In the sermon 'Truly This Was The Son of God,' David Green explores the profound declaration made by the Roman centurion at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This moment is significant as it marks the first human acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son of God in the Gospel of Mark. The centurion, a Gentile and an enemy of Christ, is transformed by the events he witnesses, highlighting the work of the Holy Spirit in changing hearts. The speaker underscores the universality of Christ's sacrifice, emphasizing that Jesus died not only for Jews but also for Gentiles and the church. The sermon draws connections between this confession and other biblical affirmations, including declarations by God, angels, demons, and Jesus himself. Green emphasizes the inclusivity of salvation, asserting that no one is beyond the reach of God's grace, and calls for repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.

Mark chapter 15 and let's go ahead and read verses 33 through 41 again. I promise eventually we will move on from this text however this is a very important text. We consider the death of Christ on the cross. We've been here for a few weeks now, And I don't think we'll ever exhaust it. Mark chapter 15, beginning verse 33.

When the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani, which is being interpreted, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood by when they heard it said, behold, he calleth Elias. One ran and filled a sponge of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone, let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost.

The veil of the temple was rent and twain from the top to the bottom and when the centurion, This will be our text here in verse 39. When the centurion which stood over against him saw that he so cried out and gave up the ghost, he said, truly, this man was the Son of God. There were also women looking on afar off among whom was Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the Less and of Joseph and Salome who also when he was in Galilee, followed him and ministered unto him, and many other women which came up with him into Jerusalem. Let's again go to the Lord in prayer. Our Father in Heaven, we thank You for the day.

We thank You for the time that we have to consider the death of our Savior on the cross. Lord, we thank you knowing that that the that your son died there for our sins that we could have life and have it more abundantly. Lord, even as we meet here on this Lord's Day, we know that we serve a risen Savior, one who has conquered death, hell, and the grave. Lord, there's so much to consider in this text. Lord, I pray that today that your people be encouraged from it.

Lord, that we will be ever thankful for the love of God that was displayed there on the cross. Help us to always be willing to share this, As the songwriter called it, this old, old story. Share it with others. Lord, I pray that even today that if there's any here who know you not, that today may be the day that they come to know you, to repent and to believe to be born again Lord. I pray that you'll Forgive us of our sins and our shortcomings.

What's in Jesus, and then we pray, amen. Looking at this text, Just like last week, verse 38, verse 39 is also a text that I've preached from many years ago. But as I looked at my notes from verse 39, I read them, reread them, read them again, and I thought, man, I can't believe I preached that the way I preached it. I save all my sermon notes. I used to save them at physical copies and they got to be quite the challenge.

Now I saved them digitally but it's a humbling experience to go back and to look at some of those notes and think, well, I can't believe I preached it that way. I can say that I've grown in the years since I was 16 years old, just starting preaching. But this text is one that I definitely wish I could go back in time and preach again. But I'm thankful that the Lord has allowed me to be able to preach it here today. My message today is on the subject of the Centurion statement, The Centurion's statement, truly, truly this was the Son of God.

Truly, this was the Son of God. The centurion was a soldier who was in charge of the crucifixion. He was a soldier who no doubt had seen countless others be put to death at the hands of the Romans and no doubt he'd seen many others crucified. We've talked about that Crucifixion was very common in those days. The Romans didn't invent it, But they surely used it a lot.

But that centurion, he never seen a crucifixion like that one. He never seen anybody die on the cross like Jesus Christ. This centurion, when he saw the things that he saw that day, he said, surely, surely, truly, this man was the Son of God. Truly, this man was the Son of God. And you and I, though we were not there to witness with our own physical eyes what happened on that cross, I hope that you too can say with him truly this is the Son of God.

Because what he said that day, It was the truth. It was the truth. I don't know much about this centurion, but I do know a lot about Jesus. I don't know if this centurion ever spoke much truth before that day, but I do know what he said that day was true. I know it to be true because the Father declared it to be true from heaven.

Matthew chapter 3 verses 16 and 17 and Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him the lower voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And so the voice from heaven, the Father, said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Not only did the Father say this, but the angels declared it to be true in Luke chapter 1. Luke chapter 1 in verse 35. When the angel visited Mary, notice what the Bible says here in verse 35, The angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, The power of the highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." The angel declared it to be true.

Not only the angels declared it to be true, but the demons declared it to be true as well. To be true as well. In Matthew chapter 8 verses 28-29. Matthew chapter 8 verses 28-29. When he was come to the other side into the country of the Gurdjie scenes, there met him too possessed with devils coming out of the tombs exceeding fears so that no man might pass by that way.

Behold they cried out saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God, art thou come hither to torment us before the time." The demons know it to be true. That is why, beloved, that is why the devil has got a problem with Christianity, and that is why he has no problem with religion. That's why he's got no problem today with the various temples and shrines and even certain types of churches going up and around this world, but he's got a problem with Christianity. Because the demons know it to be true. This is why he's got a problem with the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

But no problem with the wrong gospel, you see. Gospel, you see. Jesus himself declared the same thing to be true in Luke chapter 22. Verse 70 and 71. Then said they all, then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God?

He said unto them, Ye say that I am. They said, what need we say any, what need we any further witness, for we ourselves have heard of his own mouth. Jesus, when he was brought before the council. They said, are you the Son of God? And he said, you've said that I am.

You see. You see? And indeed, within our very study in this one gospel, the gospel according to Mark, You'll remember several, several weeks ago in Mark chapter 1 in verse 1. You remember how it started out? Go by there with me In Mark chapter 1 and verse 1, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

And as you make the connection, and this is one of the things that I love about preaching through books, you make the connection. And we've gone through this and labored through it verse by verse, chapter by chapter. And what we have in our text before us here in Mark chapter 15 is the first time that this truth comes from a human being and it comes from a centurion, a Gentile. Mark declared it to be true at the very first verse, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And now, 15 chapters later, it comes from the mouth of a Roman centurion.

How fitting. Roman centurion. How fitting. Mark was primarily writing to Gentiles, four Gentiles, a Roman audience. This confession, it comes not from a Jew, not from the apostles, not from the church.

It comes from the centurion himself. And what this emphasizes for us is that Jesus, as he's there on the cross, Jesus did not die just for the Jews, Jesus did not die just for the church, Jesus died also for the Gentiles. I thank God that He died for Jews. I thank God that He died for His church. I thank God for all these things, but what a joy it is that he died, even for them Gentiles.

Because guess what? I'm not a Jew. And before I was in the church, guess what? I was a Gentile. A dirty, low-down Gentile no better off than that Roman soldier.

And what a joy it is to be reminded of this in this text. Why did he make this statement? Was this Roman centurion, was he a theologian? Did he have a background where he studied out the scriptures and know these things intellectually? No.

He was a Gentile. He did not grow up in a home where he had access to the Jewish Scriptures. He did not have access to the Old Testament. Access to the Old Testament and everything that we read so far, Matthew, Luke, Mark, none of that was written yet. Scripture says in our text, when the centurion which stood over against him saw that he so cried out and gave up the ghost, He said, truly this man was the Son of God.

You might say, well, he made this statement because of what he saw. Yes, that would be accurate, but there's more to that because Lots of people saw what he saw. Many people saw. There were Jews, there were Gentiles, there were many people there that day. But there's no record of a great revival breaking out there at the foot of the cross.

There's no record that there were thousands upon thousands being saved. In fact, the record that we have is of anyone crying out in unison is where they were crying out, crucify him, crucify him. There's no record that there that day, that suddenly there was a change of heart or change of mind. What we read here seems to be the exception and not the rule. Others saw what this centurion saw, but they did not believe like he did.

There was a marked change in this man's life. In fact, this was not just mere observation. Luke records it this way over in Luke chapter 23. Luke chapter 23 and verse 47. Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God saying, you see, Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, certainly this was a righteous man.

Verse 48 tells us, and all the people that came together to that site, beholding the things that were done, smote their breasts and returned. Most people were just smoting their breasts and returning. There was some shock and all that, but this man, he's glorifying God. He's saying truly this was the Son of God. Certainly this was a righteous man.

He's glorifying God. I mean, this man, something's different about him. And indeed, something major is different with him. Before, he was an enemy of Christ. He's the centurion, after all.

But now he's making a bold declaration. Remember, again as we have gone through this text, earlier what would he have been doing? Well, let's go back to where we were just a week or so ago in Mark chapter 15. Mark chapter 15. Mark chapter 15.

Verse 16. Verse 16, and the soldiers, and the soldiers, and the soldiers, including the centurion, he would have been there, led him away into the hall, Led Jesus away into the hall called Praetorium. And they called together the whole band. So if he wasn't in the group of the soldiers, he would have been together with the whole band. The centurion would have been somewhere in this mess.

And they clothed him, Jesus, with purple and plaited a crown of thorns and put it about his head. They loathed him with purple and plaited a crown of thorns and put it about his head and began to salute him, Hail King of the Jews, and they smote him on the head with a reed and did spit upon him and bowing their knees worshiped him and when they had mocked him they took off the purple from him and put his own clothes on him and led him out to crucify him. That's where this centurion would have been just before he was brought out to be crucified. As they Blast-famed him and put the crown of thorns on his head and beat him. But now as Jesus died there on the cross, he's no longer mocking.

He's no longer in disgust of him. He's in awe of worshipping. He's in awe of worshiping. What is this? What is this?

This is a marked change in a man. As John MacArthur put it, he is a trophy of divine grace at the cross. He's not the only trophy of grace that we see at the cross. There was another one. Oh beloved, don't miss these trophies of grace that we see at the terrible suffering of our Lord as He's dying on the cross for sinners.

We're all trophies of God's grace, but we see two in the Gospels right away. One is the centurion, but the other one is the thief on the cross in Luke chapter 23. Remember the people were mocking him and they were railing on him and all that, including the two thieves on the cross. Now these two thieves, They weren't just thieves, they weren't just common pickpocketers, they were probably associates of Barabbas. Terrible fellows.

Barabbas got released. Barabbas got released. But these two were crucified that day. The Bible says there in Luke chapter 20 23 verses 39 through 43 one of the male factors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be the Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God?

Seeing Thou art in the same condemnation. We indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. He said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise." These two had been railing on Jesus, they'd been blaspheming Jesus, but there was this one who rebuked the other and then he cried out to Jesus for mercy and Jesus said, today you'll be with me in paradise. What is all this?

What is it that drives men, whether the hardened criminal who was dying on the cross or the hardened soldier? And either one of these are spectrums on inhumanity. Fall down and worship before the dying Lamb of God. Over in St. Corinthians chapter 5.

I'm going down to verse 21. Going down to verse 21, therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away, behold all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation to wit. That God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God. Breeth made him to be sinned for us who knew no sin we might be made the righteousness of God in him." This centurion who a while ago had been mocking Jesus, who had been involved in all of that, now he was, He saw the Son of God. Whereas before he saw nothing but a joke. Now he sees the Son of God. You see the thief on the cross, same thing.

And you too. When the Lord gets a hold of us, we see, Not physically, we weren't there, that was 2, 000 years ago, but the eye of faith, we see Jesus on the cross as he took our sins, paid our debt, and we're given his righteousness. And we're given his righteousness. Just like that old hardened soldier, that terrible criminal, were made to see things differently. Were made alive.

In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 5, For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance. As you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake. The Holy Spirit got a hold of these men that day on the cross. For some others, for some others, well, it might not have been for a while longer. In fact, on the day of Pentecost, and some of them, Some of them were saved who had been there to cross.

That wasn't until later after the resurrection. They had seen it that day, but they didn't believe, not until later, the preaching of Peter. We look at things and we say, how in the world could the centurion believe and why didn't everybody else? Well, the Holy Spirit got ahold of the centurion. Why did the thief on the cross, why did the one thief believe and not the other?

The Holy Spirit got hold of the one, not the other. Our gospel came to you not in word only but also in power and the Holy Ghost. With much assurance. Des centurion, he had many reasons to believe. So did everybody else that was there that day.

And I say we have, in this world, we have many more reasons to believe. As those people stood at the foot of the cross and they saw physically the things that they saw, you know They had lots of reasons to believe. You and I, we have lots more. You say, why? We didn't see it with our own eyes.

Yeah, it's true. But we stand on this side of the cross. We stand on this side of an empty tomb. We've got a written record of multitudes of witnesses who saw. This world's without excuse.

Over in Romans chapter 10 as I bring this to a close. Romans chapter 10. Verses nine and 10. Verse nine and ten. Let's start with verse eight.

But what sayeth it? The word is nigh, they even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we preach. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus shall believe in thy heart, that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." In verses 12 and 13 he says, for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that called upon him for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." And that's the promise.

It doesn't matter how terrible you've been or where you're coming from. Whether you're a soldier, whether you're a thief, it doesn't matter whether you're Jew or whether you're Gentile. Believe and confess just like these men did many years ago, there's nobody who's too hardened of a sinner that's too far out of the reach of God's grace. There is only one way of salvation and that is through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Call upon him and be saved today.

May God add to blessing.