When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
Parallel translations
- WEB When the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man.”
- KJV Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
- NKJV So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”
- NASB Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “This Man was in fact innocent.”
- NLT When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The centurion glorified God and declared Jesus a righteous man. Even a Gentile soldier testified to His innocence.
Overview
Witnessing Jesus' death, the Roman centurion praises God and confesses Jesus' righteousness. This Gentile testimony adds to the chorus of voices declaring Christ blameless and foreshadows the gospel's spread to the nations. The cross, meant to shame, instead draws forth faith and worship from an unexpected witness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Matt 27:54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
- Mark 15:39When the centurion standing there in front of Jesus saw how He had breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
- Luke 23:41We are punished justly, for we are receiving what our actions deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
- Matt 9:8When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
- John 19:7“We have a law,” answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 23:47 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.