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.
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!”
- BSB 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!”
- 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 27:54Now 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.
- Luke 23:47–48Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
- Matt 27:43He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
- Acts 10:1There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
- Mark 15:44–45And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead.
- Acts 27:1–3And when it was determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus’ band.
- Matt 8:5–10And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,
- Acts 27:43But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, 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.