And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 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 some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 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 15:33-39 ESV).
The crucifixion story is filled with anguish. Jesus is arrested by violent soldiers, deserted by his followers, betrayed by one of his own disciples, tried by a kangaroo court, condemned by a mob, and crucified at the place of the skull (Golgotha). Then a Roman centurion proclaims him the Son of God! Jesus’ true identity shines through the darkness.
In Mark’s gospel the centurion’s confession of faith parallels two earlier voices from heaven. At Jesus’ baptism God’s voice speaks, “You are my Son, whom I love.” Later the same voice from heaven informs the disciples of Jesus’ identity: “This is my Son, whom I love.” And at the cross the centurion, seeing how Jesus died, said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
The centurion’s words are like a voice from heaven that again confirms that the suffering of the Messiah has been intentional. It is only when we look steadfastly at the cross that we can see the kind of Savior we need.
The centurion was a Gentile. Through his words we can see that the Son of God is for every nation. We need to see how Jesus died and respond with all our heart, “Surely he is the Son of God!” Every day these words should be on the tip of our tongue. Confessing our faith is the most crucial response to our salvation.