“Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Mark 15 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Early in the morning the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole Council, immediately held a consultation; and binding Jesus, they led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate. ² Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him, “It is as you say.” ³ The chief priests began to accuse Him harshly. ⁴ Then Pilate questioned Him again, saying, “Do You not answer? See how many charges they bring against You!” ⁵ But Jesus made no further answer; so Pilate was amazed.

⁶ Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. ⁷ The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. ⁸ The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. ⁹ Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰ For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. ¹¹ But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. ¹² Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” ¹³ They shouted back, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁴ But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” ¹⁵ Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.

¹⁶ The soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they called together the whole Roman cohort. ¹⁷ They dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; ¹⁸ and they began to acclaim Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him. ²⁰ After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they led Him out to crucify Him.

²¹ They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.

²² Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. ²³ They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take. ²⁵ It was the third hour when they crucified Him. ²⁶ The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

²⁷ They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. ²⁸And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.” ²⁹ Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. ³² Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.

³³ When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴ At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ³⁵ When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” ³⁶ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” ³⁷ And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. ³⁸ And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”       One has to wonder what it was that the centurion saw or heard that finally convinced him that Jesus was the Son of God. Had he earlier been among the group who mocked Jesus, beating Him and spitting on Him? Jesus last days were certainly filled with changes in the way people viewed and responded to Him. Just a week earlier He had made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, to shouts of praise, the crowds saying hallelujah, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. That same crowd, just a week later, shouted “Crucify Him!” What was it that caused the centurion to know that Jesus was the Son of God?

Throughout His ministry here on earth there were those who asked Jesus to prove Himself, to perform some miracle or sign on demand to prove who He was.  Jesus never gave in to that pressure. He was not concerned with people’s opinion of Him. He was concerned with telling them the good news of the kingdom of God. Even on the cross they taunted Him saying:  “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, ³⁰ save Yourself, and come down from the cross!”… “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. ³² Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!”      Many today still mock and taunt Jesus and the Father, saying if He really was God why don’t He…?  They question God saying if He is God. When Jesus was being tempted by the devil the words satan used were, “If You are the Son of God (Matthew 4:3,6) Those who question or challenge Jesus identity find the source of their doubt in that same spirit. Jesus answered the question of the devil with the Word of God, saying “It is written” (Matthew 4:4,7) Jesus, the Son of God, confirmed His identity with the Word of God. Jesus is the word:   And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.   

Why does God allow some of the things He allows and why doesn’t He do some other things? Surly it has nothing to do with His ability.  “With God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26) We can enter into extensive theological debates about the sovereignty of God and His decision to give man free will. We can try to explain God’s motives through our doctrines and theology or we can recognize that in truth we don’t fully know or understand all that God does. What we do know though is this: When Jesus was on the cross and suffering the pain of crucifixion, when He was being mocked and taunted, what looked like His greatest defeat, what looked like His end, was really His and our greatest victory. The proof that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God was this: that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.(Romans 5:8) and then, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:4)

Things are not always as they seem. God says: My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. ⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) What looks like a defeat may be a great victory. Romans 8:28-29 says:  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.      The true miracle that happens in and through Christ and the cross is not how our circumstances are changed but rather how we are changed. The centurion received a revelation of Christ, he was made fully aware of Jesus identity.  Scripture records one time when Jesus was concerned about who people said He was. Matthew 16:13-17 says:   Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”  

If you have found yourself saying “If You are the Son of God” ask instead that the Father would give you a revelation of who Christ is. Jesus says:  “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.(Matthew 7:7-8)   The true miracle is not how the things, the circumstances around us change. The true miracle is how we are changed, conformed to the image of the Son.

Thank You heavenly Father, Your ways are higher than our ways. You take what seems like a defeat and win a great victory. Thank You Father, for the revelation that Jesus is the Christ, Your Son, and through the power of the cross, through the power of the resurrection I too have become, like Him, Your son. Amen.