Troy challenged us to be a witness last week so I’ve been thinking about what being a witness means. A witness is someone who has knowledge of an event from personal observation or experience who gives testimony, either oral or written, about what they claim to know.
I love the Bible. I love history. I love Biblical history. I’m going to expand on and back fill a single verse found in three of the gospels about some witnesses to the Crucifixion of Christ. The centurion and those with him as recorded in Matthew 27:54, Mark 15:39 and Luke 23:47.
Centurions are legendary as officers of the ancient Roman army. Their experience and valor were crucial in maintaining order on the battlefield and they ensured Rome’s military success for several centuries. Centurions commanded units called Centuries. A Century contained around 100 Legionaries. Centurions were responsible for assigning duties, dishing out punishments, escorting prisoners, and performing various administrative tasks. The name centurion will forever be associated with battle-hardened veterans who led by courageous example on the battlefield.
Our centurion was such a man. He was hand picked to lead. He was tough as nails. He would have overseen the flogging of Jesus. He would have allowed his legionaries to place the Crown of Thorns on the head of Jesus. He would have laughed with his solders as they mocked, beat, and ridiculed Jesus. As commander of a Roman century he would have been commissioned by Pontius Pilate to carry out and monitor the death sentence of Jesus.
Our centurion had no qualms about putting men to death. It was simply part of his job. It was everyday or nearly so. He ordered his solders to force Jesus to carry the cross to the site of execution. He watched over the crucifixion of Jesus. He saw his legionaries strip Jesus and cast lots for his clothes, he allowed them to hurl insults at Jesus, and he saw his men give Jesus wine-vinegar to drink.
He also knew that Pontius Pilate thought Jesus was innocent. He heard that the Jews wanted Jesus dead for calling Himself the Son of God. He observed the behavior of Jesus during His painful walk to Golgotha and throughout the crucifixion. According to Mark 15:39 he faced Jesus on the cross, and according to Luke 23:46 he heard Jesus call out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” He experienced the earthquake, the splitting of the rocks, and the other events that occurred at the death of Jesus.
Matthew 27:54 says: When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”
Luke 23:47 says: The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
Mark 15:39 says: And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
This centurion was so shaken that he – and those with him – exclaimed to the whole world that Jesus was the Son of God only minutes after His death. The Jews denied it, the apostles had yet to say it, but the centurion, a Gentile, proclaimed it.
One of the soldiers under the command of our centurion was also present during the crucifixion of Christ and the two thieves. According to John 19:31-37, it was the Day of Preparation before the great Passover Sabbath the following day and the crucified were to be removed from the cross on Friday and had to be completely dead beforehand, so the soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves in order to hurry things up. When they got to Jesus they found he was already dead. According to John 19:34, to verify the death of Jesus, this solder thrust a spear into the side of Jesus. Afterward, John solemnly testified to some of the scripture that had been fulfilled.
Then, in Mark 15:42-45, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear Jesus was already dead and summoned the centurion, who confirmed it.
No name for the centurion or those with him are given in the canonical Gospels; however the name Longinus is used in the text of apocryphal writings and the traditions of the early church. Longinus is venerated, generally as a martyr, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Armenian Apostolic Church. A statue of Saint Longinus is one of four statues beneath the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
Longinus may also have been part of the tomb guard, which according to Matthew 27:62-66, Pilate had granted to the Jews at their request. For greater security they also sealed the large stone rolled in front of the tomb. Longinus believed Jesus was the Son of God and was converted and baptized.
Longinus left military service at Caesarea and with two of his soldiers, who also became followers of Jesus, returned back to his homeland of Cappadocia, where he proclaimed his faith in Jesus Christ to the Cappadocians. But the Jews persecuted him there and they moved Pilate through money to charge Longinus for his sermons in which he portrayed Jesus as king. Word got to Emperor Tiberius who ordered Pilate to have Longinus killed. Pilate sent some confidants to Cappadocia to carry out this order. They decapitated him and his two companions. Then they took his head to Pilate in Jerusalem to prove the order, and his head was thrown outside the city on a heap of garbage.
The soldier who pierced the side of Jesus with a spear is said to have come from the province of Jsaurien in Asia Minor and was called Cassius before his conversion. Cassius also saw the extraordinary events during the death of Jesus, and he came to the conclusion, like the centurion Longinus, that the crucified Jesus of Nazareth must have been more than just a man. He now believed in Jesus of Nazareth and repented of his previous life and converted many to the belief in Jesus. He then went to Caesarea in Cappadocia, where he spent a number of years preaching and converting.
Because of the number of conversions he had caused, the Governor Octavius ordered that he be tortured. His tongue was cut out and his teeth broken but this did not prevent him from preaching about Christ. As a result, many more were converted. Again, he was led before Octavius who gave the order to behead him. He prayed standing for about an hour; then his head was cut off. He had converted the jailer Aphrodisius before being executed and the Governor Octavius had Aphrodisius’ tongue cut out as well. Aphrodisius, who, despite the tongue being cut out, still had the ability to speak, and preached the righteousness of the Lord. Governor Octavius converted to Christianity shortly after having Cassius beheaded.
These men participated in an event and experienced something extraordinary. They then gave testimony even to the point of death. The Apostles and disciples did the same. Thousands of others went to their deaths in the Roman coliseums proclaiming Christ’s death and resurrection. We have the privilege to partake in the same cross through the emblems that represent the blood and body of Jesus. Like the men and women before us, let us be witnesses to what we know to be true and proclaim the power of the cross we commune in.
