When 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!”
Parallel translations
- WEB When the centurion, who stood by opposite him, saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
- KJV And 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.
- NKJV So when the centurion, who stood opposite Him, saw that He cried out like this and breathed His last, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
- NASB And when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw that He died in this way, he said, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!”
- NLT When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
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
Seeing how Jesus died, the centurion confesses, 'Truly this man was the Son of God!' A Gentile soldier voices the Gospel's central claim.
Overview
Mark's Gospel opens declaring Jesus the Son of God (Mark 1:1), and now at the cross a Roman officer makes that confession, struck by the manner of his death. That a Gentile executioner is the one to confess it foreshadows the gospel going to all nations. The cross, not a throne, becomes the place where Jesus' true identity is recognized.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 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.”
- Luke 23:47–48When the centurion saw what had happened, he gave glory to God, saying, “Surely this was a righteous man.”
- Matt 27:43He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”
- Acts 10:1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment.
- Mark 15:44–45Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so.
- Acts 27:1–3When it was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the Imperial Regiment.
- Matt 8:5–10When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him,
- Acts 27:43But the centurion, wanting to spare Paul’s life, thwarted their plan. He commanded those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 15:39 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.