Tag Archives: Centurion

Gospel of Mark

Death of Jesus – The End? Mark 15:33-41

Leave a comment

Mark’s description of the death of Jesus is told with his normal directness and economy of words.

33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]
35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”
36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,[c] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,[d] and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Horsham:12th January 2026

From our perspective, the speed of events is extraordinary. Jesus was arrested in the early hours of the morning. By 6am he had been tried by a kangaroo court of the High Priests. Between 6am and 9am he was passed between the Sanhedrin, Pilate and Herod, repeatedly interrogated and physically abused. He wasn’t just ‘beaten up’, he was cruelly beaten. He was tortured.

Some of his wounds were visible. Deep flesh wounds on his back. Bruises on his head and body. Blood running down his face where thorns had been forced on his head in mock coronation. 

Some of his wounds were invisible. Internal injuries caused by the force of the whip, punches from soldiers and beating with sticks. Shock. Dehydration.

 His injuries were traumatic. They were unsurvivable.

They stripped him of his clothes. By the time they were ready to drive nails through his hands and feet He was already dying. ‘Forgive them Father, they know not what they do.’ (Luke 23: 34) 

Nailed to a cross, the weight of the body makes it very difficult to breathe. To breathe effectively, they need to push up on their legs. If the feet are nailed to the cross, every breath, every movement, adds to the agony.  If they wanted to finish the prisoner off, they would break his legs (John 29:31).

It was 9am when Jesus and two robbers were nailed to crosses at Golgotha. There are records of people lasting several days on the cross before their death. In his critically damaged state, Jesus could survive for long. 

As midday approaches the sky grows dark. Very dark. This is no eclipse – it lasts for hours, People are uneasy. Frightened. It is as if God has turned his back on His Son. Turned his back on the world.

‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachtani.’ Someone thinks that he is calling for Elijah. 

He is thirsty. Someone rushes to get a sponge soaked in cheap wine. They fix it to a pole and offer it to Jesus. An act of mercy?   

Three hours of darkness. Three more hours of excruciating agony. Most of the people have nervously drifted away. The women who loved Jesus are still there. Standing with Jesus in this darkest hour.

It is 3pm. The hour of prayer. There is a sudden shout. An extraordinary noise from the dying man. ‘It is finished.’ It was his last breath.   Jesus of Nazareth is dead.

The Centurion is there. Watching. Listening. He has seen many deaths like this. This one was different. He knows that he has just witnessed something extraordinary. Did he say it out loud? Did he think it and talk about it later? ‘Surely, this man was the Son of God.’

At the heart of the Temple is the Holy of Holies. A thickly woven heavy curtain hangs, floor to ceiling. It has hung there for generations. It keeps the world separate from the Presence of God.

Prayers take place in the Temple at 3pm. There is no doubt about the time. At the moment of the  death of Jesus of Nazareth, the curtain which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the world was torn in two. From floor to ceiling. At the moment of his death, the presence of God, the power of God, burst forth into the world.

The darkness which had covered the world begins to lift.  

End Piece

There were so many points along this journey when Jesus could have stepped away from the path to the cross. But he didn’t.

‘Jesus was not murdered; he willingly laid down his life for us (John 10:11, 15, 17-18). He was not a martyr; He was a willing sacrifice for the sins of the world. (Wiersbe p181)

‘Let us remember that for our sakes, Jesus voluntarily endured the most painful, horrible and disgraceful death. Surely the thought of this love should constrain us daily to live not unto ourselves but unto Christ. It should make us ready and willing to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him who lived and died for us.’( Ryle, p249)

Jesus was abused. Jesus was tortured. Jesus was executed. Jesus is dead. 

Breaking news… This is not the end.

Gospel of Mark

Insults, Laughter and Tears at the Foot of the Cross: Mark 15:21-32

Leave a comment

21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.

27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28] [a] 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Mark 15:21-32

Horsham: 8th January 2026

People came to watch Jesus die.  Lots of people. Some stood and watched.  Some threw insults. Some laughed. Some wept. Some just passed by.

Golgotha is a dreadful place. This is not the first set of executions to take place here. The earth is discoloured with the blood and gore of many crucifixions. The stench is overwhelming. The stench of death. The kind of place where the birds don’t sing. To this place they come.

The Jokers
There are those who deliberately passed this way. They have gone out of their way to pass through a place they would normally take pains to avoid. They know who is being crucified. They have come to shout insults. Their insults are for the one whose cross carries the name ‘Jesus of Nazareth. King of the Jews.’ 

‘So, You who are going to destroy the Temple and re-build it in three days, come down off the cross and save yourself!’ There is laughter. They are here to throw insults at Jesus.

They are the jokers, who laughed at the foot of the cross of Christ.

The Chief Priests and Teachers
If you are looking for a Chief Priest or a teacher of the Law, Golgotha is not the place you would normally go. This is a place of filth. This place is unclean. Yet these men have come to make sure that the deed is seen through to the end. They are furious about the sign. They are the leaders of the Jews. This is not their King. 

They send word to demand that Pilate removes these words from the cross. An hour earlier, Pilate had wanted to release this Jesus, but they had insisted he be crucified. Against his instincts he allowed it to happen. He is in no mood to accept their petitions now. ‘What I have written, I have written.’

They hear the laughter of the jokers. They are inspired to join in with their own humour. ‘He saved others but he cannot save himself!’ More laughter. ‘He trusts God. Let God save Him!’ Hilarious. ‘Come down from the cross that we may see and believe.’ That’s not going to happen. That is not God’s plan.

They bring their own insults and throw them at Jesus. They are here to make sure that sentence is passed.

They are the Chief Priests and Teachers of the Law who believed that they experienced some kind of justice at the foot of the cross of Christ.

Thieves and Robbers
Two men accused of crimes. Maybe they were co-conspirators with Barabbas. They are in agony. They too have been beaten and paraded through the streets. They too are nailed to their own crosses. Dislocated shoulders. They are struggling for every breath. They are frightened – terrified. Tough, brutal men, reduced to this. In their desperation, they too heaped insults on Jesus (Matthew 27:44). But there was that moment when for one of them, the insults stopped. ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ I wonder whether he heard the response of Jesus ‘today, you will be with me in paradise.’ (Luke 23:43).

They are there to die. (He is numbered amongst the transgressors),

These are the thieves and robbers who suffered and died alongside the cross of Christ.

The Centurion
There was a centurion. Standing back. Watching. He’s seen it all before. He knows very little of these three condemned men, and cares less. His role is to make sure that the sentence is passed. To see that these men die on the cross. He is watching everyone as they come and go. Watching the reaction to that sign. Watching and listening. Listening as people threw their insults, laughed and wept as Jesus was dying on the cross.

He is there to ensure that Roman justice is delivered.

He is the Centurion, who watched, listened and waited at foot of the cross of Christ.

The Soldiers
Each prisoner had been guarded by a team of four soldiers on the road to Golgotha. For now, their job is done.  They are entitled to the condemned man’s clothes. Jesus has a good undergarment. Soldiers are soldiers. They see an opportunity to have some fun. Out come their gambling stones and they cast lots for the garment. They care nothing for the dying man. 

They are oblivious of the fact that their little game was predicted hundreds of years earlier. Oblivious to the role they have just played in history (Matthew 27:35; John 19:23-24, Psalm 22:18).

These are the soldiers of Rome who drew lots at the foot of the cross of Christ.  

The Disciples
The disciples had sworn to stand with Jesus whatever happened.  Last night, less than 12 hours earlier, they ran for cover as Jesus was arrested. Where were they now? 

At least one of them was there, possibly more. There had been that extraordinary moment when Jesus asks John to look after his mother. In obedience to Christ, John takes Mary into his household. (John 19:27). Were there others, hiding in plain sight, mixing with the crowd? 

These are the Disciples, who tried to make themselves invisible at the foot of the cross of Christ.

The Women
This was no place for women, yet they always came when it was their man on the cross. Mary, mother of Jesus, helpless, in utter despair, watching her son die. Mary Magdalene was there. And another Mary, the wife of Clopas (John 19:25). There were probably others too, to stand with the mother of Jesus and to comfort each other (Matthew 27:55-56).

They are overwhelmed with grief and helplessness. Forced to listen to the ultimate insults being thrown at Jesus.

These are the women who loved Jesus and wept at the foot of the cross of Christ.

End Piece

Of course, there were others, hundreds – even thousands – in Jerusalem who knew that something horrific was taking place at Golgotha and deliberately stayed away. They didn’t want to take the risk of being anywhere nearby. After all, they were in Jerusalem to worship God. Better, they thought, to ignore it. Carry on as if nothing was happening.

Challenge yourself. Something ghastly and completely unjustified is going on. You don’t need to look far in this world to find an example. 

Where do you stand in the crowd? 

Insults. Laughter. Tears. Maybe it’s best to simply look the other way.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex

Gospel of Mark

Simon of Cyrene: Mark 15:21

Leave a comment

Simon of Cyrene

21 A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.

Mark 15:21

Horsham: 5th January 2026

In first century Palestine, every Jewish man who lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem was required to ‘appear before the Lord’ at the Temple for the three ‘pilgrimage festivals‘. the feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), feast of Weeks (Shauvot) and the Passover (Pesach). For those who lived further away, it was required that every male should spend at least one Passover in Jerusalem. It seems that a man called Simon, made such a pilgrimage journey, travelling from his home in Cyrene in North Africa, arriving in Jerusalem in perfect time for the Passover celebration.

Mark’s readers didn’t know this Simon – but it turns out that they knew his sons – Rufus and Alexander. When Mark wrote his Gospel, they were almost certainly recognisable members of the Church. We know nothing about Alexander, but the Apostle Paul sent greetings to Rufus when he was working for the Christian community in Rome (Romans 16:13)

The story

Simon has just arrived in Jerusalem. He is excited. He has just come in from the country. He has completed his difficult and dangerous journey from his home town in modern day northern Libya. He finds himself in the bustling, noisy overcrowded streets of Jerusalem. It is a noisy place. There  is a commotion close by. Suddenly, he is confronted by a dreadful procession. A man, beaten, broken and bleeding, is being escorted by Roman soldiers and followed by a noisy crowd. He has no idea who this man is, but he is not stupid – he knows what is going on. Such things happen in his home city and across the Roman empire. This man is on his way to be crucified. Around the neck of the condemned man there is a sign which reads ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’.

Romans always insist that the prisoner carries part of his own cross to the place of execution. They never use the shortest route. They want as many people as possible to see this demonstration of Roman power and suppression. Jesus is dragging a heavy piece of wood from which he will hang. Simon doesn’t want anything to do with this spectacle, but in the crush of the crowd there’s no way out – nowhere to go. Like everyone else, he moves to the side of the narrow street, pressed flat against the wall, to allow the procession to pass. Jesus, harangued by his Roman escorts, is hardly moving. His injuries are visible and horrible. He is visibly very weak. He can hardly stand let alone walk. Anyone can see there’s no way he can carry that wooden beam. He grinds to a halt.

The Centurion checks Jesus and recognises that he is at risk of losing consciousness. At risk of dying in the street. He wants to keep Jesus alive for long enough to kill him on the cross. The Centurion glances around the crowd. His eyes lock with  Simon.  Why Simon? Probably because it’s obvious to everyone that he’s a visitor to Jerusalem. His clothes, his skin tone. Everything about his gives him away. This man is not from Jerusalem. The Roman’s don’t want grief with the local Jews.

There is no conversation. Simon is dragged from the crowd by a soldier and ‘compelled’ to carry the wooden beam in front of Jesus. He has no choice. He is terrified. He doesn’t know, or care, who this Jesus is. All he knows is that he, Simon, is now carrying a heavy cross-piece to the place of execution. He has been forced centre stage in a grotesque drama in which he should have no part, and which will end with a violent death.  Romans cannot be trusted. What is the prisoner doesn’t make it to the end? Simon is in fear of his life.

End Piece

Earlier in his ministry, Jesus said that those who want to follow him should pick up their cross. Simon is a kind of literal example of this. How does this work for us – for you?

If you are a follower, there is always a cost.  Agreeing to follow Jesus – to really follow Him, there will be some kind of sacrifice. Following Jesus means living differently. Maybe setting aside something of your life. Making less money. Making no money! Doing something you never expected to do. Doing something you never wanted to do. Some kind of sacrifice. Something which is part of your life. Something you have to recommit to, day after day. It may not be something which looks huge to other people, but it will matter to you. Taking a risk for Jesus. That’s the cross which Jesus calls you to carry.

On that day, in that dusty street in Palestine, Jesus was in need. Something needed to be done to fulfil God’s plan. Simon had the skills. Simon was there. Simon was the man.

Jesus went to the cross for you. Look around. Every day. Look for what Jesus needs to be done. Look for your cross. Pick it up. Follow.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex

Contemplative

Christ the King 2025

Leave a comment

Horsham: 26th November 2025

23rd November was the last Sunday before the start of Advent, the season when we look forward to the coming of Jesus as a baby. For many Churches across the world, last Sunday was also a  celebration of ‘Christ the King’.  So, preparing to preach at a local Church in Horsham it seemed a bit of a challenge that the Lectionary gospel reading for that day was Luke 23: 33-43, which is the story of the execution of Jesus alongside two criminals.

At first sight, this reading from Luke sits uneasily in the week before advent. Advent is about birth. The reading is about death. The advent themes are, after all, hope, peace, joy and love. Reminding ourselves at this point of his death somehow sets a grotesque spoiler alert to the anticipated birth of a child.

But of course, this reading is here exactly because it reminds us that this baby, this helpless child, is Immanuel, the Son of God. This child is the lamb of God who, through this act of supreme sacrifice, will take away the sins of the world.

So what about the celebration of  ‘Christ the King’? To celebrate that you might expect us to read the story of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, or perhaps a reading from Revelation, showing Christ as truly shown as King – Christ in glory, filled with power and authority, ready to establish the New Jerusalem. And yet we had our reading about the death of our King. The crucifixion of Christ.

Again, it seemed to sit awkwardly against the celebration of Christ the King.

Looking at things differently

I think that we need to look at this story differently – like picking it up and looking at it from a different angle. Fortunately there were a couple of witnesses who, alongside the Pharisees, and a bunch of Christ’s family and friends, were there.

You may remember that one of the criminals who was dying alongside Jesus, turned to him and said ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Somehow, he has noticed something that other people might have missed. For Jesus, this is not the end. Indeed, his death opens the opportunity for a new beginning. Without his death, there could have been no resurrection.

There was one more unexpected witness to these events. The centurion who headed the squad who have carried out the execution and been responsible for crowd control (Matthew 27, Mark 15). This man had watched Jesus die. This man was used to seeing violent death up close and personal, and yet he had seen something that others might have missed. He looked upon the body of Christ and said ‘Surely, this man was the Son of God’.

Hope.. Peace.. Joy.. Love..

We might start to see that this is a story which gives us hope, because by his sacrifice Christ has indeed come into his kingdom.

It is a story which should give us peace, because we know that this is indeed King Jesus, the Son of God. The voice of the criminal alongside him reminds us that this was not the end for Jesus. In a sense, it heralds a new beginning in his Kingdom. He is truly Immanuel, God with Us in His resurrection.

And it is a story through which we know that Christ has conquered death, that we have the hope of salvation, because we share in the joy of his resurrection.

It is a story of sacrificial love, the shedding of blood and the breaking of his body for the forgiveness of sin, for me – for you!

This is not the end..

Christ is King, but his Kingdom is more than this! The fact that, in reality this was not the end, that on the third day Jesus was raised from the dead and is, by the power of the Holy Spirit amongst us now, gives us the confidence to have hope in our own resurrection and salvation to eternal life  with Christ.

For surely, the baby whose birth is celebrated at Christmas, becomes this man who is crucified 33 years later. This man was, and is, Christ the King. Truly this man is the Son of God.

Lord Jesus. Remember me when you come into your Kingdom.

Richard Jackson, West Sussex: LifePictureUK