Truly this Man was the Son of God!

 Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"  Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!"  Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down."  And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.  Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.  So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!" 

- Mark 15:33-39

Yesterday we read that Jesus was brought to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull.  Then they gave Him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but He did not take it.  And when they crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots for them to determine what every man should take.  Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.  And the inscription of His accusation was written above:  THE KING OF THE JEWS.  With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "And He was numbered with the transgressors."  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, "Aha!  You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!"  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes said, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save.  Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe."  Even those who were crucified with Him reviled Him.

  Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.   My study bible tells us:  "When the Creator suffers, the creation suffers with Him.  The lights of heaven hide themselves and are darkened until the ninth hour as God hangs suspended upon a Cross."    The sixth hour to the ninth hour corresponds to noon to 3:00 P.M.

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"  A note in my study bible says that "in His humanity, Christ is really forsaken:  in, and with, and for us, who are forsaken and abandoned.  Eloi is an Aramaic form which means 'my God.'"  These words are the beginning of Psalm 22; Jesus is praying.  Reading the entire psalm is an important way to look at and understand the Crucifixion, and Jesus' place as Messiah:  as both human being and Son of God.

 Some of those who stood by, when they heard that, said, "Look, He is calling for Elijah!"  Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink, saying, "Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down."   My study bible tells us that many believed Elijah would come to rescue the pious.

And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.   My study bible says, "The Greek verb for breathed His last or 'expired' connotes a voluntary death.  Jesus' death is that of the suffering Messiah, whose cry is not a defeat but a sign of the separation between the soul and the body, a turning point towards the triumph over death, the trampling down of death by death."

Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.   A note says, "The dividing wall of hostility separating man from God is symbolically represented by the veil of the temple, which was torn in two by the death of Jesus."

So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!"   We may well wonder why the centurion was so moved at Jesus' death, but if we look at the language in the Greek referred to in the earlier note on verse 37, in which Jesus "breathed His last" we see an affirmative act.  As my study bible noted, the Greek verb for breathed His last denotes an affirmative action, a voluntary breathing out or exhaling, as if this were His choosing of His time to separate soul and body, allowing the soul to depart.  Even the Greek for the phrase that He cried out denotes His control:  the text reads that Jesus permitted or "let go" a loud cry, indicating a voluntary act and a remarkable kind of self-control or mastery.  We note His praying of Psalm 22 on the Cross and come to see the something of the astonishing witness or testimony of the centurion.  Jesus has never lost His faith, despite being forsaken.  I can't help but focus on the testimony of the centurion and what must have passed in that remarkable time.  We remember the mocking of Jesus by the Roman garrison after His scourging.  We know how Jesus has been treated by the Roman soldiers.  And yet, after witnessing this Man's crucifixion and suffering and mocking on the Cross and His death, the centurion cannot help but exclaim, "Truly this Man was the Son of God!"  We can't stand in the shoes of the centurion, but his testimony is essential for us to understand the presence and authority of Jesus, even in this place, and how He stood out -- even in His darkest hours -- to those who had great experience of such suffering, and yet no understanding of the Jewish spiritual tradition, which taught of the coming of the Messiah.  According to early Church tradition, the name of this centurion was Longinus, who became known as a saint.  Tradition also tells us that he was the centurion who pierced Jesus' side with a spear, and stood as well guarding the tomb as one of the soldiers sent by Pilate to do so.  His words here served as testimony for the Church, and Longinus, by tradition, became a martyr in His native land of Cappadocia and is considered a saint.  One story about him says that the water and blood from Jesus' side healed Longinus' eye infection, and there are miracles regarding healing of sight tied to this saint.  I can't help but put together the sacrifice of Christ, the blood shed that tells us of His covenant with us, even the water turned to wine that we drink as commemoration per His instructions.  All of these tells us something about that saint called Longinus, the one who came to see at the Cross, whose life was thoroughly changed -- like "new wine" -- through his own experience of Jesus.   We must see Longinus' declaration that "truly this Man was the Son of God!" as a powerful act of testimony, one that was quite dangerous to make, particularly for a person in his position as one in authority.  We must admire his courage for doing so, particularly as he stands at the foot of the cross of the Man crucified for declaring Himself to be Son of God.  That he would become a saint and a martyr tells us something powerful about Jesus, that no matter what the circumstance, those who will understand with faith will be touched by His love, His Spirit, His power.  Wherever we find ourselves, let us remember St. Longinus, and that Christ is with us, no matter what we think we see around ourselves in the world.  Let us remember this testimony to Christ, most especially because it comes at this moment of Jesus' death, from one of those to whom it was said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."