Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly 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.”
- BSB When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, “Surely 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 27:54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
- Mark 15:39And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.
- Luke 23:41And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
- Matt 9:8But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.
- John 19:7The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself 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.