April 26

Truly this man was the Son of God.—Mark 15:39.

THE person who made this public avowal, was the centurion, the person who had the hundred soldiers under his charge, and to whom the execution of Christ was committed. Doubtless he had often assisted on similar occasions, but never had he beheld such a sufferer, never had he witnessed such scenes as attended the death of Christ. He had doubtless watched every motion, and listened to every word, which escaped the Saviour. He had seen his unparalleled insults. He had seen Christ's affectionate concern for his disconsolate mother. He had heard him promise a place in Paradise to the penitent malefactor. He had doubtless too, been struck with his dying prayer for his murderers, And then, when ordinarily, nature would have been exhausted, he heard Christ's loud and triumphant exclamation, when he said, "it is finished," and when he gave up the Ghost. This combination of circumstances, produced a powerful conviction of Christ's innocence and goodness. And he exclaimed, "Truly this was the Son of God." Besides all this, there were the astounding signs, which had accompanied Messiah's death. If Christ had been guilty, wherefore did midnight spread her sable curtain over the land at noon day? Why was the sacred tapestry of the temple's veil, torn from the top to the bottom? What caused the earth to shake and tremble, and the rocks to break asunder? Why should all nature be affected, and confused at the death of an impostor? The evidence of Christ's Divinity, was too overwhelming for the centurion's mind to resist: hence he exclaimed, "truly this man was the Son of God."