“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!" Mark 15:39
I remember several years ago when I went to see the movie, “The Passion of the Christ”. I don’t know that even today I have the words to adequately describe all the affects that movie had on my life. I’ve read the Bible and I’ve sat under many wonderful, gifted and godly men as they taught and preached but seeing the events of scripture with my eyes had a different effect. I know, I know. Movies like that are not totally accurate. This movie did have an emotional affect on me to a bigger degree of any teaching or preaching. I watched scripture come alive. It was a visual reminder of what was said in scripture that went beyond my own imaginations.
I’m reminded of the scripture that says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29b. Our faith goes through many different sequences of testing to see how it affects our lives. There are some people that must see things to believe them, just like Thomas. But seeing things causes us to acknowledge the work of God with full assurance that they are truly of God.
This centurion had been with Jesus for enough time that he saw the injustice that Jesus was condemned to and how Jesus responded each step of the way. He watched throughout the punishments, scourging, beatings, and mockery. He saw Jesus remain quiet and without retaliations. Jesus submitted to everything that this world had to give Him and yet He forgave them from the cross. This centurion watched the testimony of Jesus play out in real life. He saw the confidence with which Christ had openly addressed God as his Father, and committed his soul into his hands. This had a huge affect on him. This only caused him to make the statement, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"
People watch us every day. They will watch us in good and bad situations and they’ll be interested in watching just what we will do every step of the way. They are interested in seeing if what comes out of our mouths is the same as the ways we react and respond with our actions. Do we really live in a way that people will see Jesus Christ in us? Our testimony will go long beyond what we actually say. What usually speaks louder in our lives is the way that we live and not what we say. How Jesus lived and responded was what this centurion was paying attention to during the time he was with Him. He saw the truth of Jesus being the Savior and Lord by Jesus’ actions.
I’ve often heard that we are the only Bible some people will ever see in their lives and our testimony will be the only Bible that they hear in this life. Does that make an impact on your life? Would that change anything about the way you live or talk? Does that statement challenge you to make the necessary changes in your life and speech that would please Jesus Christ? Ask God to help you daily to live out your life in such a way that it would draw men to have a personal relationship with Him because of your testimony.
- Pray for your church family to be exactly what God wants them to be
- Pray for The Staff to be Godly Examples for our Church and Community
- Pray for the Ministries of Leawood Baptist Church