In his book, An Anthropologist on Mars, neurologist Oliver Sacks tells about Virgil, a man who had been blind from early childhood. When he was 50, Virgil underwent surgery and was given the gift of sight. But as he and Dr. Sacks found out, having the physical capacity for sight is not the same as seeing.

Virgil's first experiences with sight were confusing. He was able to make out colors and movements, but arranging them into a coherent picture was more difficult. Over time he learned to identify various objects, but his habits--his behaviors--were still those of a blind man.

Dr. Sacks asserts, "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a seeing person. It is the interim, the limbo . . . that is so terrible."

To truly see Jesus and his truth means more than observing what he did or said, it means a change of identity. (Source: Terry Seufferlein Norman, Oklahoma)

Many here have been born again; however, have you died to self and embraced your identity as a child of God? We must recognize Jesus as the one true God! Today, we study the centurion who was present at the cross. Three different gospels in the Bible record the centurion’s response to Jesus on the cross.

Matthew 27:54

“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.”

Mark 15:39

“And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, truly this man was the Son of God.”

Luke 23:47

“Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, certainly this was a righteous man.”

What we know about the centurion is very little. We do know these things are most probable about the Centurion:

1. He led 80 to 100 soldiers. This would mean he was a leader among men, used to war, and used to bloodshed.

2. He would have been a hardened soldier and loyal to Rome.

3. He probably carried out 100’s of crucifixions and thus would have been hardened to the cries and cursings of men being crucified.

4. He could have been with Jesus as early as the arrest in the garden.

He would certainly have experienced these:

The soldiers beating, whipping, mocking Jesus, until Jesus was bloodied and weakened. The gospel of Luke reveals Jesus was beaten before the trial and the other gospels reveal a beating after the trial (Matt. 27:27-30; Mk. 15:16-19; Jn. 19:1-3; Lk. 22:63-65).
Jesus speaking so kindly to the thief on the cross in the midst of His own pain (Lk. 23:42-43).
Jesus making sure his mother’s future was secure in the hands of his good friend, John (Jn. 19:26-27).
The supernatural darkness. This was more than an eclipse of the sun. Passover always occurred during a full moon and that would make a total eclipse impossible at that time. With today’s time keeping, we would understand the sixth hour to be Noon and the ninth hour to be 3 PM. This timing would have made the 3 hours of darkness all the more dramatic (Matt. 27:45; Mk. 15:33; Lk. 23:44-45).
The earthquake that splits rocks in two (Matt. 27:50-51).

Matthew 27:54 tells us the Centurion, “…watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” This underlines the fact that the Centurion was present for these things.

The gospel of Mark makes the same statement, but the gospel of Luke expands it, saying, “certainly, this was a righteous man.” In other words, this man was certainly guiltless. He committed no crime!

Some theologians go as far as to say they believe this indicates the Centurion got saved! Whether he got saved or not is a discussion for another time, however, what is clear here is…

…a hardened Roman centurion
…who had seen countless crucifixions
…who no doubt found himself desensitized to the cruelty of this form of death (so this wouldn’t be an emotional statement)
…saw all this unusual evidence and declared, “this is the Son of God!”

The context of the Centurion’s statement at the cross is jarring!

It was after the arrest when false claims were made.
It was after the trial when a mob was enticed to yell “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
It was after the trial that Pilate declared him to be innocent and washed his hands of the matter.
It was after the beatings when he had a royal robe placed on his open wounds in mockery.
It was after the sign was posted above His cross, “Kings of the Jews.”
It was after Jesus told the thief he would be with him in paradise that same day.
It was after all this that the centurion finally declared Jesus was righteous…that He was the Son of God!

Look at the proof we have today!

700 years before Christ was born, Isaiah wrote the Messiah would be born of a virgin (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:22-23), and Micah revealed the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matt. 2:1). This is roughly 7 centuries before Christ’s birth!
600 to 700 years before Christ, Jeremiah 23:5 and Isaiah 11:1 wrote that the Messiah would be of the line of David.
750 years before Christ, Hosea 11:1 prophesied that Jesus would be called out of Egypt (and He was in Matt. 2:14-15).
600 years before Christ, Jeremiah 31:15 spoke of a massacre of children and we read of King Herod’s slaughter of all children under the age of 2 in an attempt to kill the Messiah (Matt. 2:16-18).
Psalm 22:16 says 1,000 years before Christ that His hands and feet would be pierced. Jn. 20:25-27 speaks of this happening to Jesus.
1,000 years before Christ, Psalm 22:18 prophesied that lots would be cast for His clothes and Jn. 19:23-24 reveals that is exactly what happened!
1,000 years before Christ, Psalm 69:21 prophesied that they would give Jesus vinegar to drink while on the cross and Matt. 27:34 tells us that is what they did to Jesus.
700 years before Christ, Is. 53:9 prophesies that Jesus would be buried in a rich man’s tomb and in Matt. 27:57-60 we read that Jesus was buried in a rich man’s tomb!

Years ago, an engineer designed a new bridge across a dangerous river. When it was finished, he believed it could hold any weight that crossed it. On the day of the opening, people admired the bridge, but some were hesitant to drive across. The engineer, to prove his confidence, loaded the heaviest train available with coal and drove it right across the bridge. The bridge held without a single crack.

Now, people had a choice: they could stand back and admire the bridge, talk about how impressive it looked, or even debate whether it was strong enough. But the only way to actually experience the safety of the bridge was to step onto it and trust it to hold them.

In the same way, the prophecies, miracles, and resurrection of Jesus all point to Him as the Messiah. Will we just stand back and admire the evidence, or will we step onto the bridge of faith and trust Him with our lives? Is He your Savior? Is He your Lord and Master? Jesus is all that He said he is – and more!! Trust Him today!