JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Exploration, today’s Reason to Believe is the declaration of the Centurion who stood by the cross.

On the day when Jesus died, Matthew 27:54 records the response of a centurion and those nearby. “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God.’”

There were a number of extraordinary circumstances surrounding the crucifixion. In the middle of the day, darkness came over the land.

At the death of Jesus, there was an earthquake that caused the rocks to split. The curtain of the temple was torn in two. And Matthew’s Gospel records that tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.

Another extraordinary circumstance was the way Jesus prayed for those who were crucifying Him. He prayed, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

The Centurion was perceptive to the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ death and concluded that Jesus was not an ordinary man.

The exclamation of the Centurion acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God is a reason to believe in God’s good news.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com