Good Friday: The Outside Witness (Luke 23:47)

Introduction

The term "Good Friday" is a strange name for this day. There's nothing on the surface that looks good about it. Our Savior is mocked, beaten, and handed over to die by the very people he came to save. His closest friends are gone. The crowds have turned. And the ones putting him to death are convinced they're doing Rome a favor.

In the midst of the miscarriage of justice, a Roman centurion watches Jesus die and glorifies God at the end of it. Not a grieving disciple. Not a repentant Pharisee. A career soldier. A man who has seen everything and trusts nothing he hasn't verified himself. That's the man who gets it.

So, why would this man affirm Christ?

Who is this man?

We can think of a centurion as someone who is just a mindless killing machine. These men could read people. They can shift strategies on the fly. They could govern. They could lead men into war and through war. These were men who loved Rome and were willing to die for Rome.

We need to see that this isn't just a soldier doing a job. These men are serious about carrying out their mission with their loyalty to Rome. He has turned down bribes, seen through lies, and keeps his cool while being called every name in the book. He reads people for a living. When he's handed this assignment to bring this man to death, he would likely have considered every contingency 3 steps ahead of any guerrilla army. An insurrectionist would know his place. A revolutionary, like Christ, who was accused, would be an example to all who had the bright idea to rebel against Rome.

What has happened?

But then something strange happens. The "insurrectionist" doesn't act like one. His followers don't fight. A dying criminal owns his own guilt and asks for mercy. The criminal rebukes another heckling criminal on the other side of Christ. Jesus himself prays for the people crucifying him. And Pilate has borne testimony three times that Christ is innocent. Herod has affirmed that Christ is innocent by sending Christ over to Pilate.

This means that there is a threefold testimony from Pilate. Herod corroborates his innocence by sending him back. That means there is the testimony of two or three witnesses. Christ is never trying to save his life, badger the soldiers who lead him to death, or even encourage the people to rebel. This is not the normal scene of an execution. The centurion must already be noticing that something is different.

Why the innocence?

When Jesus dies, the centurion doesn't go home relieved that the job is done. This is not another day in the office. In fact, his reaction contrasts with those who follow Christ… from a distance. The ones who follow Christ from a distance go home beating their breasts. They are saddened. The reason is that their messiah is not to suffer and die. Their messiah brings in the glorious kingdom.

He glorifies God. He calls Jesus innocent. He affirms that Christ is righteous. This is the third witness and the fourth explicit pronouncement that Jesus is righteous. The centurion understands the fourth servant song. This is the righteous sufferer. This man, who has no reason to say it, who gains nothing by saying it, says it anyway because it is true. He sees what the religious leaders fail to see. He sees what even Christ’s followers failed to see from a distance. The centurion comprehends that this is the lamb of God who was a servant absorbing the weight of the sinful fall. This man shows himself to be one of Christ’s true disciples by the Lord’s grace.

Conclusion

What does this man see?

He sees the very thing that makes this Friday good. He sees the pain. He sees the injustice. However, he sees the bigger picture. The righteous servant had to suffer as the lamb of God. He might not comprehend the full message at this point, but he sees that this death was not accidental. He understands the cosmic proportions of Christ’s accomplishment.

Let us never minimize the depth of our sin. Let us never minimize the significance of Christ’s suffering. May we never minimize the victory gained in Christ’s resurrection.