See the notes at Mat 27:52-55.

Luk 23:48

The things which were done – The earthquake, the darkness, and the sufferings of Jesus.

Smote their breasts – In token of alarm, fear, and anguish. They saw the judgments of God; they saw the guilt of the rulers; and they feared the farther displeasure of the Almighty.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Luk 23:47-49

Certainly this was a righteous man

The Cross, the source of compunction

Many reasons have been given to account for that providence of God which determined that the Cross should be the kind of death that Christ should die; and that He should not end His life by sword or fire, by which the animal victims in the Old Testament which were types of Him were slain and offered.

It is usual to explain the choice of this mode of death by showing its correspondence with various types and prophecies. Christ could not have been the antitype of the brazen serpent which was lifted up; neither could the prophecy–they pierced My hands and My feet have been fulfilled by Him, unless He died by crucifixion. This reply, however, only removes the inquiry another step off; to prove that our Lords death is the accomplishment of type and prophecy may be useful as an argument whereby to identify Him as the Messiah, but it can cast no light upon the events themselves. The revealing beforehand of that which was to come to pass, was a merciful provision to aid our faith and lead our minds to Christ, but it did not determine the things which should happen; any form of death might have been equally revealed by prophet and lawgiver. Passing by without mention many mystical expositions, the extreme torture of this kind of death has been assigned as a cause for its selection. Some have considered it the most painful death which a human being could undergo. Moreover, the Cross added to actual pain another, and an extremely delicate kind of torment–shame and humiliation. We can conceive another reason why our Lord died by crucifixion, and one with which in the line of thought we are pursuing we are especially concerned; Christ willed to die by a death which was itself a spectacle. They came together to that sight. The brazen serpent was lifted up for the express purpose of being looked upon. Christ ascribes power to the fact of His elevation upon the Cross–I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me. His death became an object of attraction, because it was an object of contemplation; the eye of sense, and the eye of a devout imagination could gaze upon His crucified form. The text describes the effects produced upon those persons who were standing before the Cross, when Christ died. Both the centurion and the people were deeply moved. They were representatives of different nations; and they illustrate the impressions which the Cross would make upon the mind and heart of man; there must be convictions in the mind concerning the person of the Sufferer before the heart can be touched with compunction.

In the centurion we see the working of the Cross upon the human mind: in the people, upon the human heart. Together these represent the Cross as the source of compunction.

I. THE CENTURION PASSED THROUGH A MENTAL REVOLUTION AS HE WATCHED JESUS. St. Mark says the centurion stood over against Him–that is–was in full view of the Cross; he was able then to see very distinctly the end. He was probably closer to Christ than any one else, for he was stationed there for the purpose of watching Him. The power of this sight may be estimated by considering the man who was impressed by it–his calling, race, and position. He was an unlikely person to be affected by such a sight. He was not present from any motive of curiosity, like many who were in that crowd. He was there on duty. Further, the centurion was not likely to be convinced through previous instruction; he did not come to the Cross with the religious training of the Jew. Another element in reckoning the power of the Cross upon the mind of the centurion is his position; he was the subject of an unprecedented impression. It was not a current of sensation with which he fell in, but which he seems to have led and inaugurated. He stands out as the first and prominent exponent of the thought and feeling which the Cross had stirred. Whilst, however, we are trying to form some estimate of the power of the Cross from the extreme unlikelihood of the person who was affected by it; we must on the other hand take notice of certain events which, accompanying Christs death, aroused the mind of the centurion. His faith was an intelligent faith, and not the product of a passing excitement or heated imagination; it rested on evidences. We must look to these, or otherwise we shall be in danger of regarding his faith as a sort of unreasoning impulse; and besides this, the inquiry will lead to some very solemn thoughts concerning our Lords death. The loud cry which Christ uttered when He died, astonished the centurion. When he saw that He so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. Faith is the gift of God, but God gives also sensible helps to create dispositions for receiving His gifts. External grace appeals through the senses, whilst internal grace acts on the mind and will. The man was by this cry aroused either from indifference or hostility or contempt, and brought into a condition of receptiveness of Divine truth. There was another ground of faith connected with this cry, which also had its share in convincing the centurion. In the text St. Luke says when he saw what was done, he glorified God. St. Matthew is more explicit, and mentions the earthquake as causing fear. Christ was like Samson, He manifested His strength more in His death than in His life.

II. BUT BESIDES THE EFFECT UPON THE CENTURION, THE CROSS MANIFESTED ITS POWER UPON THE CROWD OF PERSONS WHO HAD GATHERED TOGETHER TO WITNESS THE CRUCIFIXION. They had cried, Crucify Him, crucify Him! when Pilate had brought Him forth, His raiment dripping with the precious blood; but death produced a reaction, which pity could not excite. When the murderer sees death written upon the face of his victim, the passion which had prompted the deed melts into fear and remorse. The people felt that they had a share in that passion, had been instrumental in causing it; and the result was a new sorrow–new, as an experience, yet long ago predicted. Their sorrow was the fulfilment of the prophecy–They shall look on Me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him; it was an epoch in the history of moral convictions. Their compunction was a result of grace, and not the mere cooling of vindictive passion. Those people had assembled out of curiosity and malice; they had come hither without any dispositions for receiving grace, but the Cross overcame them. The Spirit of God used that Cross as the instrument of a deep conviction of sin; and they became the first-fruits, the earnest of that which should afterwards be the normal effect of the Passion. Mourning for sin would henceforth be excited by the thought–Jesus, my love, is crucified. Compunction was a great grace. At the moment when the sin of man had culminated, for God to unlock His treasures and begin to bestow them is an astounding evidence of His quenchless love! That those very persons who had rejected Him should thus be visited inwardly with a subduing and softening unction from the Holy One is a marvel of Divine forbearance. CONCLUSION: There are three thoughts, which are of practical importance in enabling us now to experience the power of the Cross as a source of compunction.

1. Our sins caused the Passion. We did not drive the nails into His hands or pierce His side, but–He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He bare our sins in His own body on the tree. As the crowd who smote their breasts returned, they each one felt I had a part in that. What the outward share in that Passion was to the actual offender, that our sins are in relation to the Cross as a mystery.

2. Again, the Cross was not endured for mankind as for a multitude in discriminately, but for each individually. Every human being might truly say, He loved me, and gave Himself for me.

3. Once more–as the constant recurrence to the thought of Christs omniscience seems to bring the Cross close to us; so to regard His remembrance of all that happened on Calvary, now that He is in glory, is another help to meditation on the Passion. The memory of Christ, uninfluenced by the passage of time, can look back on every detail of the Passion. He is not capable of forgetfulness, who is the same yesterday, today, and for ever; each event, each sorrow, each pang is treasured up in His memory with a recollection more vivid than the creature can possess. Though in His glory, He is the same Jesus who suffered; and the marks of suffering abide–the sacred wounds, which are the perpetual memorials of His Passion. As with the eye of the soul we now behold Him and hold communion with Him, the remembrance of Calvary will pass from Him to us, and the spirit of compunction cause the heart to mourn over sin. Such thoughts may help us to gaze upon the Cross with a true sorrow. Whether it be the conversion of a whole life we need, or the renewal of some part of it, or victory over some habit of sin, we must place ourselves with the crowd before the Cross and pray for the manifestation of its power on our own minds and hearts. If there is the sense of lack of dispositions, the Cross can create them; only let us continue to contemplate it. Fire melts ice; the sun unfolds the flowers; the Cross can melt the hardened heart, and draw out from it new graces. (W. H. Hutchings, M. A.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

For a perfect knowledge of all those things which did happen after our Saviours nailing to the cross, till he died, and was taken down to be buried, all the evangelists must be consulted. We have made a collection of them in our notes on Mat 27:51-56, to which the reader is here referred.

See Poole on “Mat 27:51“, and following verses to Mat 27:56. This passage about the centurion is taken notice of both by Matthew and Mark; only they say he said, Truly this was the Son of God. Luke saith that he said, Certainly this was a righteous man. Possibly the sense is the same, and the centurion by the Son of God did not mean the Son of God by eternal generation, but one highly favoured of God, a righteous than, and very dear to God, and highly beloved of him; for it must be by a very extraordinary revelation and impression if he, had so early a faith in Christ as God blessed for ever. I think Mr. Calvin, on Mat 26:54, expounds it well, Non vulgarem esse hominem, sed divinitus excitatum statuit. The centurion determined that Christ was no ordinary person, but one stirred up by and sent of God. It is observable, that Christ had a testimony from all orders of men almost, except the scribes, and priests, and Pharisees. Pontius Pilate and Herod declared him innocent. Pilates wife acknowledgeth him a righteous person. The thief on the cross testifieth he had done nothing amiss. Judas the traitor confesseth he had betrayed innocent blood. The centurion owneth him to be no ordinary man, but a righteous man, the Son of God. The multitude always owned him: they see they are now run down; they smite their breasts, say nothing, but depart. Only those that were to have been the teachers of others are blinded and hardened to their ruin.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

Now when the centurion saw what was done,…. The eclipse of the sun, the darkness upon the land, the earthquake, the rocks rent, and Jesus expire in so uncommon a manner:

he glorified God; by confessing that Christ was the Son of God, and declaring him an innocent person:

saying, certainly, this was a righteous man; clear of the charges exhibited against him, and has suffered wrongfully; and this he concluded from those unusual appearances, and which he considered as tokens of divine resentment.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Glorified (). Imperfect active. Began to glorify (inchoative) or kept on glorifying.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) “Now when the centurion saw what was done,” (edon de ho hekatontarches to genomenon) “Then when the centurion had seen what had happened,” Mat 27:54; Mar 15:13. This is a heathen’s testimony or witness of the death of Christ.

2) “He glorified God, saying,” (edoksazen ton theon legon) “He glorified God, repeatedly saying,” Mat 27:54; Joh 7:45-46. His testimony of what he had seen and heard gave praise and glory to God; As the angels did at His birth, Luk 2:20; As the healed paralytic did, Luk 5:25.

3) “Certainly this was a righteous man.” (ontos ho anthropos houtos dikaios en) “Really (for real) this one was a righteous man,” or without a doubt, an innocent or just man. And as Jesus had spoken of God as His Father twice in the centurion’s presence, Luk 23:34; Luk 23:46, he called Him “the Son of God,” Mat 27:54; Mar 15:39.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

(47-49) Now when the centurion saw what was done . . .See Notes on Mat. 27:54-55; Mar. 15:40-41. The phrase glorified God is, as has been noticed already (Luk. 5:25), specially characteristic of St. Luke. The substitution of this was a righteous man, for this was the Son of God, may, perhaps, have originated in a wish to express the exact measure, and not more, of the sense in which the centurion had used the seemingly higher words.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

‘And when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man.” ’

The centurion in charge of the execution squad was deeply impressed. The previous signs had filled him with awe. They had drawn from him the cry, ‘Truly this was the son of God’. But this more specific commitment of Himself to God indicated to him Jesus’ uniqueness among men. Possibly he even felt a little ashamed of his earlier cry. So he covered himself by declaring, well at least He was a righteous man. The idea behind his statement is that only a righteous man could have such a relationship with the divine, or could receive such favour. The words also indicated to Luke’s readers that even His executioner had found Him to be without fault.

Luke lays great stress on the innocence of Jesus He emphasised that Pilate declared Him innocent three times (Luk 23:4; Luk 23:14; Luk 23:22). He noted Herod’s testimony to Jesus’ innocence (Luk 23:15). He contrasted Jesus’ innocence with the guilt of Barabbas (Luk 23:25). He recorded the thief’s testimony to Jesus’ innocence (Luk 23:41). And he finally here emphasises the centurion’s declaration of His innocence. Thus we have a sevenfold declaration of His innocence.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Luk 23:47. He glorified God, That is, by a free confession of his persuasion of the innocence of Jesus: Certainly this was a righteous man; , the character given of him before he was condemned, Mat 27:19. See Ch. Luk 5:26. Jos 7:19 and the note on Mat 27:54 where, as well as Mar 15:39 the centurion testifies that Jesus is the Son of God. “How then is it, say some, that St. Luke declares him only a righteous man?” To which it may be replied, that he made use of both these expressions.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Luk 23:47-49 . See on Mat 27:54-56 ; Mar 15:39-41 . ] that which had happened , namely, how Jesus had uttered the last loud cry, and had expired. Comp. Mar 15:39 , whom Luke follows. To refer it still further back (even to include also what is narrated in Luk 23:44 f.) is forbidden by the . . ., to which cannot also refer. The plural expression, however, , Luk 23:48 , has a wider reference, since, in accordance with . . ., it must include the entire process of the crucifixion down to Luk 23:46 .

. ] i.e. practically , by His confession, which redounded to the honour of God. Comp. Joh 9:24 . In this confession, however, (instead of the Son of God in Mark and Matthew) is a product of later reflection.

.] objectively: ad hoc spectaculum , as (occurring only here in the New Testament) is often applied by Greek writers to plays, public festivals, etc.

] grief (Luk 8:52 , Luk 18:13 ). According to Luke, the people did not, indeed, join in the mockery (Luk 23:35 ), though they probably chimed in with the accusation and the demand for His death (Luk 23:4-5 ; Luk 23:13 ; Luk 23:18 ; Luk 23:21 ; Luk 23:23 ), and hence they prove themselves the mobile vulgus. The special circumstances had made them change their tune.

Luk 23:49 . ] those, to wit, who were present in Jerusalem. Luke alone has this statement, which, however, is so summary that even by the expression it does not contradict the narrative of Joh 19:25 .

] Luk 8:2 f.

.] belonging to .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

2. The Mourning of Nature and of Mankind (Luk 23:47-49)

(Parallel with Mat 27:51-56; Mar 15:38-41)

47Now when the centurion saw what was done [took place], he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. 48And all the people [throngs, ] that came together to that sight [this spectacle], beholding [having beheld] the things which weredone, smote their breasts, and returned. 49And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Luk 23:47. Now when.The mourning of nature Luke has already mentioned, Luk 23:44-45, with a word. Matthew and Mark connect this yet more closely than he with the signs of a great change, which at the moment of death began to reveal itself in the human world. The leader in the array of witnesses for the glory of the death of Jesus, is the heathen centurion who saw . Without our having thereby particularly to exclude the events of the previous hours, this, however, appears to point particularly to the moment of the death of Jesus, in connection with the wonderful phenomena of nature occurring at the same time. , Luk 23:48 goes, it is true, somewhat farther back, and comprehends all that from the moment of the affixing to the cross had taken place upon and around Calvary.

The centurion.Comp. Lange on Matthew and Mark. The impression which what took place produced upon a noble soldiers soul like his, is psychologically very explicable. Such a death the proud Roman, who had beheld death and its victims in its most diverse forms, has never yet seen. In the midst of the gloom of the three hours darkness, the day begins to break before the eye of his soul: the mighty voice with which the last word on the cross is uttered resounds in his ears like the voice of a God, and with Jesus death-hour there strikes also for him the birth-hour of a higher life. He has, doubtless, heard that this Jesus has been condemned as a blasphemer of God, but he cannot possibly believe it. He remembers the testimony of Pilate, and concurs fully with that which the Penitent Thief but a short time before had said in Jesus honor. The substance of his confession Luke communicates when he makes him call our Lord a . But the original form of this, Matthew and Mark appear to have preserved to us, although the possibility undoubtedly must be allowed that both the one and the other expression may be genuine. As to the supposed sense of his words, see Lange. It must, above all, not be overlooked that they are less the expression of an exactly defined conception of the understanding than the outgush of a deeply-moved sensibility, and that it is as unreasonable to deny the echo of superstition as the voice of sincere faith in his manly words.

Luk 23:48. And all the people.Scarcely can we conceive the number of the witnesses of Jesus death and of the events connected therewith as great enough. At the time of the Passover there were from two to three millions of Jews, gathered from all lands of the earth, in the capital, a multitude almost as great as that which had once come out of Egypt, and of these it may be presupposed that there was no stranger among them that had not heard of Jesus of Nazareth (Luk 24:18). So far as the hills and plains around Calvary give room for it, all are covered with beholders, who now, however, are found in a wholly different mood from that which is described Luk 23:35. As the centurion, in fact, glorifies God by his confession (a doxological trait entirely in the spirit of the third gospel, Luk 13:17; Luk 18:15), so do these beholders accuse themselves as sharers in the guilt of the death of Jesus, and as objects of the holy displeasure of God. Even in itself such a transition in the mood of a mixed throng is not at all uncommon, and the objection (Strauss) that here is related to us, not so much what the Jews felt and did, as rather what they, according to the Christian view, should have felt and done, proceeds from an unpsychological and, for that very reason, an exceedingly uncritical mistrust. The murder of the Messiah had been a deed of national intoxication and bewilderment, upon which an hour of awakening must follow. The extraordinary phenomena of nature spoke, therefore, so much the more loudly to their conscience, and the remembrance of everything great and good which our Lord had done bestowed on Him in their eyes a so much greater dignity after they had rejected Him by their own guilt. The terror of death upon so many countenances is also an involuntary homage which is brought to the dead Christ, and the mournfully earnest Passover mood of so many contrite hearts becomes the preparation for the earnest Pentecostal inquiry: Men and brethren what shall we do?

Luk 23:49. All His acquaintance.Luke mentions these in addition to the people and the women, of whom he also, as well as Matthew and Mark, speaks. Only Luke has this notice, which is so mere a summary, that it does not even by the , contradict the account of John (Luk 19:25). Meyer. We may understand particularly the acquaintance in the wider sense of the word, at Jerusalem and of the region round about, to whom, for instance, the owner of the colt at Bethphage and the owner of the Passover-hall at Jerusalem belong. In respect to the women, comp. Luk 8:2 and the parallels. In what mood they now stood there, after they were now no longer hindered by the scoffings of the people from coming near, may be better felt than described. With the deepest sorrow over this irrevocable loss, which was not yet softened by the joyful hope of the resurrection, there is united melancholy joy that now at last the agonizing conflict is ended, and the heartfelt longing to render now the last honors to the inanimate corpse. In infinite diversity of moods, according to the measure of their spiritual development, receptivity, and their peculiar relations to our Lord, they stand there in the neighborhood of the place which had heard His last sighs, while we even now do not yet read respecting the disciples that they were with the women. John has led Mary home. Peter wanders lonesomely about. The other scattered sheep have vanished, without leaving a trace, when the Shepherd was smitten. Only the faithfulness of female love holds its ground when all seems lost.

DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL

1. The death of our Lord was glorified, and at the same time confirmed, as never a death after it. Even though we only rightly understand and interpret the signs at His death in nature and the human world, we shall be conducted to a higher Christology than to the Nazareo-Ebionitic one of ancient and modern Rationalism.

2. The heathen centurion the first fruits of the believing heathen world which shall yet one day bow the knee before Jesus. His joining in the confession of the robber in honor of our Lord the first union of Jews and Gentiles, who hitherto had been separated from one another by the middle wall of partition, and the presage of the communion of saints, Eph 2:14-16. If we may assume that he stood at the head of the Legio Germanica, which the Romans, as is known, had in service at this time in Palestine, then the Germanic Christendom of Europe may consider him in a yet closer sense of the word as their representative and Prodromus.

3. The awakening remorse of the people a precursory fulfilment of Jesus own word, Joh 8:28, and, at the same time, a prophecy of the hour in which Israel as a nation shall acknowledge what it did when it rejected the Son of David, Zec 12:10-12; Rev 1:7. Here also, however, wickedness remains consistent with itself even to the end. Only the people, and not the Pharisees and Scribes, return from Calvary smiting their breasts. With reason, however, may we regard these first penitents of Israel as a first fruits of the hearing of the prayer, Luk 23:34.

4. Never has the might of love been more speakingly revealed than on the death-day of our Lord. It yet keeps its ground even there where faith has suffered shipwreck and hope is utterly frustrated. With right, might Paul extol it as the chief among the Three, 1Co 13:13.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

The dead Jesus glorified: 1. By God; 2. by man.What the miracles in the realm of nature declare to the honor of the dead Saviour: 1. Jesus the immaculate, innocent Sufferer; 2. Jesus the perfect Atoner of sin; 3. Jesus the Resurrection and the Life.The new covenant considered in the light of these miracles: 1. A ministration of the Spirit, where that of the letter is done away; 2. a ministration of righteousness, which replaces that of condemnation; 3. a ministration that abides, in contrast with that which ceases, 2Co 3:6-11.The centurion under the cross a presage of the calling of the Gentiles at the rejection of the Jews.The impression which the view of the dying Jesus produces in the truth-loving soul.The triumph of the enemies of Jesus ending in a complete defeat.The impression of the death of Jesus on the female heart.How the view of the dead Saviour calls us: 1. To a fuller confession than that of the heathen centurion; 2. to a deeper humility than that of the remorseful people; 3. to firmer faith than that of the Galilean women.Heaven and earth united in doing homage to the dead Christ.The first witness concerning the death of Jesus: 1. Wherein we must follow him; 2. wherein we must be distinguished from him; 3. wherein we must excel him.

Starke:Confess Jesus even when He is on the cross, and when it seems to fare worst with His church.The first fruits of the power of the death of Christ are so remarkable, what great things shall not the full harvest bring?Brentius:Miracles, as well in nature as in grace, have no other design than the conversion of men.He must certainly have a hard heart whom the Passion of Christ cannot move to repentance.Cramer:God can be mighty even in the weak (2Co 12:10).There are witnesses enough of the cross of Christ; he that will not believe cannot be helped.Schultz:Concerning the miracles at the death of Christ, they show us: 1. Wherein the benefit consists which He has purchased for us by His death; 2. what the dispositions are to which the benefit must excite us.Gerok:The holy evening stillness upon Calvary: 1. The still rest of the perfected Sufferer; 2. the still repentance of the shaken world; 3. the still labor of the loving friends; 4. the still rest of the holy grave.Ahlfeld:What seest thou on the cross of Christ? 1. The love that sues for us; 2. the love that dies for us: 3. the love that never dies.Thym:The cross on Calvary: 1. A sign of grace for us; 2. a sign of judgment against us.Rautenberg:Christs death, my sins death (Joh 19:1-30).My Jesus dies, why should I live?(On Luk 23:47) Bobe:How do believing Christians stand under the cross of the dying Redeemer?Ackerman:The death of the Redeemer of the world in its composing influence on our death.Alt:The death of Christ a strong incitement to conversion from sin.Schmid:The preaching of the Crucified: 1. A preaching of repentance for sinners; 2. a preaching of joy for believers; 3. a preaching of glory for our Lord.Arndt:The signs at Jesus death: 1. The signs of Gods almightiness in nature; 2. of the grace of God in the hearts of men.Krummacher:The funeral: 1. How it is rung in from heaven: 2. how it is attended on earth.

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

DISCOURSE: 1588
THE EFFECT OF CHRISTS DEATH ON THE BEHOLDERS

Luk 23:47-48. Now when the Centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.

RAPID are the revolutions of the human mind: like the sea, it is easily agitated by every gust of wind, and driven with violence in whatever direction it may happen to be impelled. God has given us reason to guide us and to keep us fixed to our purpose; but we are slaves to passion, and yield ourselves willing instruments of all who have skill and inclination to move us. We have a striking instance of this fluctuating disposition in the Jewish populace: they had been so impressed with the wonders which Jesus had wrought in confirmation of his divine mission, that they all followed him with acclamations and hosannahs into Jerusalem: but by the artifices of the chief priests and rulers, they were, in the space of three days, made as clamorous against him, all of them demanding, as with one voice, that he should be crucified. Scarcely however had they prevailed, but another change took place in their minds; and they were as sorry at seeing what they had accomplished, as they had just before been eager to accomplish it.
Let us consider,

I.

The effects which Christs death produced on the beholders

The execution of criminals is of itself calculated to impress the mind with pity for the sufferers, and to evince the evil of those crimes for which they suffer: but the crucifixion of our Lord drew the attention of the spectators to their own state, and led them to contemplate their own guilt and danger in being accessary to it. Observe the effect it produced,

1.

On the multitude

[The chief priests and rulers, it should seem, were not at all affected with it. Their envy, their pride, their resentment had taken too deep a root within them to suffer them to listen for a moment to the voice of conscience: but the multitude, who were mere instruments of their rage, began to consider what they had done. The three hours of darkness had given them time for reflection: the recollection of all that Christ had done for their nation, led them to consider what return they had now made him for all his unparalleled kindness; and the earthquake convinced them that they were in the hands of an angry God. Now therefore they began to express their regret and sorrow at having lent their aid to so cruel a deed, so wicked a conspiracy. Now they shewed that sin has a far different aspect when committed, from what it had previous to the commission of it. Even Judas, when he saw what was likely to be the consequence of his treachery, was filled with compunction, and would have gladly reversed the deed to which his covetousness had impelled him. So these now wished that they had not yielded to the instigations of their rulers, or suffered themselves to participate in so foul a crime How far their repentance was genuine, we are not able to say: though we think it probable that numbers of them were amongst the converts on the day of Pentecost: but of this we are sure, that sin, of whatever kind, when once it is viewed aright, will cause us to smite our breasts with anguish, and to forsake the company of those who hold fast their transgressions: and that, if this effect be not produced upon us now, we shall weep and wail and gnash our teeth with unavailing sorrows to all eternity.]

2.

On the Centurion

[He, and those whom he commanded, had attended there, not so much from choice as from necessity: accordingly we find both in him and them a mind more open to conviction: for they, though heathens, became the advocates of Him, whom his own nation had rejected and abhorred. The miraculous signs attendant on the death of Christ, together with the whole conduct of that righteous Sufferer, and the peculiar manner in which he resigned his life, evincing indisputably that it was not taken away from him, but that he surrendered it voluntarily into his Fathers hands; all this together convinced the Centurion, that Jesus was the very person whom he had professed himself to be. Hence, in the hearing of all around him, he exclaimed, Certainly this was a righteous man, Truly this was the Son of God [Note: Compare Mat 27:54.]. There were two grounds on which Jesus had been put to death; the one was, that he was a blasphemer, for making himself the Son of God; the other was, that he was a rebel against Csar, for making himself a king. In opposition to both of these accusations the Centurion affirms, that he was no rebel, but a righteous man; and that he was no blasphemer, but the very Son of God. Thus, whilst the Jews were pouring contempt on God, the Centurion glorified him; and, whilst they hardened their hearts against him, he and his fellow-soldiers feared greatly. What a blessed earnest was this of the conversion of the Gentiles! and what a reproof is this to us, who can hear of these transactions without any emotion, and neglect that Saviour whom he acknowledged! ]

From the effects of Christs death on the beholders, let us proceed to notice,

II.

The reflections it suggests to us

Amongst the numberless considerations which naturally arise from this subject, we will select such only as have not been anticipated under any other view of our Lords sufferings, and only two or three of them.

Observe then from hence,
1.

That the best of causes may be violently opposed

[If we were speaking to Jews, we should have need to prove the excellence of Christianity; but to a Christian assembly, it is scarcely necessary to prove that the cause of Christ is the best of all causes. We see in the Gospel the most stupendous display of Gods wisdom and love; a plan for the saving of a ruined world, and for restoring men to the Divine favour, through the mediation and intercession of Gods only-begotten Son. We see, or at least profess to see, how suited it is to our necessities, and how sufficient for our wants: and, if we are Christians indeed, we know by sweet experience that it is an inexhaustible source of peace and joy, of righteousness and true holiness. Yet with what vehemence was it opposed at its first establishment! Not all the wisdom and innocence of Jesus, nor all the benevolent miracles that he wrought, could disarm his enemies: though it was without a cause that they hated him, they hated him unto death. In like manner they persecuted unto death his chosen messengers, and myriads of his faithful people: yet, in the review of all which was done to stop the progress of his religion, we Christians do not hesitate to affirm that his cause was good; and whilst we execrate the memory of his opposers, we canonize his followers as saints and martyrs.
But what is the treatment which his cause meets with at this hour? Is there not the same hostility against it, though the exercise of that hostility is moderated by the laws under which we live? People indeed will pretend that the cause which they oppose, is not the cause of Christ; just as the Jews denied that they were opposing the cause of God, and even pretended to be actuated by zeal for God: but as they opposed the Holy Scriptures, so do modern persecutors; and in so doing they both fulfil the Scriptures, and unwittingly confirm the very truths they oppose. Whatever misrepresentations therefore men may adduce to vilify the truths and people of God, the religion of Christ is the same as it ever was; nor does the contempt poured upon it diminish in the least degree the respect in which it should be held. We must not think the worse of the Gospel because it is despised, but must weigh it in the balance of the sanctuary, and estimate it by its own intrinsic worth.]

2.

That the cause of Christ will ultimately triumph

[The chief priests and rulers congratulated themselves on their success, when they saw the despised Nazarene entombed. But behold, the breath had scarcely departed from his body before his triumphs began; so true is that saying of the Apostle, He spoiled principalities and powers, and made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them on his cross [Note: Col 2:15.]. The whole multitude who attended his crucifixion, smote their breasts with penitential sorrow; and the Centurion who presided at his execution, confessed him in the presence of his murderers! Thus early were the first-fruits of the Gospel reaped: and speedily afterwards followed an abundant harvest. The resurrection and ascension of Christ proved to his enemies how vain were all their efforts against him: and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost gathered thousands to his standard in one day. From that time his religion spread throughout Juda and the whole Roman empire; and we, at this distant place and period, are witnesses for him that his cause has triumphed, and that it shall finally prevail throughout all the earth. God had set the world at defiance; and had pronounced obedience to the Gospel to be the true wisdom of every man, of kings and governors, as well as of the lowest classes of society [Note: Psa 2:1-6; Psa 2:9-12. with Act 4:25-26.]: and, agreeably to his predictions, the stone which the builders disallowed, is become the head of the corner. Let men then continue to oppose the Gospel as they will, it shall run and be glorified, and fill the face of the whole earth with fruit: it is a rock that defies all the power or policy of hell itself: and, as all who fall upon it shall be broken, so, on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Happy would it be if the enemies of Christ would avail themselves of the space allowed them for reflection, and would consider what an unequal contest they are endeavouring to maintain! They think that they are fighting against a few weak enthusiasts: but they are fighting against God himself, who, in the person of his Son, addresses them, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? The Lord grant that the admonition given on that occasion to that bitter persecutor, may be remembered by us all; It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks!]

3.

That the proper effect of his death is to produce penitence and faith in all

[We see the propriety of their conduct who smote their breasts, and publicly professed their faith in Christ: we even congratulate them in our minds on their speedy experience of such a blessed change. But was this conduct proper in them only? Is there no occasion for similar emotions amongst us? Perhaps, instead of opposing, we approve and profess the Gospel: but who amongst us has not opposed the establishment of Christs kingdom in his own heart? Though we did not unite with those who crucified him on Mount Calvary, have we not crucified him afresh, by continuing in sin? Truly there is even more cause for us to smite our breasts, than there was for that multitude to do so: for they sinned through ignorance; they knew not what they did: but we sin against light and knowledge, yea, against our own most solemn vows of allegiance to him. The smallest knowledge of our own hearts will furnish us with a catalogue of sins that we have committed against him, a catalogue that would reach up to heaven. This then I say; let us imitate the penitent multitude and the believing Centurion: and in this especially let us imitate them, in not moving from the place where we are, without first abasing ourselves before God for the guilt we have contracted, and looking unto Jesus for the expiation of it. Doubtless the change that took place in them, was wrought by the agency of the Holy Spirit, whose office is to glorify Christ, and to take of the things that are his, and shew them unto us. That Spirit is promised to us, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Let us then pray for the influences of that same Spirit upon our hearts; that, through his powerful operations, we may look on him whom we have pierced, and mourn, and be in bitterness, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born [Note: Zec 12:10.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

47 Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

Ver. 47. Certainly this was a righteous man ] Bennet the martyr, in King Henry VIII’s days, being brought to execution, the most part of the people (he exhorted them with such gravity and sobriety), as also the scribe who wrote the sentence of condemnation against him, did pronounce and confess that he was God’s servant, and a good man. So when Wiseheart and March the martyrs went toward the stake, they were justified by the beholders, as innocent and godly persons. (Acts and Mon.)

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

47 49. ] Our account, as well as that of Mark, ascribes the impression made on the centurion to that which took place at the death of Jesus, i.e. . Something in the manner and words convinced him that this man was the Son of God; which expression he uses doubtless with reference to what he had before heard, but especially to the words just uttered “ Father , into Thy hands I commend my spirit.” Luke has not expressed the words exactly the same, but the E. V. has wrongly and ungrammatically rendered what he relates the centurion to have said, and made ‘a righteous man’ (Luke) stand in the place of ‘the Son of God’ (Mark); whereas they only give the general sense of the persuasion of the centurion. Truly, this man was innocent: and if innocent (nay, more, , just, truthful), He was the Son of God, for He had asserted it .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Luk 23:47 . , the centurion, in command of the soldiers named in Luk 23:36 . , righteous, innocent; in the parallels he confesses that Jesus is a Son of God. Lk. is careful to accumulate testimonies to Christ’s innocence : first the robber, then the centurion, then the multitude (Luk 23:48 ) bears witness.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Now, &c. Compare Mat 27:51-56. Mar 15:39-54.

was done = took place.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

47-49.] Our account, as well as that of Mark, ascribes the impression made on the centurion to that which took place at the death of Jesus,-i.e. . Something in the manner and words convinced him that this man was the Son of God; which expression he uses doubtless with reference to what he had before heard, but especially to the words just uttered-Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit. Luke has not expressed the words exactly the same,-but the E. V. has wrongly and ungrammatically rendered what he relates the centurion to have said, and made a righteous man (Luke) stand in the place of the Son of God (Mark);-whereas they only give the general sense of the persuasion of the centurion. Truly, this man was innocent:-and if innocent (nay, more, , just, truthful), He was the Son of God, for He had asserted it.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Luk 23:47. , in very truth) Previously it seemed a matter of doubt to the spectators: now he affirms it as a certainty.-, a righteous) In this proclaiming (open avowal) of His righteousness, is contained the approval, on the part of the centurion, of all the words of Jesus, even of the doctrine as to Jesus being the Son of God, Luk 23:4; [Father, implying that He was Son of God. Therefore the expression is, Truly this was the Son of God, in] Mat 27:54, inasmuch as this was the very subject about which the discussion had been even before Pilate. Joh 19:7 [By our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God]. Comp. Isa 41:26; Isa 41:23.[265]

[265] Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may say, He is righteous?-Show the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods. This contrasts with the heathen gods Him of whom alone the centurions declaration could be made, He is righteous,-E. and T.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Faith from, Unexpected Quarters

Luk 23:47-56

God has His agents everywhere. They are not known to us, but are well known to Him, and one word from Him will bring them and their resources to His help. How many are unsuspected lovers of His Kingdom! Who would have thought that Joseph was waiting for the kingdom of God, or that he would have identified its advent with the death on the cross!

The body of our Lord was well cared for. They who commit themselves to God will find that He will make Himself responsible for the body, in life to feed and in death to honor; see Mat 6:33; Deu 34:6. The new tomb was so ordered that there could be no possible mistake in identifying the precious body, and that the Resurrection should be beyond question. Love, which clings to the last offices with tender solicitude hastened to express itself with a devotion that braved the hatred of the rulers. Darkness and silence settled on the scene-but this was not the end.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

righteous

(See Scofield “Rom 10:10”).

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes

he: Luk 23:41, Mat 27:54, Mar 15:39, Joh 19:7

Reciprocal: Lev 22:19 – General 1Sa 25:28 – evil hath Jer 26:16 – General Mat 9:8 – and Mat 27:4 – the innocent Mat 27:19 – that just Mar 15:14 – Why Luk 7:2 – centurion’s Luk 23:34 – Father Joh 7:12 – is a Joh 16:20 – That Joh 19:4 – that ye Act 27:1 – a centurion Heb 7:26 – holy 1Pe 2:22 – did 1Jo 3:5 – in

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

7

In this account the centurion describes Jesus as a righteous man. The account in Mat 27:54 describes him as the Son of God; both statements are true.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Luk 23:47. Saw what was done. Mark is most exact here: that he so cried out.

He glorified God. The original implies a continued action and thus favors the idea that the centurion was really converted by the sight

Certainly this man was righteous. Righteous means here first innocent, then just, truthful. The centurion knew that He had been accused of making Himself Son of God; and this verdict implies the truthfulness of the claim. Both confessions might have been made, but if only one were uttered in words, it seems more probable that the other Evangelists give it accurately.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Third Cycle: Close of the Account of the Passion, Luk 23:47-56.

Vers. 47-49. These verses describe the immediate effects of our Lord’s death, first on the Roman centurion (Luk 23:47), then on the people (Luk 23:48), lastly on the followers of Jesus (Luk 23:49).

Mark says of the centurion: When he saw. These words relate to the last cry of Jesus and to the event of His death. In Matthew and Luke this same expression refers to all the events which had just passed.

Luke gives the saying of this Gentile in the simplest form: This was a righteous man; that is to say: He was no malefactor, as was supposed. But this homage implied something more; for Jesus having given Himself out to be the Son of God, if He was a righteous man, must be more than that. Such is the meaning of the centurion’s exclamation in the narratives of Matthew and Mark. Twice on the cross Jesus had called God His Father; the centurion could therefore well express himself thus: He was really, as He alleged, the Son of God!

As the centurion’s exclamation is an anticipation of the conversion of the Gentile world, so the consternation which takes possession of the Jews on witnessing the scene (Luk 23:48) anticipates the final penitence and conversion of this people (comp. Zec 12:10-14). The word , that sight, alludes to the feeling of curiosity which had attracted the multitude.

Among the acquaintance of Jesus spoken of Luk 23:49 there must have been some of His apostles. This is the necessary inference from the word , all. , afar off, discovers the fear which prevailed among them. John and Mary had come nearer the cross (Joh 19:26-27).

Luke does not name till later any of the women present. Matthew and Mark here designate Mary Magdalene, of whom John also speaks; Mary the mother of James and Joses, probably the same whom John calls Mary the wife of Cleopas, and aunt of Jesus; with the mother of the sons of Zebedee, whom Mark calls Salome, and whom John leaves unmentioned, as he does when members of his own family are in question.

The Syn. do not speak of the mother of Jesus. We ought probably to take in its literal sense the words: From that hour that disciple took her unto his own home (Joh 19:27). The heart of Mary was broken on hearing the deeply tender words which Jesus had spoken to her, and she withdrew that same hour, so that she was not present at the end of the crucifixion, when the friends of Jesus and the other women came near., they stood, is opposed to , they returned (Luk 23:48). While the people were leaving the cross, His friends assembled in sight of Jesus. The words: beholding these things, refer not only to the circumstances attending the death of Jesus, but also, and above all, to the departure of the terrified multitude. This minute particular, taken from the immediate impression of the witnesses, betrays a source in close connection with the fact.

Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)

Verse 47

The centurion; the Roman officer who had charge of the execution.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

23:47 {15} Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.

(15) Christ, as often as it pleases him, causes his very enemies to give honourable witness that he is right.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

The centurion who was responsible for carrying out the crucifixion added his testimony to the others who recognized Jesus’ innocence. His witness constituted praise of God because it harmonized with God’s assessment of His Son. Praising God is a reaction to God’s power and mercy that Luke often noted in this Gospel (Luk 2:20; et al.). The reaction of the general public (Gr. ochloi, a mixed group) was to smite their breasts with their hands in typical ancient Near Eastern fashion. This symbolized their grief at the tragedy of Jesus’ crucifixion (cf. Luk 18:13). Jesus’ acquaintances, including several females, stood at a distance watching. The reference to these women prepares for the following events. The implication is that they, too, marveled at the tragedy but stood aloof (cf. Psa 38:11).

These reactions confirm that Jesus did indeed die as a real man. He was not a demigod who merely appeared to die. Note also that Luke presented these witnesses in a receding order from the cross (Luk 23:46). The effect is to lead the reader to step back from the cosmic epicenter of history gradually.

Luke stressed Jesus’ innocence in a number of ways that the other Gospel writers did not. He recorded that Pilate declared Him innocent four times (Luk 23:4; Luk 23:14-15; Luk 23:22). He also noted Herod’s testimony to Jesus’ innocence (Luk 23:15). He contrasted Jesus’ innocence with Barabbas’ guilt (Luk 23:25). He recorded the thief’s testimony to Jesus’ innocence (Luk 23:41). He also included the centurion’s confession of Jesus’ innocence (Luk 23:47). Finally he noted the reaction of the crowd that showed many of them believed He was innocent (Luk 23:48). Obviously Luke wanted to convince his readers that Jesus died as an innocent man, not as a sinner.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)