St. Mark 15:37–39
And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
Prayer: Lord God, our sin separated us from Your presence and brought our condemnation, but Jesus has suffered for our sin and therefore bridged the gap between us and You. We ask that you send Your Holy Spirit to enliven our hearts to trust what Christ has accomplished in his death for all sinners, who have now been granted access to Your dwelling through faith in Him. Amen.
Witnesses of Christ’s Passion: The Centurion
“Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
In Christ Jesus, by whose death, death was killed and heaven opened, dear fellow redeemed,
Jesus cried out from the cross with a loud voice, “It is finished.” After completing the work of our redemption, Jesus prayed, “Father, into Your hands, I commit My spirit,” and then Jesus “beathed his last” or as Matthew puts it, “He yielded up His spirit” (Matthew 27:50).
When we think about the cross, the terrible suffering Jesus endured and his death, what’s sobering is to realize that this is what we deserved for our sins. Yet, what’s amazing is that Jesus willingly took our place. He didn’t have to. No one could have forced him. Jesus said, “I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.” Jesus had the power to preserve or give up his life. No one had the power to take his life from him, and no one had authority over him (John 19:11). Pontius Pilate’s sentence would have meant nothing, the soldiers’ swords would have been useless, the nails could not have held him, if our Savior had not willingly gone the way of the cross to lay down his life for the sins of the world.
But he did. And that makes all the difference for how we approach our death. Because by his death, death has been killed and heaven opened. On this Good Friday, I want us to consider a few vital questions. Why was Jesus’ death necessary, who is he that died, and for what ends did he die?
Why was Jesus’ death necessary? Simply put, it was for you. He died for you because he loves you and did not want you to receive the judgement that you deserved. The prophet Isaiah makes it plain when he writes, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). To be separated from God is the worst thing imaginable. Even the worst evils in this world do not compare to hell, because in this life we still have God. Only those in hell know its misery, where the “worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). This is where all human beings were headed because of our sin—death in hell, separated from God. Our sin prevented us from being in our holy God’s presence.
This separation was always on the mind of faithful Israelites. In the temple, where God met his people, there were three parts: the outer court, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. Inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant where God met his people. However, a large curtain or veil, as thick as a man’s hand, made of “blue, and purple, and scarlet and fine twined linen,” (Ex 26:31) separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. No one was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies except the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, who before even entering, needed to be sanctified through a sacrificial offering. This all highlighted the spiritual reality that our sins separated us from God and that sins against the Lord’s commandments required the shedding of blood. Yet, the bloody Old Testament sacrifices could remove the barrier between us and God—but they did point to the perfect sacrifice of that would.
And that is why it is important to know who is the one that died. This really is one of the central questions throughout the book of Mark. In Mark’s Gospel we see people confused about who Jesus was. The disciples doubted him, they were confused about who he was, and for what purpose he came. The religious leaders rejected him and sought to condemn him. But there were some who saw who he was—a blind man, a leper, a Gentile woman. And who is the unlikely person to first confirm his identity after his death? A Roman Centurion, the first Good Friday preacher, who declared, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
The Centurion, a commander of one hundred men, in charge of the detail on Golgotha, had witnessed the events leading up to Jesus’ death. He witnessed Jesus pray for his enemies, promise paradise to a thief, the three hours of darkness, the loud shout, the earthquake, and sudden death of Jesus. This all made a deep impression on him. He had likely been assigned to the safeguarding of Jesus and witnessed the plots of the religious leaders amid Pilate’s repeated statements indicating Jesus’ innocence. As one who had seen many crucifixions, he would have been surprised at the quickness of death, in which he surrendered his life. After he witnesses all these events, with nothing to gain and everything to lose by supporting the lost cause of this condemned prophet, he contradicted Pilate’s sentence and said, “Certainly, this was a righteous Man. Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
What the angels had proclaimed at Bethlehem and what God the Father had testified at his baptism and transfiguration, the Centurion confessed before Golgotha’s cross. This innocent Man was God.
Every year at the Passover, Pilate released a prisoner. Though he wanted to release Jesus, the crowds wanted Barrabas, a murderer. The guilty was set free, and the innocent condemned. The only way Barrabas could have been set free was if Jesus was condemned. This really is a picture of us—we are Barrabas. You and I are just as guilty of treason against God as Barrabas was guilty of treason against the Roman Government. You have sinned against God, not loved him as you ought, and sinned against your fellow man. You were sentenced to hell for your sins. This is still the fate for all those who deny Christ.
Jesus was condemned in your place, so that you could go free, underserving though you were. He jumped in front of the speeding train of God’s judgement and was stricken, smitten, and afflicted so that you wouldn’t be. The innocent Man was condemned so that you could go free! Your sins no longer condemn you. Jesus said, “If the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). No matter how many sins the devil dredges up and shoves in your face, no matter how ashamed you might feel because of your sins and failures—you are free of them because they were placed on Jesus and that means they are no longer on you. Scripture declares, “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1:7). Through faith in Jesus, this forgiveness is yours! That’s why Jesus’ death is our greatest comfort! As true God, he has paid for the sins of the whole world, and that includes yours. “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (I John 2:2).
Not only has Jesus’ death spared you from judgement, it has also provided you with a wonderful future, which is pictured by the great miracle in our lesson. “Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” This veil was as thick as a man’s hand. Its tearing was no coincidence—it was a miracle! This was God’s declaration that our sin which separated us from God is no more, the Old Testament sacrifices are done, and God’s dwelling is not confined to one location. It isn’t now just the High Priest who could enter the Holy of Holies because Scripture says, “[Jesus] entered once for all into the holy places… by the means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). Access to God has been opened. We may now enter God’s eternal dwelling place with confidence through the blood of Jesus (Hebrew 10:19). As the hymn verse beautifully summarizes (ELH 182:8)
Jesus, in Thy cross are centered
All the marvels of Thy grace;
Thou, my Savior, once hast entered
Through Thy blood the holy place:
Thy sacrifice holy there wrought my redemption,
From Satan’s dominion I now have exemption;
The way is now free to the Father’s high throne,
Where I may approach Him, in Thy name alone.
You do not need to fear death, because Christ has taken death captive, and turned it into an entrance to his eternal dwelling. On the cross, Jesus paid for all your sins. This is why we treasure the cross. This is why Good Friday is a good day! Christ wants you to believe it. It is finished. It’s the day heaven’s door was opened to you, the curtain has been torn in two! And if death could not hold Jesus, neither will it hold you! Amen.