In the days of Jesus the most feared soldiers on the face of the earth were those of the Legions Of Rome. These men were practically invincible. It seemed to no nation of the day could stand against them. And one of the reasons they were so powerful and so feared was because their armies were led by men called “centurions.”
These Centurions were seasoned veterans and were commanders of units of approximately 100 men. In today’s armies they would be roughly equivalent to a Major.
In Israel, 2 or 3 of these centurions would have been based in a fortress inside Jerusalem, but most of them were stationed in a seaport called Caesarea. When you folks sent me to Israel a couple years ago, I got to visit the ruins of that city, and this is what the ruins look like today. (We showed an overview of the ruins from https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarea_Maritima#/media/File:Caesarea.JPG). You can just make one of the theatres and the hippodrome (a race track for chariots) as well as a faint outline of the harbor itself.
BUT in the days of Jesus - it probably looked more like this (we used a picture like the one found at http://beautifulcity2015.weebly.com/caesarea-maritima.html). Because of how the nature of the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Israel had no natural deep water seaports for ships. But Herod the Great built this one - an engineering masterpiece of the day – and it became so important to sea trade that Rome took it over and made it THEIR capital in Israel.
The city became a jewel on the Mediterranean with a theatre, amphitheater and hippodrome as just a few of its attractions. And it was where the majority of Rome’s forces in the area were bivouacked. This city was also (being the capital) the place where Pilate lived.
ILLUS: Now, it may shock you to learn that there are many people in this world who hate Christianity and hate our God and hate our Bible. And many of these are scholars – scholars who challenge every aspect of Scripture. And for decades Pilate was like a gift for these critics. There was no record of Pontius Pilate ever being Jerusalem and the skeptics taught that Pilate was nothing more than a figment of the imagination of the Gospel writers…
BUT THEN someone found this huge stone at Caesarea with his Pilate’s NAME on it. (http://www.ancientcoinage.org/coins-of-the-herodians--roman-procurators.html) It reads: “Tiberium, Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea”
In this picture – you can see the Palace where Pilate would have lived while stationed at Caesarea (http://cannundrum.blogspot.com/2015/08/caesarea-maritima-israel.html - the white structure toward the bottom of the picture). It was an elegant home originally decorated by Herod the Great as one of his palatial homes by the sea.
Now, why is Caesarea important to our story this morning? Well, because it’s possible that the centurion at the cross came from Caesarea. You see, Pilate didn’t live in Jerusalem and he probably didn’t want to live in Jerusalem. He was quite content 70 miles away in the comforts and entertainments of Caesarea. The only reason he would have needed to travel to Jerusalem would have been during the festivals (such as Passover and Pentecost) when large numbers of Israelites would’ve gathered together. The Jews hated the Romans… and Rome soon learned that any time that many Jews got together in one place it was a recipe for disaster – unrest, riots and possibly even the potential for a major revolt.
Pilate probably didn’t like the Jews any more than they liked him, but his job was to keep the peace and that required him to display a show force on occasion. So at these times when Jews gathered together, he would lead extra soldiers to Jerusalem. More soldiers required more centurions, and one of those centurions (that came with Pilate) could have been the one that was standing guard at the base of the cross of Christ.
Now, who was this guy? Who was this centurion? Well, he was part of a very exclusive club. There were only 20 or 25 centurions in Israel at the time. Several of the commentaries I studied said that it was intriguing that - despite the fact that the Jews hated the Romans - the New Testament writers treated the centurions with respect.
• When Jesus was ministering in Capernaum, a Centurion approached Him asking for help: “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”
And (Jesus) said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment. Matthew 8:6-13
• Last Sunday, we talked about a Centurion named Cornelius who God sent Peter to preach to. Cornelius lived in Caesarea. Acts describes Cornelius as “an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say.” Acts 10:22
• Then in Acts 27, we’re told of a Centurion who had Paul as his prisoner… but in that passage we’re told that “Julius (the Centurion) treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for.” Acts 27:3
So, obviously these centurions were highly regarded by the early church. But why? Why were these men viewed so favorably in Scripture? Well, because, Centurions were not your common soldiers. They were chosen because of their levelheadedness and their ability to be good leaders. They were chosen because they were dependable and because they understood their men.
A Greek historian said that “In choosing their centurions the Romans look not so much for the daring or fire-eating type, but rather for men who are natural leaders and possess a stable and imperturbable temperament, not men who will open the battle and launch attacks, but those who will stand their ground even when worsted or hard-pressed, and will die in defense of their posts.” Polybius (c.200-118 BC)
So these Centurions were dependable and level-headed leaders… but they could be cruel when need be. And that was why this centurion was at the base of the cross. He was carrying out a common task for Roman soldiers: the crucifixion of guilty men.
In that day Rome was the only nation that crucified anyone. And they did it often. One scholar noted: “Romans practiced both random and intentional violence against populations they had conquered, killing tens of thousands by crucifixion” (New Testament scholar Hal Taussig, who is with the Union Theological Seminary in New York.)
Crucifixions were not jobs for the squeamish. Centurions had to stand watch while men died slowly and painfully on their crosses.
ILLUS: When they crucified a man – Romans flogged them 1st. And they beat the prisoner until bones were broken and blood covered the ground. Then the prisoner’s arms were tied to a crossbar and he was paraded through the streets with a soldier (walking out in front) carrying a sign that indicated their crimes.
At the place of execution, the prisoner's wrists were nailed to the crossbar. The bar was then lifted and placed on the stake (which was already driven into the ground) and the condemned man's ankles were then nailed to the stake.
Prisoners could remain conscious for days, struggling for breath as they hung by the nails in their wrists. As they hung there they experienced the pressure on their chests, from having their arms suspended above them, and that robbed them of the ability to inhale. And so they would have to push upward with their legs in order to breathe. But eventually the pain from the nails in the feet became so unbearable that they sagged and hung by their arms … and again they were unable to breathe. This would happen over and over again.
Sometimes the Roman soldiers would shorten the suffering by breaking the prisoner's legs. With their legs broken they could no longer support push up and breathe. And so they suffocated faster.
Because of the stress on their diaphragms prisoners could talk only in short bursts, which is why - as Jesus hung on the cross - His statements were very short. (Ray Vander Laan “Focus On The Family” magazine 3/97 p. 18)
ILLUS: It is reported that one soldier, who observed a crucifixion, wrote: “Of all the sounds in hell, none is more pitiable than those terrible cries through the silence of midnight, where crucified men hang in agony and cannot die while a breath of suffering remains.” Jerry Parks, TH.D.
(PAUSE) And Centurions had to oversee this entire process… prisoner after prisoner after prisoner. Watching guilty men die was just part of their job description.
BUT Jesus’ death was different. There was something different about Jesus that shook this Centurion. The question is: What was there about Jesus’ death that was different? We’re not told exactly… but I’ve got a few ideas…
1st – Being a centurion made you PART of a very select and exclusive club. There were only about 25 of these commanders in Palestine and it’s a pretty good guess that they knew each other fairly well. When the one Centurion went to Jesus and begged for his servant to be healed you can count on the fact that that story became known to the others. And when Jesus spent His three years of ministry going throughout Israel healing the sick and the lame and the blind that was probably talked about as the commanders ate and drank together.
But THIS Centurion had a front row seat to something the others didn’t. He watched as Jesus was tried, convicted and executed. He watched as Pilate tried to release Jesus (not just once… but twice). He listened as Pilate declared “I find no fault in this man”. He watched as Pilate brought out the bowl of water and washed his hands of what everyone knew was an unjust sentence.
This centurion had crucified many other men…but this man was innocent.
Then he watched as “Pilate took Jesus and flogged him” (John 19:1) and he watched as “The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace … and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!"
Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.” (Mark 15:16-20)
This Centurion had seen all that. And at the cross, he was in command as his soldiers drove the nails thru Jesus’ feet and hands. He was there when they lifted the cross bar and dropped it into place and he watched as Jesus’ body sagged against the nails that held Him in place. And as the Centurion watched all of this he knew it wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right. It shouldn’t have happened. It shouldn’t have happened to normal innocent man … but this Jesus wasn’t a normal man (and this Centurion knew it).
This Centurion had heard stories about this Jesus. About how Jesus had been kind to the weak. How He’d fed 1000s of people with just a little bit of fish and bread. How He’d had healed sick and the lame. And how it was said He‘d even raised the dead to life.
But then we read this from Mark “And when the sixth hour had come (Noon), there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour (3:00 pm). And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"…
And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" Mark 16:33-34; 37-39
There was something about the way Jesus breathed His last that SHOOK this Centurion. He’d seen other men die… but no mortal man had ever died like this!
This story of the centurion at the foot of the cross was mentioned in 3 of the Gospels. There was something about this story of a pagan Roman soldier’s reaction that God wanted us to see. God wanted us to see the impact Christ’s death had on this Centurion that would lead him to recognize the truth about Christ: “Truly, this was the Son of God!”
CLOSE: I want to close with this true story. Back in 1976, there was an 8 hr. TV mini-series entitled “Jesus of Nazareth” (it’s shown many times around Easter). It starred Robert Powell as Jesus, Olivia Hussey as His mother Mary, and Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene.
For the role of the Centurion they picked a seasoned actor named Ernest Borgnine (http://take2newsreviews.blogspot.com/2012/07/ernest-borgnine-1917-2012.html). Borgnine was a highly respected at the time, having acted in both comedies and dramas - and he took THIS role seriously. He said that the weather for filming that day was chilly and gray, and since the camera was to be focused on Borgnine at foot of the cross it wasn’t necessary for Robert Powell (who portrayed Jesus) to be there.
To help focus him for the role, the director placed an “X” on some scenery beside the cameraman and told Borgnine to focus on THAT as if he was looking on Christ. Borgnine said that for some reason he was nervous and uneasy that day, and he asked “for somebody to read from the Bible the words Jesus said as He hung on the cross.”
The director found a Bible, opened it to the Book of Luke signaled for the camera to start rolling as he began to read the text. Borgnine said he stared up at that chalk mark, trying to think about what might have gone through the centurion's mind that fateful day. He said that as he heard the words of Jesus to the one thief: "Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise," he visualized the centurion thinking “If Jesus can forgive that criminal, then He will forgive me. I will lay down my sword and retire to my little farm outside of Rome.”
At this point Borgnine wrote: “then it happened. As I stared upward, instead of the chalk mark, I suddenly saw the face of Jesus Christ, lifelike and clear. It was not the face of Robert Powell I was used to seeing, but the most beautiful, gentle visage I have ever known. Pain-seared, sweat-stained, with blood flowing down from thorns pressed deep, His face was still filled with compassion. He looked down at me through tragic, sorrowful eyes with an expression of love beyond description.
Then His cry rose against the desert wind. Not the voice of (the director), reading from the Bible, but the voice of Jesus Himself: ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.’
In awe I watched Jesus' head slump to one side. I knew He was dead. A terrible grief welled within me, and completely oblivious of the camera, I started sobbing uncontrollably.
The director yelled ‘Cut!’ And Borgnine looked over to see that Olivia Hussey and Anne Bancroft were crying, too. I wiped my eyes and looked up again to where I had seen Jesus.… He was gone.
Borgnine closed his comments with these words: “I have not been quite the same person since. I believe that I take my faith more seriously. I like to think that I'm more forgiving than I used to be. As that centurion learned two thousand years ago, I too have found that you simply cannot come close to Jesus without being changed.” (Snowflakes in September: Stories about God's Mysterious Ways, by Corrie Ten Boom and Ernest Borgnine, published by Dimensions for Living.)
As we are here at church this morning, we have an advantage that Centurion never had. We have God’s words in our hands – in our Bible. We know things about Jesus and His sacrifice that pagan would never have considered. But sometimes we have a problem. Sometimes we don’t SEE Jesus. We don’t understand and feel what He went through on the cross for us. Sometimes we get caught up in the religious things we do each Sunday to honor God (and there’s nothing wrong with those things). But we can get so caught up with the sermon and the songs and the prayers that we many times don’t think to take the time to see Jesus on the cross. Of course, that’s the reason we take communion every Sunday – to remind us of His sacrifice for us. But we must be careful that we don’t let our religious activities cloud our vision so that we don’t see Jesus. That’s the one advantage the Centurion had over many church goers – he saw Jesus as He really was.
INVITATION
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES: What The Cross Meant To…
• The Centurion At The Feet Of Jesus Mark 15:33-39
• The Man From Arimathea Matthew 27:57-66
• The Cross Of Barabbas Matthew 27:11-26
• Victory In Jesus I Corinthians 15:35-57
