Mark 15: ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’

Major Richard Gaudion considers a centurion’s proclamation.

Key texts

• Mark 15:33–47

This week, we are looking at the death of Jesus as recorded in Mark’s Gospel. We consider how those who were present responded to his death and we focus on the exclamation made by the centurion: ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’ (v39). Other people are also mentioned in these verses. I will refer briefly to their responses as the study unfolds.

Have you ever had the privilege, or trauma, of being with someone when they died? As an officer, I have been present at bedsides when corps members have died. More personally, I was present with my older brother and sister when both our parents died, our mother in 2013 and our father in 2017. Their deaths were peaceful and expected. They died in our family home.

Contrast these peaceful deaths with the gruesome and callous death of Jesus, which hadn’t been expected by those around him, and took place in the full glare of publicity just outside the city wall of Jerusalem.

Jesus died in the darkness of one Friday afternoon in history. Mark records his cry from the cross: ‘“Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)’ (v34). This is a direct quote from Psalm 22:1, a psalm of David. The utter desolation Jesus experienced was being expressed in this anguished and searingly painful cry.

Pause and reflect

• When have you felt desolate, perhaps to the point of questioning the existence of God?
• What was the scenario? How did you get through it?
• Who, if anyone, accompanied you?

Dominican friar Timothy Radcliffe, in his 2004 book Seven Last Words, writes: ‘When we utter words of utter anguish, then we remember that on the cross Jesus made them his own. And when we can find no words at all, not even to scream, then we may take his.’

Following this outburst from Jesus, we read of the responses of those standing near the cross. Some thought Jesus was calling Elijah, while another nameless ‘someone’ (v36) offered Jesus wine vinegar to drink. Then it happens – the death of Jesus! ‘With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last’ (v37).

Death by crucifixion was meant to take hours. The two people crucified alongside Jesus were still enduring their agony. What occurs in response to his unexpectedly quick death?

First, the writers of the Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – tell us: ‘The curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom’ (v38). The significance of this is that it means the way to God is now wide open for all humankind. Previously, only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. William Barclay, in The Gospel of Mark, says: ‘Within the Holy of Holies dwelt the very essence of God. Now with the death of Jesus the curtain which hid God was torn and he could be seen face to face… Anyone who looked at Jesus could say, “This is what God is like. God loves me like that.”’

Second, and staggeringly, we read of the centurion responding to the death of Jesus by saying: ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’ (v39). Why would he say such a thing? This man of rank was part of the occupying Roman forces, a Gentile who had probably witnessed countless other deaths by crucifixion. What made the death of Jesus so unique to him? Was this the same centurion mentioned in Matthew 8:5–13 and Luke 7:1–10, whose servant was healed by Jesus? The powerful acknowledgement by the centurion is proclaimed even before the resurrection of Jesus. It has echoed through all time ever since.

Pause and reflect

• What does the death of Jesus mean to you?
• What conclusion do you arrive at when considering the death of Jesus?

The worst has happened – Jesus has died! And who else is recorded in the narrative when Joseph of Arimathea seeks out Pilate and asks for permission to prepare the corpse of Jesus for burial? The centurion!

It is the centurion whom Pilate asks for the verification of Jesus’ death (see vv44 and 45) – Pilate wouldn’t have expected Jesus to die so soon. Note that it is only Mark’s Gospel that records this interaction between Pilate and the centurion. A minor detail, perhaps, yet important to Mark.

If you are a Christian believer, you may now be feeling a little anxious, wanting to read on into chapter 16, where the resurrection of Jesus is recorded. Waiting can be uncomfortable and frustrating. Yes, we are Resurrection people, but we can’t escape that we are also crucifixion and death people (see Romans 6:1–14; Galatians 2:20).

What word or words do you use when someone has died? Do you use euphemisms, like ‘they have passed’ or ‘we have lost them’? Why do we use such euphemisms? Is it to dull the pain of the reality of death? Is it not possible to simply say that ‘someone has died’?

Thankfully, we are not left in any doubt about the death of Jesus, the Son of God. His wonderful example of perfect love in action is displayed for us on the cross.