Facing Jesus #11 - Soldiers
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Matthew Mark Luke John
Words of Jesus are underlined
Roman soldiers existed under the iron discipline of the Roman Empire and its codes. They followed orders – or else. If they were given orders to flog a prisoner, or to crucify him, there was never a question whether or not they would get the bloody job done. But they were under no orders to crown Him with thorns, or to mock Him and spit on Him.
They faced Jesus with crassness and cruelty. But they also heard something they had likely never heard before from a crucified victim. They heard Him pray for them instead of curse them. They saw the day turn to night. They saw the earth quake and the rocks split. They saw the heart of Jesus and the way He breathed His last, and it changed them. Following the lead of their Centurion, they declared: “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
How do you face Jesus? When everyone is against Him, will you speak for Him? When the world is in darkness will you direct men to the light?
Judas Betrays Jesus
While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, suddenly arrived. A large mob with swords and clubs was with him. Judas took a company of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees and came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
Then Jesus, knowing everything that was about to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Who is it that you’re seeking?”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. “I am he,” Jesus told them. Judas, who betrayed him, was also standing with them. When Jesus told them, “I am he,” they stepped back and fell to the ground.
Then he asked them again, “Who is it that you’re seeking?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said.
“I told you I am he,” Jesus replied. “So if you’re looking for me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the words he had said: “I have not lost one of those you have given me.”
Roman Soldiers Mock Jesus
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence and gathered the whole company around him. They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe. They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on him, took the staff, and kept hitting him on the head. After they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion of Jesus
They gave him wine mixed with gall to drink. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it.
They crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.”
When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, a part for each soldier. They also took the tunic, which was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see who gets it.” This happened that the Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my clothes among themselves, and they cast lots for my clothing. This is what the soldiers did.
The soldiers also mocked him. They came offering him sour wine and said, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!
Jesus Dies on the Cross
From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over the whole land because the sun’s light failed. Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth quaked, and the rocks were split. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” Saying this, he breathed his last.”
Since it was the preparation day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special day). They requested that Pilate have the men’s legs broken and that their bodies be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other one who had been crucified with him. When they came to Jesus, they did not break his legs since they saw that he was already dead. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once blood and water came out.
When the centurion, and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and the way he breathed his last, they were terrified and said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” The Centurion began to glorify God, saying, “This man really was righteous!”
The Tomb is Closely Guarded
The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.”
“You have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guard.
(Matthew 26:47; John 18:3-9; John 19:1; Matthew 27:27–31; Matthew 27:34; Luke 23:33–34; John 19:23–24; Luke 23:36–37; Matthew 27:45; Luke 23:45; Matthew 27:51; Luke 23:46; John 19:31–34; Mark 15:39; Luke 23:47; Matthew 27:62–66 CSB17)
The whole company of soldiers (a Roman cohort of 480 men) mocked and beat Jesus. What does that say about them and about Pilate who allowed it to happen?
Bible trivia is answered in this reading: how many soldiers were with Jesus at the crucifixion?
What role do you think Jesus’ prayer for them played in bringing these soldiers to declare: “Truly this man was the Son of God!”?
Watch the 2016 movie “Risen” to think through what all this might have done in the life of the centurion.
Follow this sermon series on our YouTube channel.