The Centurion at Calvary

The gospel of Matthew chapter 27 You know I was thinking before we turn to this passage you can keep turning there, but I Know the man who? Spoke to Bill Gates actually and that lives out west he had a he had the contract actually for his landscaping and he He held off held off and finally one day. He says I've got to talk to him, and he did And after he talked to him Bill Gates fired him Let him go the contract lost that whole contract. I don't know how many Tens of thousands of dollars that contract was worth, but he thought I Got the gospel to him you know cost that man his job But he thought it was worth it to give him the gospel But there are people in these meetings, and it's going to cost you your soul Not to receive the gospel You're willing to pay that Because that's what it will cost you But I want to look at a man tonight in fact.

He's the man from the West I want to look at a centurion not the same centurion that he mentioned, but another centurion Matthew chapter 27 And we're going to look at verse 45 Now from the sixth hour There was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour and about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying Eli Eli llama, Sabbath and I That is to say My God my God Why? has thou Forsaken me some of them that stood there when they heard that said this man calleth for Elias and Straightway one of them ran and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink the rest said Let be let us see whether Elias will come to save him there were basically mocking. They knew Elijah wasn't going to come Jesus when he had cried again with a loud voice yielded up the ghost and Behold the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom and the earth did quake and the rocks rent they too split in half and the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose and Came out of the graves after his resurrection So imagine that those graves were opened for three days and Then the bodies came forth It says and went into the holy city and appeared unto many Now when the centurion and They that were with him Watching Jesus saw the earthquake and those things that were done They feared greatly saying truly this was the Son of God How did he know? Here's a centurion He hasn't been following the Lord Jesus around he's been doing his duty as a Roman soldier But this day he is called upon to be stationed at the cross and He's going to see and hear What you've had preached to you many many times But he makes this statement this tremendous statement truly this was the Son of God How did he know? What prompted him to say that of all the things he could have said? Wow I've never seen this happen. This is not but he said the right thing This was the Son of God I Want you to see how that day began because that day began with people that were unknowing The centurion didn't know all that was going to happen He didn't know it was going to he was going to experience there were a number of people that began that day on knowing there were People that began that day unwilling Pilot truth comes right to him.

He's not willing maybe there's somebody in this meeting and you're not willing to come to him You're just you're trying just another gospel meeting has come and you're just going to sit there. You don't expect anything to happen you don't want anything to happen really you don't think anything's going to happen and Tonight is going to be another night You know what you're doing. You're just resisting the truth, but for everybody this day was going to be unforgettable It was going to go down in the annals of history Falsely accused severely beaten his body bathed in blood mocked by the multitudes Doing things to the man on the center cross that they had not done to any other man at any other time They never hung a title over the thieves heads They never spat on the thieves face They never beat the thieves But they beat him They spit on his face They didn't put a crown of thorns on the thieves heads they did on him This day would be unforgettable Because there would be a hatred Leveled against the son of God who had actually come to do the very work on that Cross to save those men that were spitting on him that were hating him that were crucifying him It is unforgettable not simply because of what happened, but because of why it happened Love such as been unparalleled unequaled and There it is on the cross and the person of Christ listen get a good look tonight At the man on the center tree who was who was there suffering for you Experiencing that for you Here we are two thousand years later and The crowds have come and gone, but the meaning is still the same and thank God for every Centurion like person that stands at the base of a cross before the Lord Jesus by faith and says truly This is the Son of God Their testimonies here I'm speaking in reading from the Word of God.

That's one testimony The book you have in your hand called a Bible is no ordinary book That book is backed by God himself. That book is the authoritative Word of God Every time you hold it every time you touch it think about what you were holding in your hand Think about the marvel of that book think of the meaning of that book Think of the fact that God has promised in this very book that he has given you to know him What it means you have the testimony from the Bible itself this man didn't have that but he did have testimony I Want you to think first of all the testimony of the cross itself the place of the cross It was called the place of the skull Now we're not sure why exactly that is because we don't know really where it was exactly there are conjectures Some say it's called the place of the skull because it looked like a human skull it was shaped Geologically the rocks like this like a human skull Others say because of the victims that had died there and there were skulls there were bones I don't know. We're not sure but the Bible tells us It's the place of the skull and yet what is a skull a skull is an empty head a Skull is a head without a brain And that's exactly what's happening here these men are are moving and they're seeing something that is Unequal in history and the emptiness of the human brain is at work the human mind.

They can't get it Now they have somewhat of an excuse. They didn't have a Bible. They haven't had preaching This is all new to these men these Romans that are moving here.

So let me ask you tonight. What is in your head? As you listen to the gospel and you've listened to it and listen to it and heard it If you have heard preaching after preaching Mr. Lavery has just said you are sitting there and some have sat and sat and sat What is going through your mind? What is the meaning of all this? Why is this happening? Why did Jesus die? The place of the cross is a testimony and it's a testimony to this man. It's a testimony to you Think of the pain of the cross How he suffered What he went through The magnified agony of not just the physical sufferings of the Son of God But the spiritual sufferings the darkness that came all of this that happened the pain of the cross the agony He's suffering for sin The thieves aren't doing that.

They can't do that The Lord Jesus now there on that cross is actually suffering for the sin of the world He's suffering from my sin. I Thank God I can tell you that there are people in this meeting. We could say he's suffering for our sin He's doing that there for us But you're left out in the cold Not because he doesn't want you there, but because you are excluding yourself You have removed yourself from that you could be brought in You know, it's a terrible thing to be excluded But it's a tragic thing It's a tragic thing to be excluded from salvation And it's not because of God it's because of you the pain of the cross I Think of the plea from the cross they had that testimony all of a sudden the darkness I don't know how it came in, but I would think I would think it was sudden All of a sudden lights on all of a sudden lights off Just like you would flip a switch and in that in that Time of darkness out of the darkness comes a piercing cry men wonder what they heard They might have heard the thieves with her groans They might have heard the movement of metal on the ground They might have heard the rustling of people moving as the darkness now is there and all of a sudden people don't understand Why is this happening? This is the middle of the day.

This is unnatural. No, it's supernatural And out of the darkness comes a cry Loud and clear My god, my god Why has thou forsaken me and the men hear that and they know exactly where it came from It was a testimony to this centurion that had stood there as he heard that and to all around I Wanted to think of the testimony of the curtain now not just the testimony of the cross the testimony of the curtain This passage tells us that there were three rent things there was well, there was a rent row grower and There was a rent there were rent rocks and there's a rent veil Can you imagine that that veil that was rent and and it it's so wonderful that God actually tells us what direction the rip took place He didn't just tell us that it ripped This massive veil this curtain that was as thick as my hand Can you imagine that fabric as thick as my hand? and all of a sudden while the Lord Jesus is on that cross now the veil of the temple now as Things are going on inside that temple all of a sudden a tremendous as if there were two almighty hands from heaven itself grasping each side of that curtain and as if it were a piece of Kleenex just Ripping it in half and all of a sudden Exposed the center that men were unable to enter into all this is done Revolving around what he is doing on that cross. It is absolutely tremendous It is the hand of God and Then while that's happening now, there are rocks and the rocks start to shake and the ground starts to quiver Can you imagine looking at a stone and all of a sudden a stone is shattered? Christ is on the cross The unthinkable is happening the eternal Son of God is Bearing sin suffering paying the price Does this mean anything to you? What I am preaching tonight what God is telling you what Christ has done Does is it possible that there are hearts that are harder than these rocks? And while a rock has been broken into and a veil has been split into your heart sits there So hard and solid and unbroken That you cannot think of what he's doing on that cross and there's a Roman centurion And he has watched the legions of Rome march across the plains and he's been exposed to fighting and roughness and death and He stands there in awe and he says truly this was the Son of God He's broken but you're not a Rough tough rugged Roman centurion and he's broken, but you young girl Older one boy You're not broken You're not softened All that Christ is doing all that's happening all that you're hearing And you're not broken the testimony of the curtain The testimony of the cosmos The Sun was darkened Shaking the stones were divided You know I think about that from the sky to the land The universe the universe is responding to the death of Christ But sinners in gospel meetings don't respond Be tremendous if there was someone someone and you responded and You thought for the first time He was there for me That's all happening because of me my sin.

That's how much he loves me Truly, this is the Son of God. That's who he is. That's what he's doing Because I can't do it.

I'm not I can't save myself. He's he's saving me Do you want to be saved? Or do you not want to be saved? If you want salvation it is there and it is being done powerfully as We read this account I'm going to think of the further testimony. There's another testimony.

There's four already. I've given you for you There's the testimony of the crypt between the curtain in the temple between the cross There's a graveyard There are sepulchers Heaven has opened its door With the tent with the with the rending of the veil and earth is opening its gates with the opening of those graves. I Can hardly imagine what that must have been like Sepulchers graves opened and the bodies exposed and there's they're there and they're in their tombs But they're not going to come out until he comes forth first because it all things he's going to have the preeminence He's going to rise first and they will come out after his resurrection And you know what that will show beyond a shadow of a doubt it will show two things at least number one It will show his power over death Thank God for his power over death Thank God that there is the death has lost its sting for the Christian But for you who are not saved in this meeting.

There's a powerful stinger waiting to happen And it will sting you and the pain and the agony the moment that sting is felt And it will send you so to hell But for believers, it's gone. It's gone And it shows his power Control over death, but you know what else it shows It says they came and they went into the holy city. I wonder what they said This wasn't like listen don't get some idea This was like some zombie movie where people came in and they all of a sudden were just oh no They were you know what they were doing They were talking about Christ You know what that shows me not only does he have a control over death, but he wants companionship in life They came forth after his resurrection The Lord Jesus saved sinners, you know why because he wants you to be with him in heaven He wants you to be with him He longs for companionship in the beginning God in the garden right in the beginning First of all, he said it's not good for a man to be alone But you know what he was saying really prior to that.

It's not good for me to be alone Can I put it that way? I want companionship. I want someone that will love me I want a relationship God has actually provided salvation so that he could enjoy You and you could enjoy him and that he could have companionship. What's heaven going to be like? when the redeemed of the ages all together in the glory with Christ And a song will be raised and we will unto him that loved us and loosed us from our sins What is it going to be like? I'm going to find out one day And so is every person saved here, but you who are not saved you will not enter into one moment of it You will be lost forever.

You will be absolutely excluded shut out left out When God wanted you to be brought in and there you are alone Hell is going to be filled with with lost souls and yet what a paradox Sinners absolutely alone. I want you to think of the last testimony because it's one more for you It's the testimony of the centurion himself. He saw the signs He saw the Sun He watched Christ himself.

He stood there that day with all the things he saw and all the things he experienced This is the comment that he makes this is the statement he makes and I want you to mark it well, truly Amen Amen, that's truly truly true. It's the word. Amen.

This is the Son of God. You know what he's doing The sky has responded the stones have responded the Saints have responded the scriptures have responded Let's say all of this and you know what he's doing. He's looking and listening and he looks at Christ and he says amen You are the Son of God and His heart is bowed and his heart is broken and he makes this statement on the pages of Holy Scripture I want you to think about this statement It's a timeless statement It is a timeless statement because it is now recorded forever Because it's in your Bible.

It is now recorded forever. He never knew it would be And you little know What is going to be recorded by you about you forever there are people that have made decisions not to be saved Not to be affected. They have steeled themselves.

They have sat in gospel meetings and they didn't want to be moved They didn't want to allow their heart allow their mind to be open to the truth and they have resisted and steeled themselves and that has been recorded by heaven and in some cases It has been recorded forever and then there are others and they have said Truly, this was the Son of God and they have been reached and saved and the moment that happened that has been recorded forever and their names were written in the book of life and They were saved It's a timeless statement it was a tremendous statement for him to make a Tremendous statement with very little understanding of who the Lord Jesus is He makes a statement that men today 2,000 years ago are arguing about men who should know better people who should know better Truly, this is the Son of God It was not only a tremendous statement. It was a traitorous statement. You know why? Because he's a Roman He's a centurion.

He has pledged to Caesar and Caesar is God and To turn away from Caesar and make that statement about Christ who is actually being punished by Rome It's a traitorous statement He is literally taking his place against the world that he has been part of and he is siding with Christ That's what a person has to do in salvation You are going to have to make a decision Are you going to stay with this world and its downward course in judgment and all that's going to happen to it the fires? that will engulf it and the judgment that will come upon it or are you going to turn your back on that and trust Christ a traitor to the world a Trooper to the Lord it was a trusting statement Because he trusted the Lord Jesus it was a timely statement Because in moments everything was going to be put away Everything was going to change The bodies would be brought down Golgotha would be cleaned up The soldiers would go home The man with his garment the robe of Christ he'd go home with his little trophy He missed Christ, but he'd get his garment It was a timely statement he made it at the right time he made it when the time was right He stood there and at that moment at the intersection of all of these events He makes this statement looking at it in the midst of companionship Soldiers others around truly this was the Son of God There's a man. I was reading about him. I was really impressed by the story.

His name is old Chung song He defected from North Korea in 2017 During his escape he was actually in the military in North Korea, but one night it just He just made a decision. He hadn't even planned on doing it And one night he took his military vehicle and with all the speed he could muster he headed right Directly with this vehicle up to the military demarcation line Which divides North and South Korea and he as with all the speed he could do he actually drove so fast he crashed and Apparently he'd lost the wheel He leaves the car he sprints across this line and all of a sudden gunfire erupted They actually could have created an international incident because North Korean soldiers were firing into the South Korean across the border They estimated about 40 bullets went across from the rifles that they were firing For all he was worth he ran across that border He collapsed under the side cover of a of a low wall It were meters away from the border just about there at the border South Korean soldiers went in and grabbed him as his body was hit by five bullets Afterward he was rescued by the South Korean soldiers. He was transported by helicopter to a South Korean hospital.

He lost half his blood He was immediately operated upon his arrival After his escape They changed things at the border They put up a locked gate They dug a trench where his vehicle had stopped so that even if you got there You couldn't go across it and the trench would stop But he made it And after he made it they made sure it would be harder for the next person that man recognized This is my time. I'm gonna take it. Let me tell you something You've sat under people here have sat under many nights of gospel meetings and you're not saved yet.

You're still lost Salvation is is near right now Then it will ever be after this and I guarantee you From the truth of God That it will be harder To get God's salvation. The devil will make sure the world will make sure Your sin you'll be deeper in their sin and it will try to make sure that even if you go for it next time It'll be that much harder Now is the time God says now is the day now is the time This centurion right at the foot of the cross recognized now and with just a response from his heart That's all it takes a Faith response from your heart. This is the Son of God He's dying for me This is my Savior He's doing this so I can be saved Trust him and he will save you now The work is done all of that work so that you could be saved.

Let's pray Father we thank thee for this man We don't know his name but those of us that are saved we're going to meet him one day