Those words, "Surely this man was
the Son of God!" were spoken by the Roman soldier in charge of Jesus'
crucifixion detail.
He
said those words, scripture tells us (Mark 15:39) after he heard Jesus'
cry to God the Father and saw how he died. He hadn't fought,
he hadn't struggled with the soldiers to be free. He forgave
those who killed him when He said, "Father, forgive them for they know
not what they are doing." Jesus knew that He came to Earth
for this very reason -- to give His life for us. The soldier
saw Jesus seemingly in control of the situation in spite of the fact
that he suffered at the hands of others. Jesus talked about
that in John 10:17-18 "...I lay down my life that I may take
it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of
Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take
it again...."
God displayed miraculous signs to point out the significance of Jesus'
death. For three hours from noon until 3 PM when Jesus died
there was darkness over all the earth (Matthew 27:45-54).
This was a miracle, not a solar eclipse. In spite of the
Hollywood faux
pas
showing a crescent moon at Passover in the The
Ten Commandments,
Passover is always accompanied by a full moon because Jewish months
begin with a new moon and Passover is mid-month -- half a lunar cycle
later at the time of full moon. Solar eclipses are only
possible at the time of the new moon, at the beginning of Jewish months
when the moon is between the earth and the sun. God displayed
other miracles at the point of Jesus' death. He caused the
earth to quake -- rocks were split and graves were opened. He
raised people from the dead and they appeared to many. And in
the temple, God caused the huge thick curtain or veil separating the
Most Holy Place from the Holy Place to be torn in two from top to
bottom symbolizing the direct access to God Jesus made possible by His
sacrifice for us.
Truly, the greatest sign that "this man was the Son of God" is that He
didn't stay in the grave. As He had said, He had the power to
take up His life again. He rose from the dead and appeared to
the disciples and to over 500 other witnesses at one time (1
Corinthians 15:6). That's why Christianity grew so
quickly. These people knew that Jesus, truly was the Son of
God. They were witnesses of His death and His resurrection
and were willing to die for that truth. |
