{"id":4432,"date":"2017-03-16T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2017-03-16T00:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=4432"},"modified":"2021-11-25T18:06:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-25T10:06:55","slug":"172-the-centurion-at-the-foot-of-the-cross","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=4432","title":{"rendered":"172. The Centurion at the Foot of the Cross"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, \u201cTruly this man was God\u2019s Son!<\/strong>\u201d<\/span> [Mark 15:39<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[L] What OurLord Saw from the Cross<\/em>, by James Tissot, c. 1890. [R]\u00a0The Confession of the Centurion<\/em>, by James Tissot, c. 1890.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the soldier lancing Jesus\u2019 side, we wanted to speak on the confession of the centurion at the foot of the cross. That confession of Jesus as the Son of God is stunning to say the least.<\/span><\/p>\n

The evangelist Mark, by a stroke of compositional brilliance, shocks his readers by launching his narrative with \u201cthe Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God\u201d in the opening verse. In the middle of his narrative, he has Jesus asking the central question: \u201cWho do you say that I am<\/em>?\u201d In the end, it is a centurion who brings Mark\u2019s entire account full circle by affirming Jesus\u2019 identity as \u201cSon of God\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

The centurion\u2019s confession is stunning not least because it was made by a non-Jew and a non-disciple. Coming from the mouth of a Roman soldier, it had the singular distinction of being in sharp contrast to the very charge of blasphemy viciously preferred by the religious leaders of the day which set the whole movement of Jesus\u2019 passion-narrative in motion.<\/span><\/p>\n

Theologically, the centurion\u2019s confession is as complicating as it is interesting and challenging, for it happened before<\/em><\/strong> the Resurrection (upon which Christianity\u2019s essential Easter-faith is rooted), and long before<\/em> Pentecost (from whence the power of the Holy Spirit drove the early disciples to embark on Christian evangelization). Furthermore, the visual at the foot of the cross, one must remember, was nothing but an ugly and violent crucifixion and a most painful and humiliating death. And yet, despite this most harrowing scene at Calvary, the centurion, of all people, made a faith-confession. One can sense how stunning the centurion\u2019s confession can be to anyone who cares to pause and meditate on it deeply enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

Before anything else, one must take serious note that however important the events of the Holy Week are, our theological vision, and our spirituality, must never be confined to a three-day (Triduum) theology. Instead, our theological understanding of what Christ did for us must embrace the whole gospel. For the centurion did not come to his faith-confession merely on account of what he saw in how Jesus died, but more importantly, in how Jesus lived that led to how he died.<\/span><\/p>\n

What, then, did<\/em> the centurion \u201csee\u201d?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing,\u201d we must know, is not just a simple visual act. To \u201csee\u201d and comprehend something deeply, three different acts are involved.<\/span><\/p>\n