How A Roman Centurion Became A Believer

A. Once there was a Sunday school teacher who had given her class an assignment to read Isaiah chapter 9.

1. The next Sunday, she asked the class how many had remembered to read the chapter and every hand went up.

2. “Wonderful!,” she said, “And I’ve got a piece of candy for everyone who can complete the 2nd half of this verse from Isaiah 9:2: ‘The people who walked in darkness...’

3. Instantly, the students offered their answers:

a. “The people who walked in darkness use less electricity!”

b. “The people who walked in darkness, stub their toes a lot!”

c. “The people who walked in darkness, spend most of the time sleeping.”

d. “The people who walked in darkness, are usually burglars.”

e. “The people who walked in darkness, could really use a flashlight!”

4. Obviously, those answers were not the right answers!

a. Do you remember what the right answer is?

b. Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walked in darkness... have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.”

5. Today, as we explore how a Roman centurion became a believer, we will see a perfect example of how that prophesy was fulfilled when the Gentiles who had walked in darkness (including this Roman centurion) saw the great light of Jesus shine on them.

B. The Roman Empire conquered and occupied Israel beginning in 63 B.C.

1. The practice of the Roman Empire was to station a legion of troops in any country they had under their control.

2. Roman Legions normally consisted of 5000 men.

3. Those 5000 soldiers were divided into groups of 100 who were each led by a commander called a centurion – a leader of a hundred (century) men.

4. So if there was a full legion in the province of Israel, then there were 50 different centurions over that legion.

5. Centurions had a great deal of authority and were like federal officers scattered around the empire to keep the peace and impose Roman rule.

6. You would assume that someone with that kind of authority and power would have a pretty good head on his shoulders.

C. There are four centurions mentioned in the New Testament and each is portrayed in a positive light.

1. First, there’s the centurion mentioned in Luke 7 who expressed great faith in Jesus’ power to heal the centurion’s servant – it was said of that centurion that “he loves our nation and had built our synagogue.” (Lk. 7:5)

2. Second, there’s the centurion named Cornelius in Acts 10 who had been instructed to send for Peter, and he and his whole household became the first Gentile members of the church.

3. Third, there’s the centurion in Acts 27 who was in charge of Paul during his Roman imprisonment.

4. Finally, there’s the centurion that we are going to talk about today who was in charge of the crucifixion of Jesus and who stood at the foot of the cross.

D. Some people believe that the centurion in Luke 7 and the centurion at the foot of the cross are the same man, but we have no way of knowing that.

1. It is likely that the centurion in charge of Jesus’ crucifixion had heard about Jesus previously.

2. Judea was not a large country, and the Roman soldiers were not totally isolated from what was taking place in the nation they were watching over.

3. So, perhaps he had heard of the commotion that surrounded Jesus – the rumors of His claim to be a king and that He might be starting an insurrection.

4. The centurion may have even been in the crowd while Jesus taught and performed miracles.

E. Nevertheless, however it came about, this centurion had been assigned the trial and crucifixion of Jesus and something happened that day that turned a callous Roman centurion into a believer.

1. Something that centurion saw and heard caused him to arrive at the amazing conclusion: “Truly this man was the son of God.”

2. Today, I want us to explore what it was that he had observed that had changed his heart and mind.

3. Of course, the most important question for each one of us is: Who do we believe that Jesus is?

4. Will our hearts and minds come to the same conclusion as the centurion?

F. Let’s think about what that centurion had seen and heard throughout the day of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion.

1. If he was given the commission to make sure all the details of this crucifixion were carried out, then he must have been in charge of Jesus from the time of His trial before Pilate until the conclusion of the crucifixion itself.

2. If that was the case, then the centurion saw not only the events of the crucifixion, but also all the events that led up to it.