TRUE
"When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and he exclaimed, ‘Surely He was the Son of God!"
– Matthew 27:50-54
Three weeks ago we met a Roman centurion who believed in Jesus and came to Him for the healing of a beloved servant, and now right at the end of the crucifixion, we see that another centurion comes to faith.
What were the signs that convinced this man that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah of the world, the One worthy of Worship?
There were signs from nature that something supernatural was happening. An earthquake, darkness covering the region from noon until 3 p.m., and the splitting open of rocks and graves.
When a lot of unnatural phenomenon start happening at the same time, it makes people consider the possibility of divine circumstances. That even happened in our area over the last year with the numerous earthquakes, fish kills and birds falling from the sky.
Mark’s Gospel records that the centurion also took note the manner in which Jesus died. He probably saw how Jesus handled his arrest, trial and scourging – led as a lamb to the slaughter, the Scriptures say, but He did not open His mouth. He said He could call ten thousand legions of angels to protect Him if he wished, but He laid down His life willingly.
The centurion heard Jesus pronounce grace and mercy and blessing for the thief who was crucified with him when that man asked Jesus to remember him in the coming kingdom. He saw Jesus make sure that His disciple John would look after His mother, Mary.
He listened as Jesus asked God the Father to forgive those who beat and mocked and crucified Him, because they did not understand what they were doing or who they were doing it to. He witnessed Jesus cry out to the Father, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" And then, "It is finished. Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit."
Luke’s Gospel records that the centurion also said of Jesus, "This was a righteous man." In other words, this was a man who had done no wrong. This was a man who was right before God.
It is most likely the case that the centurion had heard of Jesus’ miracles and teachings in the months leading up to this event, for the work of Christ was well-known to those in the religious and political power circles of Jerusalem. The centurion may have encountered Jesus several times in the course of his work.
All these signs led to this faith confession – Surely this man was the Son of God. Later history indicates that this centurion did indeed become a true disciple of Jesus, and faithfully followed the way of Christ even to the point of becoming a martyr for his faith.
So we can commend this man for taking note of the signs that were present in order that He might become a follower of Jesus.
My question this morning is this:
What Signs Will It Take for You to become a True Disciple of Jesus?
What will you take note of in order that you might begin to wholeheartedly follow Jesus as your Savior and Lord?
Let me suggest four signs that should direct you to follow Jesus:
Signs that Direct You to Follow Jesus
On the other hand, when you are striving intentionally everyday to walk with Jesus, you will experience a stronger confidence in knowing God’s will and direction in every area of your life.
Even when things don’t go the way you had hoped, you will have the security that God is in control and that He will accomplish the good that He desires in every situation, and this will be a blessing to your own life, as well.
You know, we have a lot of ways to communicate with each other today. Cell phone, voice mail, facebook, email, texting, tweeting and more. But one of the consequences of all these forms of communication is that we can become overwhelmed and sometimes we start to tune it all out.
I got a facebook message a few weeks ago about a Christmas party in December, and while I vaguely remember reading it at the time, I didn’t respond at the moment and that message got buried underneath hundreds of other communications and ultimately I messed up because I didn’t respond in the timeframe that the sender asked.
My point in that is that we are very good at tuning out what we don’t want to hear or don’t what to deal with. And unfortunately, sometimes we become adept at tuning out the voice of the Spirit. We don’t really mean to do it, but we ignore what the Spirit says, or put off responding day after day, and those messages get buried under hundreds of other bits of information each day, and ultimately if we never respond, we get to the point where we’re not sure that we hear the voice of the Spirit at all.
The good news is that the Spirit is not silent in your life. God is speaking to you everyday to provide instruction and insight and guidance, and if for just today, you will open yourself up to listen to the Spirit and respond as God leads, you can begin to hear Him well again.
The call of the Spirit is a sign that directs you to follow Jesus.