Thank you for helping to support Peace Devotions through your prayers, likes, and shares.
If you’d like to support our ministry financially, you can donate here.
Something Special About Jesus
Today, we consider the final statement made about Jesus during his suffering and death.
Luke 23:46-47
Today, we consider the final statement made about Jesus during his suffering and death. We hear the words of the Roman centurion who crucified him.
So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man!” (Luke 23:47)
Now, the centurion’s statement is interesting, to say the least, and it raises a few questions for us. First, how did he know? And second, what did he mean? So the centurion can see that there is something different about Jesus. Luke records that from noon to 3:00 there was darkness over the land. On top of that, at the end of this time, Jesus cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Father, ‘into your hands I commit My spirit.'” And when he said this he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)
The Centurion would have been familiar with crucifixion. He knows that it’s a long, drawn out process. You don’t get to choose when you die. That would kind of defeat the point. You go out with a whimper, not a bang. So in this dramatic moment with Jesus final statement and giving up his spirit, the centurion sees that there’s something different about Jesus. And he’s not your normal death row inmate. Even in his final moments. Even in this moment of absolute undurable agony, Jesus shows that he is in control.
Even though he’s dying, he’s the one defeating death. Jesus gets to decide when it’s over. He decides when he’s let death had enough. The centurion sees the miracle of darkness, and he sees and marvels at the power that Jesus displays in his last moments.
So what does he mean? Now we can’t say for certain what the centurion all knew or where he’s at in this moment. It’s possible he didn’t understand or grasp the true, deeper meaning of what he said. But I like to think that he’s pretty tuned in here. Luke says that he glorified God in saying this. The centurion knows that there’s something unique about Jesus, and Jesus is righteous, not just because he’s innocent and didn’t deserve to die.
No, he’s righteous because he is sinless. Jesus perfect righteousness gives his sacrifice on the cross, the power and the ability and the value to pay for the sins of the whole world. Jesus is righteous and he makes us righteous by forgiving our sins and giving us the righteousness he won and lived. There’s something special about Jesus. He has the power over death and the power over sin. Amen.
