soldiers. The blood from the wounds to
his head mingled with the spittle from the soldiers' mouths and
dripped onto his scarlet robe. From under the scarlet robe flowed
the blood oozing from the wounds he had received on his back and
chest when his body was scourged. Pilate pointed to Jesus and exclaimed
to the Jews, Behold the man! Probably in an effort to let
the Jews know that they had nothing to fear from such a pathetic
person. Undoubtedly this centurion and
these soldiers concurred. But the Jews had no pity on Jesus
and demanded that Pilate crucify him on the ground that Jesus
had earlier said to them that he was the Son of God. Undoubtedly
this centurion and these soldiers were amused that such a pathetic
man whom they had witnessed being scourged as a criminal and mocked
as a king, could be the Son of God. Pilate then presented Jesus
to the Jews by mocking Him with, Behold your King! Pilate then
delivered Jesus to this centurion and these four soldiers under
his command, and perhaps other soldiers also, and commanded
them to crucify Jesus. The soldiers removed the scarlet
robe from Jesus, clothed this pathetic man, claiming to be
king and son of God in his own garments of the common man, and
led him to the place of crucifixion. Before Jesus went, a soldier,
perhaps a centurion in charge of them, displaying to all observers
the plaque containing the inscription that Pilate had required to be
placed on his cross. This is Jesus of Nazareth, the
King of the Jews. Undoubtedly, this centurion and
these four soldiers chuckled at this insult. When the soldiers
and Jesus reached the place of execution, The hill called the
Skull and Calvary in the Latin, Golgotha in the Hebrew. They
offered to him strong wine mixed with gall, which would deaden
his consciousness and make his death less painful. But when
Jesus had tasted it and ascertained what it was, he refused it. Undoubtedly,
this centurion And these four soldiers marveled at his refusal,
wondering what sort of man would choose to experience all the
pain associated with crucifixion. These four soldiers then nailed
Jesus to his cross by driving spikes through his hands and
feet. They dropped his cross into the hole dug for it. They
crucified also two notorious criminals, one on either side
of Jesus. Putting Jesus on the middle cross
indicated that he was the worst of the three criminals. Yes,
this centurion and these four soldiers considered Jesus to
be the worst of men. These four soldiers divided Jesus'
garments among themselves by casting locks. Then they sat
down to watch Jesus die and to ascertain that nothing happened
to prevent him from doing so. As this centurion and these four
soldiers beheld Jesus on his cross, scourged and beaten and
pierced until his body was a bloody mass, They undoubtedly would
have agreed with the prophet who said of him, his visage or
appearance was marred more than any man, and 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. This centurion and these four
soldiers heard Jesus pray from his cross and 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 they knew what they were doing to Him and
were glad to do so. 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, saying, He
saved others, himself he cannot save. If he is the King of Israel,
let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God. Let God deliver
him now, if he will have him, for he said, I am the Son of
God. And this centurion and these
four soldiers who are also the two criminals crucified with
Jesus, mocking with the same jeers, the soldiers themselves
joined the mockers by saying to Jesus, if you are the king
of the Jews, save yourself. When Jesus did not do so, they
were undoubtedly convinced that he was neither truly the king
of the Jews nor the Son of God. But then, this centurion and
these four soldiers witnessed some things occur, things they
had never before seen at a crucifixion. First, one of the criminals crucified
with Jesus repented of his sins and said to him, remember me
when you come into your kingdom?" Jesus replied to him, assuredly
I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise." Undoubtedly
this centurion and these four soldiers wondered, what sort
of man is this? He is still convinced that he
is the Son of God, the Lord of all, the Savior of others and
the King of God's heaven. And he is convinced that both
he and this repentant criminal will be in paradise before the
sun has set. He cannot be drunk, for he refused
the strong drink we offered to him. He cannot be deranged, for
he is calm, cool, and collected. Second, Jesus. Seeing his mother
and one of his disciples standing before him, said to her, Woman,
behold your son. And then said to him, Behold
your mother. Undoubtedly this centurion and
these four soldiers wondered, What sort of man is this? He
is in the throes of death, but instead of being concerned for
himself, he is considering the future welfare of his mother.
and assigning to his disciple the care of her. Third, at high
noon, when the sun was at its zenith, it was darkened, and
the sky became like the blackest midnight for three hours. This
was no natural eclipse of the sun, for it occurred at Passover
when the moon is full and cannot eclipse the sun. Besides, this
darkening of the sun lasted three hours, longer than a natural
eclipse. This, in turn, and these four
soldiers, undoubtedly knowing these facts, had to have wondered
what supernatural power had caused this darkening. Was it a sound
of divine judgment Perhaps it indeed was, for Jesus then at
the end of the three hours of darkness cried out, My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me? Undoubtedly they wondered, would
God forsake His Son? And why would the forsaken one
still own God as my God? Then Jesus said, I thirst, The
soldiers therefore dipped a sponge into the nearby vessel full of
sour wine, placed the wine-filled sponge on a hyssop stick, and
extended it to Jesus' mouth, and he sucked the wine from it.
Then Jesus victoriously shouted, It is finished. Then he confidently
prayed, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Then he
reverently bowed his head and deliberately took his last breath. Then the sun once again began
to shine and the darkness over the land was dispersed. Then
word reached the soldier's ears that the veil of the temple had
been torn in two from top to bottom as though God himself
had reached down and done it, and the earth quaked, the walks
were split, and graves were opened. After this, Centurion and these
four soldiers witnessed all these things. Some things occurred
that were truly marvelous, even miraculous. All these brave men
began to be exceedingly afraid. The centurion expressed his reverential
fear of God in saying, certainly this Jesus was a righteous man. These four soldiers joined him
in exclaiming, truly this was the Son of God. What a declaration
is this? Truly This was the Son of God. Look carefully at that declaration. Look at the first letter. The centurion has looked around. He has seen things at this crucifixion
he never saw before. He looks at his comrades as though
to say, what have we done? He does not say, comrades, it
is possible that this was God's Son. No, no, no, no, no. No possibility
about it. He does not say, comrades, it
is likely that we have crucified God's Son. No, no, no, no, no,
no. There is no likelihood about
it. He does not even say it is probable
that we crucified God's Son. No, no, no, no, no. No probability
about it. He looks at his comrades and
says, truly, surely, certainly, verily, Undoubtedly, we have crucified God's Son. This man was God's Son. We have crucified God's Son. What fear undoubtedly smoked
their hearts, for they were convinced This is no ordinary man. This was God's Son. We have seen
the supernatural events. This is different from anything
we have ever seen before. Truly, this was the Son of God. There are hearts in the Praetorium in the judgment
hall, when they smote His face with their palms, when they cruelly
treated Him with that crown of thorns, when they took His own
scepter to beat His crown into His skull. Oh, how hard were
their hearts! How hard were their hearts when
they scourged Him How hard were their hearts when they nailed
Him to the tree! How hard were their hearts when
they mocked Him on the cross! But now, their hearts have softened. These are no longer the hard-hearted
soldiers they were. These are now soft-hearted sinners. These now
realize what they have done. Truly, we have done the worst
deed we could have done. Truly, this was the Son of God. Truly, this was the Son of God. Do you realize that is our confession
of faith? That is our creed. I've had people ask, what is
your creed? My creed is Jesus is the Son
of God. What is your confession of faith?
My confession of faith is truly Jesus is the Son of God. Does not the Holy Spirit declare
that whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides
in him and he in God. Was that not the creed, was that
not the confession of the Ethiopian eunuch when Philip went to preach
the gospel to him? The eunuch Here's of Jesus Christ
from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah's prophecy. Philip has faithfully
preached the gospel to him, and evidently the subject of baptism
had come up in their conversation. For as they're going along, they
pass an oasis, and Eunuch says, see here is water. Now, what
hinders me from being baptized? And Philip said, If you believe
with all your heart, you may. Not, if you believe with half
your heart. No, no, no. There are no half-hearted
receivers of Jesus Christ. If you believe with all your
heart. And he said, I believe. Now,
there is an interesting word. I believe. In the Latin it comes out as
credo. We get our word creed from that. This is our creed. What is my
creed? I believe. This is my creed.
Jesus is the Son of God. He is God manifested in the flesh. He is the Son of God whom God
sent into the world to save sinners from their sins. That's my confession
of faith, and that centurion just made that confession of
faith. I believe that Jesus is the Son
of God. This is our confession. This
is our creed. Here is a man, a centurion, and
four men with him. And they're saying the same thing
the eunuchs said, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Truly this was the Son of God. Truly this was the Son of God. Where'd that confession come
from? I'll tell you where it came from.
It was an answer from heaven to the prayer of Jesus, Father
forgive them for they do not know what they do. I recall Jesus talking to Peter
and he says, Satan desires to have you that he may sit you
as wheat and Jesus says but I have prayed for you and I have thought
if only I could know that Jesus was praying for me I am delighted
my father I've heard him pray many times for me I used to sneak
in and listen to his prayers he did not know I heard him call
my name. I was so blessed in knowing my
father prays for me. My wife prays for me. I'm delighted
that faithful people pray for me. But oh, if I could just know
that Jesus is praying for me. Now that's more important than
my father or my mother praying for me or my beloved praying
for me. if I could know that Jesus prayed
for me. For Jesus never prayed a prayer
that God did not answer in the affirmative. Now here they are, these soldiers. They're nailing his body to a
tree. And Jesus looks at them, and He looks to heaven and says,
Father, forgive these men. They do not know what they do,
or they thought they knew what they were doing. No, no, no,
no, no. They did not know what they were doing. Father, forgive
them. Now, do you suppose Jesus' Father
in Heaven is going to hear that prayer and not give an affirmative
answer? Do you suppose the Father in
Heaven is going to hear Jesus pray, Father forgive them and
say, no son, I'm sorry, I cannot do that. No, no, no, it will
not happen. Jesus prays, Father forgive them
for they know not what they do and the Father says, I'll answer
that prayer. Just give me a moment. I will
answer that prayer. And God answered that prayer
in the affirmative. How do we know? Because the men
for whom Jesus prayed said, this was the Son of God. Truly, undoubtedly,
this was the Son of God. That is an answer to the prayer
of Jesus when he prayed, Father forgive them. They know not what
they do. This prayer was answered. And
consider what these men have done. They shed, they spilt with their
spear the very blood by which Jesus redeemed them and saved
them and justified them. and sanctified them. What a marvel
is this! If these men had never driven
that spear into the precious side of Jesus, if they had not
with the wounds they inflicted upon Him shed His blood, they
could not have been saved. But they were saved! How were
they saved? By the very blood they shed. Father, forgive them! They know
not what they do. That's true, son. I've answered
every prayer you ever prayed. I will never deny the prayer
of my son. I will answer this one. And the
answer to that prayer is this. Truly, this was the Son of God. Truly, this was the Son of God. This was also the realization
of many of the Jews who witnessed the death of Jesus. For immediately
after this centurion and these four soldiers uttered these words,
we read that the whole crowd who came together to that site,
seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. Luke
23, verse 48. It was not just a centurion in
these four men. Many of the Jews, undoubtedly
hearing this declaration from the centurion, had to confess that Roman soldier is right.
We have bound Jesus. We delivered him to Pilate. We
demanded his crucifixion. We have crucified God's Son,
and they smoked their breasts in fear and trembling, wondering
what kind of wrath will God pour on us for what we have done. They returned to their homes. They contemplated what they had
done. One of the writers in scripture
says, if they had known what they were doing, they would not
have crucified the Lord of Glory. They thought they knew what they
were doing. They did not realize what they
had done until this centurion cried out, this was the Son of
God. Therefore, when Jesus prayed,
Father forgive them for they know not what they do. He was
praying for many of his countrymen as well. The same ones who smoked
their breasts at his death and went home to contemplate with
great sorrow what they had done. Let me tell you what else happened. A further answer to this prayer. After Passover, the next feast
is Pentecost. Pentecost comes from the word
meaning 50. Pentecost was the feast 50 days
after Passover. Now in Passover, every Jewish
male had to be in Jerusalem Every Jewish adult male had to be in
Jerusalem. They witnessed what had happened.
They went back to their homes, some in North Africa, some in
Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, other places. They went home. But 50
days later, they had to come back to Jerusalem. It's another
feast. It's Pentecost. Every Jewish
adult male in the Roman Empire has now made the trip back to
Jerusalem. And on the day of Pentecost we
read, when that day had fully come, Acts chapter 2, Jesus' disciples a few but faithful band were
in an upper room in Jerusalem and all of a sudden something
miraculous happened the rushing of a mighty wind the Holy Spirit
descended into that room and sat like cloven tongues of fire
upon the disciples of Jesus they walked out of the room into
the street, which is a very busy place at
that time, for every Jewish adult male was in Jerusalem. And the
disciples come out with cloven tongues of fire on their head,
speaking in tongues they had never spoken before. And these
Jews from the various parts of the Roman Empire said, well,
what is this? These are Galileans. But they're speaking the languages
of the places we are from. They never learned them. How
did this happen? They thought they were drunk,
but Peter says, no, we're not drunk. It's only 9 a.m. Nobody's
drunk at this hour of the day. Something different has come.
It's the Holy Spirit. Jesus has poured His Spirit out
upon us and began to preach. And what
was His message? I'll tell you what it was. Do
you people remember 50 days ago back in Jerusalem? Do you remember
what you did to Jesus of Nazareth? Well, Jesus of Nazareth has not
forgotten, and He has poured out His Spirit upon us, so that
we may declare to you the gravity of your sin, and let you know
that He is willing to forgive. And He preached the gospel to
them, and thousands were converted, because that prayer that Jesus
prayed fifty days earlier, Father, forgive them for they know not
what they do. It was answered not only in the
centurion and the four, but also in the thousands of Jews converted
on the day of Pentecost. Then we read that many of the
priests became obedient to the faith. Jesus prayed for them. Let me tell you somebody else
whom Jesus prayed for. He prayed for most parts. When
Jesus said, Father, forgive him, he does not know what he does.
He's praying for most parts, 2,000 years off into the future. For the scripture says, they
shall look upon him whom they pierced. And though I was not
there 2,000 years ago physically, For many years after I was born,
I pierced Him with my unbelief. My unbelief was a spear that
was driven into His side and into His very heart. And Jesus prayed for me. Father, forgive me those parts.
He does not know what He's doing. Oh, if I could just know that
Jesus is praying for me. Because this prayer was truly
answered. Truly this was the Son of God. Truly this was the Son of God. Now what did I say? That is our
creed. That is our confession of faith. Take one last look One last look, there he is, that
centurion. Take one last look at that centurion
on Calvary. Looking at Jesus with the four
and look and listen to him say, truly this was the Son of God. That's what he said. Now watch
him. Have you got your vision fixed on this centurion? because you're going to see him
again and the next time you see him will
be in heaven's glory I am convinced by this very confession
by this creed that centurion right now is in
heaven saying truly this man is the son of God And I'm going
to make the same confession with him. Yes, Mr. Centurion. Yes,
you Roman soldiers. He's the Son of God. He is the
Son of God. And I'm going to say to you that if you can just join us
this day, if you've never done so before, do it now. Do it now. Jesus is the Son of God. God manifested in the flesh. My Savior, my Redeemer, my Counselor,
my Friend. I'm going to join that centurion.
This is the Son of God, and He's my Savior. I'm trusting in Him. If you've never done so before,
Do it now. Do it now. Do not walk out that
door until you can say with a heart full of faith, I wholeheartedly
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. O God our Father, what wretched, cruel sinners
we are. And what a wonderful son you
have. We thank you for answering his
prayer to forgive us. We pray that we may forevermore
shout his praises in declaring truly this is the Son of God. enabled us to do so. To your
glory we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.