Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:12):
Good evening, good morning, depending on what time is theone
that you're in. Thank you for joining me today. I
really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Praise God.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Today's basis is on the centurion in the Bible, and.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I think it'd be best to start with prayer. Heavenly Father,
I thank you for your word, Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Please bring wisdom and revelation to myself and.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Those who listen in Jesus' name.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God Lord, and.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I pray.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Greater understanding and appetite for the truth in Jesus' name.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Amen, Praise God. So glad that you've joined. Let me
just accept my see here code name. I'm trying to.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Make you a co host. So if that works, lovely
and okay, let's get started. Thank you God. So obviously,
one of the if you are familiar with the Bible,
you know that one question is if these centurions mentioned
(01:44):
in the Bible are the same person. And my talk
today is done from the standpoint that they are.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
So. The first thing that I.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Would like to mention is I noticed that God arranged
the assignment of the specific centurion Jesus's hometown and ministry
base of Capernaum in advance for Jesus. This isn't something
Jesus didn't arrange such a character of a person to
(02:18):
be in such a crucial position in his life. God
the Father arranged that for him. Jesus concentrated on doing
the Father's will. And I think that that's so such precious, special,
valuable insight to life. So I noticed that wanted to
mention it. So there are three major events concerning the Centurion.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
In the Bible.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
One is the healing of the servant of the Centurion
that's mentioned in.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
A couple of the gospels.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Another main event with the centurion is the crucifixion of Jesus.
And then the third made event, the crucifixion of Jesus
the Centurion is mentioned in a few of.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
The gospels, so we'll look at those. And then the
centurion and his.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Household being filled with the Holy Spirit and getting born
again when the Holy Spirit and the Angels of God
coordinated a special preaching and ministering time with the Apostle
Peter for them.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
So these are the three things we're going to talk about.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Obviously, this man, the Centurion, is a colorful character simply
by virtue of being a Roman soldier.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
These men were intense.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Tremendously physically fit, tremendously skilled in warfare, and capable as people.
This was a leader of leaders and capable meaning physical,
also capable mentally and disciplined in their lives, and probably
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intense personality, probably somewhat rough or course humor at times
in that culture, and probably of violent, somewhat violent culture
amongst them in terms of lots of physical contests.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Or things of that nature.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Were probably part of what was going on with the
Roman soldiers even when.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
They weren't fighting.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
And Rome was an intense place, then these were some
of the most intense participants in Roman cultures, the Roman soldiers,
and the centurion was over a hundred of them.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
So this is again a.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Leader of leaders, intense person just by being a centurion.
And then of all places, this particular one an assigned
to the Jewish, the nation of the Jews, and being
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stationed there and because called Judea. If I'm not mistaken, okay,
So let's take up and get to the Bible pretty
much right away. So I'm going to read Luke seven
one through ten. I use paper bibles.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I don't know if you do. But I enjoy them
so much. Okay, Luke seven one through ten.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
After Jesus had finished all that he had to say
in the hearing of the people on the mountain, he
entered Capernaum.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So this is where Jesus had moved, This is.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Where he had placed his ministry, and this is where
the centurion was posted.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
He was in charge of this area. Now Jorian had a.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Bond servant who was held in honor and highly valued
by him.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Who was sick and at the point of death.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I'll take a brief moment here to say I believe
the term bond servant has to do with a servant
who had fulfilled their obligation to their employer and was
now serving out of free will.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
They became a part of.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
That person's household of their own free will, of their
own choice, not because they had an.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Obligation to work off.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And so this was a special relationship.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Let me go back to the text.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Now, a centurion had a bond servant who was held
in honor and highly valued by him, who was.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Sick and at the point of death.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
And when the centurion heard of Jesus, he sent some
Jewish elders to him requesting him to come and make
his body servant. Well, that's an unusual event in a
culture of every man for himself. He sent some Jewish
(07:27):
elders to Jesus, and they asked on the centurion's behalf
wow verse four.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
And when they reached Jesus, they begged.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Him earnestly, saying he is worthy that you should do
this for him, for he loves our nation, and he
built us our synagogue at his own expense. So this
takes interesting character to a whole other level. This isn't
just a Roman soldier. This isn't just a Turian. This
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isn't just one who is stationed in the Jewish amongst
the Jewish people as a representative of the government ruling
over them. This is one who has convinced the lead
Jewish leadership that he loves the Jewish people and has
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personally built a place for them to worship out of
his own pocket. What What a person? What a character?
What not a character in terms of fiction? What a
character in terms of personality and choices and life and priorities?
Someone in a lot of ways who was larger than
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life to experience for the people around him. Let's keep
going and Jesus went with them. So this giving had
an effect. But when he was not far from the house,
the centurion sent some friends to him, saying, Lord, to
not trouble yourself, for I am not sufficiently worthy to
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have you come under my roof. Neither did I consider
myself worthy to come to you.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
But just speak a word, and my servant boy will
be healed.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
For I also am a man daily subject to authority,
with soldiers under me.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
And I say to one.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Go and he goes into another common he comes, and
to my bond servant, do this, and he doesn't.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Now. When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
And he turned and said to the crowd that followed him,
I tell you, not even in all Israel have I
found such great faith as that. That is powerful? Isn't
it to take someone at their word? And also to
understand that Jesus was in authority and represented authority over
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these works of sickness and disease in people's lives, meaning
that God is greater than the devil and sin and
the things that he does.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
That that's what I mean by that. I don't mean
by that that God causes sickness and disease not at all. Okay,
here we go verse ten.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
And when the messengers who had been sent returned to
the house, they found the bond servant who had been
quite who had been ill, quite well again. They found
the bond servant who had been ill quite well again.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Special, special, miracle, special person, special life, special things being
accomplished that were affecting those around him. Okay, let's look
at I want to talk actually briefly about the Centurion
(10:58):
being advocated for by the leaders of the Jewish.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
People when he had a need due to.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
His generosity in building them as a synagogue.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
And the thing I would like.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
To do is mention Acts ten twenty eight, because it
gives some insight into what this process was like for
the Centurion. Let's see Acts ten twenty eight. It says,
(11:38):
and he said to them, you yourselves are aware how
it is not lawful or permissible for a Jew to
keep company with, or visit, or to come near or
to speak first to anyone of another nationality.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
But God has shown and taught me by words that
I should not call any human being common or unhallowed,
or ceremonially unclean. So this was the context that these
Jewish leaders and the whole.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Jewish nation came from that.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
In their beliefs, in their faith, in their culture. It
was that lawful or permissible for them to keep company
with this centurion, visit with him, come near him, or
speak first to him.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
So in other words, he had to do all the initiating.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
In my view, that would be an extremely offensive climate
and culture wherein to navigate, show generosity.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
And be the bigger person. And this centurion did that
so much.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
He had to overcome so much opportunity to get I
would call it offended.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Over their behavior, their attitudes.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And this is widespread through the Jewish nation. And I
think that it makes this centurion and his accomplishments in
becoming this ambassador.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Because if he wouldn't have been doing.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
His job and representing the Roman government, he wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Have kept it.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
So this means that he had to have been a
very just and righteous man who.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Was sticking very closely to what is proper and correct.
He was both not letting.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Them take advantage of and exploit them and convincing them
that he loves their nation. This is an amazing person
and I am impressed.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Okay, and I will.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Highlight for those who are interested that in the topic
of not getting offended Psalm one hundred and nineteen, verse
one sixty five. And the King James, it says, great
peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing shall
offend them. Let's get to another passage about the centurion.
The same events are described in Matthew chapter eight, So
(14:40):
let's go there next, Matthew chapter eight, verse five through thirteen. Okay,
as Jesus went into Campernaum, a centurion came up to
him begging him. Now you may think that this is
described different events, because this one is stating that it
(15:05):
was the centurion that came up to him. So I
made to make a quick note about the culture that
in this culture, because authority was so understood and recognized, representation,
things like that.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Were understood and recognized.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Much that that's been eroded a lot, at least from
American culture, and so the understanding was solid and in
place back then in.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
This culture of authority and representation.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Therefore, the representatives.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Were referred to as if it was that very person.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
So it's important to understand the context of the writer
and the culture and the historical the historical context of
what was documented okay. So as Jesus went into Capernaum,
a centurion came up to him, begging him and saying, Lord,
(16:08):
my servant boy is lying at home.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Excuse me, I correct myself.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Lord, My servant boy is lying at the house paralyzed,
distressed with intense pains. And Jesus said to him, I
will come and restore him. But the centurion replied to him, Lord,
I am not worthy or fit to have you come
under my roof. But only speak the word, and my servant.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Boy will be cured.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
For I also am the man's subject to authority, with
soldiers subject to me, And I say to one go
when he goes into another common he comes and to
my slave, do this, And he does it. When Jesus
heard him, he marveled, and he said to those who
followed him, that is who adhered steadfastly to him, conforming
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to his example in living, and if need be, in dying, also,
I tell you, truly, I have not found so much
faith in this with anyone as this with anyone, even
in Israel. Then he shares this particular person Matthew. Matthew's
(17:22):
account documents some additional comments Jesus made additional truth he share.
I tell you, many will come from the east and
west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
in the Kingdom of Heaven, while the sons and heirs
of the kingdom will be driven out into the darkness outside,
(17:44):
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Then to the centurion, Jesus said, go, it shall be done.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
For you as you have believed. And the servant boy
was restored to health at that very moment. Powerful So
I see that Luke remembered more of the details of.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
The exchange that resulted in the healing.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Luke was a doctor, so these things were obviously fascinating
to him, And Matthew remembered more about this teaching about Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob and sitting at the table with them
in the Kingdom of Heaven and the sons of the Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
So interesting to see the.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Different mindsets and personalities there. Let's keep going about the centurion.
The differences in the accounts of Matthew and Luke pertain
to different aspects being found memorable by each of them. Again,
in my opinion, as a student of the Word, this
is the same centurion.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
The first person I asked the first.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
My first resource in studying and preparing for this was
the Holy Spirit. I claimed to promise an Ephesians one to.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Receive his help.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
And my second resource was Matthew Henry commentary. I have
a print copy of the Matthew Henry Commentary of the
whole Bible, and I looked that up and I found
the way that Matthew Henry Commentary handled it was very responsible.
They handled each account in such a way that it
could have been the same centurion or a different one.
(19:38):
Their account just strictly discussed the events and commented on
the exchange and insights about spiritual aspects of the exchanges.
So I thought that was very responsible for them to
not get into the question. But I'm not an expert
as a student, and I am sharing my opinion that
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this is all the same person. And I did consult
Rock because I wanted to find out from Rock kind
of what the consensus was. Because I didn't want to
be doing a bunch of research schlepping here ordering a.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Bunch of books.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I thought, I'll see what Brock has to say about
the consensus.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
And I couldn't take seriously the.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Things that Rock was sharing about it because one of
the things I noticed when I was asking different questions
is that Rock referred to a number of people.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
So there are a.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Number of soldiers involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. In
Mark fifteen sixteen and in Matthew twenty seven twenty seven.
Matthew twenty seven twenty seven and Mark fifteen sixteen.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Both shared the.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
I believe the original language the original word is speirara,
but please.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Don't quote me on that.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
It's called a cohort in English, and it's a technical
term and it means up to about six hundred soldiers.
So it had been about five to six hundred soldiers
were participating in the crucifixion of Jesus. And when I
was asking Bradley's questions in preparation, it said that the
(21:33):
number was a quote unquote rhetorical.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
Exaggeration, and after that I couldn't take it seriously as
a resource for something like this, because if there's the Bible,
is the book of all books to be taken literally?
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Okay, let us keep going in the Matie burial. This
is another thought I had about the centurion that was
involved being involved in the.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Crucifixion of Jesus and in fact overseeing it.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
That so the Roman soldiers were the.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Ones responsible for carrying out executions that were declared.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
By the government.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
If you don't know that the government declined to create
the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the past of the
Jewish leaders that's in uh, in proximity to different passages
I'll read if you want to look that up for yourself,
and and and so the centurion, being in this leadership rule,
(22:43):
would have overseen.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
It, in fact did oversee it. Bible tells us that.
So we'll talk about that.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
We'll get into some different different accounts of that. But
by observation to people who might think, well, the centurion
and Capernaum loved the Jewish nation and he received this
great benefit of a personal miracle from Jesus that significantly
(23:12):
affected him and his daily life.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
So how would he have been the one that crucified Jesus?
Speaker 1 (23:19):
I would say, I do say if the centurion wouldn't
have carried out Jesus's crucifixion, he would have been killed
immediately as well as his men. This was an example
to me of a do or die situation. And so
that's what I'll say about that.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Let's go to.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Mark fifteen, Verses sixteen through thirty nine.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Mark fifteen. Here we go. Now, the soldiers took.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Him away into the palace, that is, the Praetorian, and
they called together the whole Roman cohort. Again, this is
hundreds and hundreds of soldiers in this place, milling around,
egging each other on those that are close of harming Jesus.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Okay, verse seventeen.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
And they dressed him in purple, and after twisting together
a crown of Florence, they put it on him, and
they began.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Saluting him, Hail King of the Jews.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
And they repeatedly beat his head with a reed and
spit on him, and kneeling they.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Bowed before him.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
And after they had mocked him, they took the purple
cloak off him and put his own garments on him,
and they led him out to crucify him. And they
compelled a passer by coming from the country Simon of Syrene,
the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Then they brought him.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
I'll take a quick pause here to mention that I'm
not going to take time to get into why, but
in my experience of studying the Bible. The reason why
the sons of Sign the Sire were mentioned by name
is because their lives were marked with blessing as a
(25:24):
result of their father and these events. The way that
this is praised, the way that this account is laid out,
tells me that these sons received blessings from God as
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a result of their father's role in carrying Jesus's cross
for that.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Period of time. Distance.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Okay, let's get back to the account of verse twenty two.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Then they brought.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Him to the place Galgatha, which is translated place of
a skull, and they tried to give him wine mixed
with merv but he did not take it. And they
crucified him and divided up his garments among themselves, casting
lots for them to decide what each man would take.
Now it was the third hour when they crucified him.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
The inscription of the charge against him read the King
of the Jews.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
And they crucified two rebels with him, one on his
right and one on his left. Those passing by were
hurling abuse at him, shaking their heads and saying, ha,
you who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild
it in three days? Save yourself by coming down from
the cross. In the same way, the chief priests also
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along with the scribes, were mocking him among themselves and
saying he saved others, he cannot save himself. Let this Christ,
the King of Israel, come down now from the cross,
so that we may.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
See and belief.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Those who were crucified with him were also insulting him.
When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole
land until the ninth hour.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
At the ninth hour.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Helloi eloi lemma sebaktanai,
which is translated, my God, by God, why have you
forsaken me? And when some of the bystanders heard him.
Let me just take a quick note about verse thirty
four that the Bible says that Jesus became sin on
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the cross, and in Galatians three thirteen, the Bible also
says that Jesus became the curse on the cross, so
hopefully that provides some context verse thirty five. And when
some of the bystanders heard him, they began saying, look,
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he's calling for Elijah.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And someone ran and filled.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
A sponge with sour wine and put it on a
read and gave him a drink, saying, let.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Us see if Elijah comes to take him down.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
But Jesus let out a loud cry and died, and
the veil of the temple was torn in two.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
From top to bottom.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
So if you're not familiar with the historical context of this,
I believe the veil was something like ten layers deep,
So this was massive.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
It's a total supernatural act what happened. And the veil
was separating the Holy of Holies, where the presence of
God was from where the people could come. And that veil,
that separation being torn in a supernatural way starting from above,
(29:08):
really a beautiful.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
And special sign. Let's get back to the text.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
And when the centurion, who was standing right in front
of him, saw that he died this way, he said, truly.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
This man was the son of God. Wow. Wow, Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
I would like to mention that this is the first
account or witness attesting that the centurion said this truly,
this was the son of God.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
And I find it interesting in light of my.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Belief by confidence, that this was the same person that
in the midst of in the midst of all the events,
all the people in their various roles and intensity of
people and events and things that were going on in
the situation.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
I am noticing that.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
This centurion had come to have doubts concerning Jesus's role
had begun because he expresses himself there and makes up
his mind what he believed, standing right there in front
of Jesus as he died. I find that so powerful personally. Okay,
(30:37):
let's go to Matthew twenty seven twenty seven through fifty four.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the
Praetorian and gathered the whole Roman colport to him, and
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they stripped him and put a red cloak on him,
and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put
it on his head and put a reed in his
right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him, saying,
Hail King of the Jews. And they spit on him
and took the reed and beat him on the head.
(31:19):
And after they had mocked him, they took the cloak
off him and put his own garments back on him,
and led him away to crucify him. As they were
coming out, they found a man of Syreene named Simon,
whom they compelled to.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Carry his cross. And when they came to a place.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Called Galgatha, which means place of a skull, they gave
him wine mixed with bile to drink, and after tasting it,
he was unwilling to drink it. And when they had
crucified him, they divided his garments among themselves by casting
lots and sitting down. They began to keep watch over
(32:02):
him there, and above his head they put up the
charge against him, which read this is Jesus, the King
of the Jews. At that time, two rebels were being
crucified with him, one on the right and one on
the left, and those passing by were speaking abusively to him,
(32:24):
shaking their heads and saying, you, who are going to
destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself,
if you are the son of God, come down from
the cross. In the same way, the chief priests, also
along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying,
he saved others, he cannot save himself.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
He is the king of Israel.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Let him now come down from the cross, and we
will believe in him.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
He has trusted in God.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Let God rescue him now if he takes pleasure in him,
For he said, I am the son of God, and
the rebels who have been crucified with him were also
in him in the same way. Now, from the sixth hour,
darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth that hour.
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a
(33:12):
loud voice, saying, Li Lima sabattuna, that is my God,
my God, why have you forsaken me? And some of
those who were standing there when they heard it, said,
this man is calling for Elijah. And immediately one of
them ran, and, taking a sponge, she filled it with
sour wine and put it on a reed and gave
(33:34):
him a drink. But the rest of them said, let
us see if Elijah comes to save him. So interesting
the difference in mindset that is revealed here, because the
other count kind of.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Makes it sound like everybody was of the same mind
Verse fifty. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice,
and gave up his spirit.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in
two from top to bottom, and the earth shook, and
the rocks were split. Also, the tombs were open, and
many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were
raised and coming out of the tombs. After his resurrection,
they entered the Holy City, appeared to many, and appeared
(34:25):
to many.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Now.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
As for the centurion and those who were with him
keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and
the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened
and said, truly, this was the Son of God. But
we know that it was the centurion that was standing
(34:47):
right in front of him, that was.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Overseeing his crucifixion.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
He's the one specifically that said truly, this was the
Son of God. And I would like to highlight that
this is the second witness verifying who said that. But
what he said of Deuteronomy nineteen fifteen talks about things
(35:14):
being established through the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Let's go to the last.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Account here that I have Luke twenty three, Verses thirty
three through forty seven. And when they came to the
place called the Skull, there they crucified him and the criminals,
one on the right and the other on the left.
But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, for they do
(35:46):
not know what they are doing, and they cast lots
dividing his garments among themselves. So, in other words, despite
the century and being in a do or die situation,
what he was doing was wrong. Jesus is making it
(36:07):
clear by asking God to forgive him that before God,
the centurion should have died rather.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Than crucify Jesus. That makes an impression on me.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
And they cast lots dividing his garments among themselves, and
the people stood by watching, and even the rulers were
sneering at and saying, he saved others, Let him save himself.
If this is the Christ of God who's chosen one.
The soldiers also ridiculed him, coming up to him, offering
him sour wine and saying, if you are the King
(36:45):
of the Jews, saved yourself.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Now there was.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Also an inscription above him, this is the King of
the Jews. One of the criminals, who was one of
the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse that
and saying, are you not the Christ?
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Staying yourself enough?
Speaker 1 (37:02):
But the other responded and rebuking him, said do you
not even fear God? Since you are under the same
sentence of condemnation. And we indeed are suffering justly, for
we are receiving what we deserve for our crimes. But
this man has done nothing wrong. And he was saying, Jesus,
(37:23):
remember me when you come into your kingdom, and he
said to him, truly, I say to you today, you
will be with me in Paradise.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (37:34):
I was following the punctuation there, and I shouldn't have,
because it is actually truly I say to you today,
you will be with me in Paradise.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Jesus did not go to Paradise right away when he
was raised.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
It was after three days and three nights in the
belly of the earth.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
Okay, the translators put the comma before today instead of after.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
I just need to remember when.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
I say the verse that it could the way that
it's supposed to be said. Is truly, I say to
you today, you will be with me in Paradise. Verse
forty four. It was now about the sixth hour, and
darkness came over the entire land until the ninth hour
because the sun stopped shining, and the veil of the
(38:24):
temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with
a LOUDHOI said, Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit, and.
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Having said this, he died.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Now, when the centurion saw what had happened, he began
praising God, saying this man was in fact innocent. So
during all of this upheaval and events and everything that
was going on, the centurion had been wondering if Jesus
(38:57):
was guilty, wrong, etc. And he saw it for himself
in that moment, which is so powerful to me, so
powerful that he kept his sense of self, his sense
of purpose, his sense of awareness. And anyway, let me
(39:19):
keep going on. You can have your own reflections the meditations.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Let me.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Move to Yes, I did want to mention that the
Bible refers to the centurion saying this man was in
fact as praise to God. And I wanted to mention
that I've learned a number of things from looking into
(39:46):
how the Bible defines different terms at times in the text.
So I will move on from that to the next
event with the center.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
Again.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
My argument is as a student of the Bible, that
this is the same person.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
One thing is.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
One of my main considerations is how spiritual progress even works.
Acts Chapter ten describes the centurion, identifies him as Cornelius,
and talks about him as someone who prays to God,
continually talks, gives a number of details about his spiritual life.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
And his.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
Physical you know, it's kind of his natural life, his
household and things like that.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
And I'll read that.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
But my consideration of how spiritual progress even works is
that a person doesn't go from just being worldly and
part of the fitting in with the system of this world,
fitting in with worldly society two suddenly.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
Being someone of constant.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
Prayer and the type of devotion to God that is
detailed here. This is something that is a progression, and
we see a progression with the Centurion in these different events,
and that is the main part, the main persuasion I
(41:40):
have that this is the same person.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
Acts ten twenty two says that the entire Jewish nation
spoke well of the Centurion, and I just don't believe
that there were two such centurions. I just don't believe
that there was. The one heard him, the leaders, the
elders of the Jews spoke that he loves our nation,
(42:07):
He's built us a synagogue.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
And then this one, the entire Jewish nation spoke well
of him. I don't believe that this is two different people.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Okay, let's see, and I think that given the scope
of the Roman soldier's involvement in Jesus' crucifixion again approximately
six hundred of them, up to six hundred of them,
I think it's realistic that the centurion who had supervised
the crucifixion ended up being promoted in a significant way
(42:37):
in his career.
Speaker 2 (42:39):
So God answered Jesus's prayer for.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
The centurion's forgiveness, and he wasn't guilty for Jesus's death,
even though he seems to have profited from it personally significantly. However,
the centurion seems to me to have remained very mindful
of his role in Jesus's death. So let's read. Let's
(43:04):
read the account I think. I think I'm going to
try Jamie Phillips translation. Here acts chapter ten, and here
we go. There was a man in Cesarea by the
name of Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the
(43:24):
Italian Regiment. He was a deeply religious man who reverenced God,
as did all his household. How easy is that to achieve,
even for a strong leader, one's entire household fearing God.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
What a what an accolade, what a testimony?
Speaker 1 (43:47):
What a what an account of who this man was. Okay,
he made many charitable gifts to the people and was
a man of regular prayer. About three o'clock one afternoon,
he saw perfectly clearly in a vision an Angel of
(44:09):
God coming into his room, approaching him and saying, Cornelius.
Speaker 2 (44:14):
He stared at the angel in terror and said, what
is it? Lord?
Speaker 1 (44:18):
The angel replied again, this is not because he was
calling the angel Lord. This is because he was identifying
the angel as representing the Lord.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Let's get back to the text.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
The angel replied, your prayers and your deeds of charity
have gone up to heaven and are remembered before God.
Now send men to Jappa for a man called Simon,
who is also known as Peter. He is staying as
a guest with another Simon, a tanner whose house is
down by the sea. When the angel who had spoken
(44:56):
to him had gone, Cornelius called out for two of
his house servants and a devout soldier who was one
of his personal attendants. He told them the whole story
and then send them off to Joppa.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Next day. While these men.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
Were still on their journey and approaching the city, Peter
went up about midday onto the flat roof of the
house to pray. He became very hungry and longed for
something to eat. But while the meal was being prepared,
he fell into a trance and saw the heavens open,
and something like a great sheet descending upon the earth,
(45:36):
let down by.
Speaker 2 (45:37):
Its four corners.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles and birds.
Then came a voice which said to him, get up, Peter,
kill and eat. But Peter said, never, Lord, for not
once in all my life have I ever eaten anything
common or unclean. Then the voice spoke to him a
second time. You must not call what God has cleansed common.
(46:04):
This happened three times, and then the thing was gone,
taken back into heaven. So I would like to point
out that verse again Deuteronomy. I think it's nineteen fifteen
that specifies things are confirmed or established by two or
(46:26):
three witnesses. So that's the purpose of the three times.
One aspect of the purpose of the three times is
to indicate that the matter is settled. This is fully
attested to, okay, verse seventeen. While Peter was still puzzling
(46:46):
about the meaning of the vision which he had just seen,
the men said by Cornelius, had arrived asking for the
house of Simon. They were in fact standing at the
very doorway, calling out to inquire of Simon's surname.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
Peter was lodging there.
Speaker 1 (47:03):
Peter was still thinking deeply about the vision when the
spirit said to him, there are some men here looking
for you.
Speaker 2 (47:11):
Get up and go downstairs.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Go with them without any misgiving, for I myself have
sent them. So Peter went down to the bend and said,
I'm the man who are looking for. What brings you here?
They replied, Cornelius the Centurion, a good living and god
fearing man whose character can be vouched for by the
whole Jewish people, was commanded by a holy angel to
(47:35):
send for you to come to his house and to
listen to your message. Then Peter invited them in and
entertained them. On the next day, he got up and
set out with them, accompanied by some of the brothers
from Joppa, arriving at Cesarea on the day after that.
Cornelius was expecting them and had invited together his relations
(47:59):
and intimate friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met
him by falling at his feet and worshiping him, but
Peter raised him up with the word stand.
Speaker 2 (48:09):
Up, I'm a human too.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
Then Peter went right into the house in deep conversation
with Cornelius, and found that a large number of people
had assembled.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
Then he spoke to them.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
You all know that it is forbidden for a man
who is a Jew to associate with or even visit
a man of another nation. But God has shown me
plainly that no man must be called common or unclean.
That is why I came here when I was sent for,
without raising any objection. Now I want to know what
made you send for me, then Cornelius replied, four days
(48:46):
ago about this time, I was observing the afternoon hour
of prayer in my house, when suddenly a man in
shining clothes stood before me and said, Cornelius, your prayer
has been heard and your charitable deeds have been remembered
for God. Now you must send to Joppa and invite
here a man called Simon, whose surname is Peter. He
(49:09):
is staying in the house of a tanner by the
name of Simon, down by the sea. So I said
to you without delay, and you have been most kind
and coming. Now we are all here in the presence
of God. To listen to everything the Lord has commanded
you to say.
Speaker 2 (49:26):
Then Peter began to speak and solemn truth.
Speaker 1 (49:30):
I can see now that God does not discriminate between people,
but that in every nation, the man who reverences him
and does what is right is acceptable to him. He
has sent his message to the sons of Israel by
giving us.
Speaker 2 (49:45):
The good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is
Lord of all.
Speaker 1 (49:49):
You must know the story of Jesus of Nazareth, why
it has spread through the whole of Judaea, beginning from
Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed. You must have
heard how God anointed him with the power of the
Holy Spirit, of how he went about doing good and
healing all who suffered under.
Speaker 2 (50:08):
The devil's power, because God was with him.
Speaker 1 (50:11):
Now we are eye witnesses of everything that he did,
both with the Judean country and the Jerusalem itself. And
they murdered him by hanging him on across. But on
the third day God raised that same Jesus and let
him be clearly seen, not indeed by the whole people,
but by witnesses whom God had previously chosen.
Speaker 2 (50:34):
We are those witnesses, We who.
Speaker 1 (50:36):
Ate and drank with him after he had risen from
the dead. Moreover, we are the men whom he commanded
to preach to the people, and solemnly witness to the
fact that he is the one appointed by God to
be the judge of both the living and the dead.
Speaker 2 (50:52):
It is to him that all.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
The prophets bear witness, so that every man who believes
in him may receive forgiveness of sins through his name.
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit
fell upon all who were listening to his message.
Speaker 2 (51:11):
The Jewish believers.
Speaker 1 (51:12):
Who had come with Peter were absolutely amazed that the
gift of the Holy Spirit was being poured.
Speaker 2 (51:17):
Out even upon Gentiles.
Speaker 1 (51:20):
That means people not previously incovenant with God, for they
heard them speaking in foreign tongues and glorifying God. Then
Peter explained, could anyone refuse water or object to these
men being baptized? Men would received the Holy Spirit just
as we did ourselves, and he gave orders for them
(51:42):
to be baptized in.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
The name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1 (51:45):
Afterward, they asked him to stay with them for some days.
Speaker 2 (51:50):
How beautiful, how wonderful.
Speaker 1 (51:54):
So I consider from verse seven that his accordios close
associate was someone debout.
Speaker 2 (52:02):
I find that noteworthy.
Speaker 1 (52:05):
And I also notice in verse thirty three that he
viewed himself as being before God in what he did
in his life. I think that's powerful. Let me go
to one more account of it, just reading, just going
to read a different translation. Hopefully that's a blessing and
(52:28):
enjoyable for you as well. Acts ten now, captain of
the Italian regiment named Cornelius, was quartered at Cessaia. He
was religious and God fearing, and so was every member
of his household.
Speaker 2 (52:47):
He was also liberal in his charities to.
Speaker 1 (52:49):
The people, and continually offered prayer to God. About three
o'clock one afternoon, he had a vision and distinctly saw
an angel of God enter his house.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
And by name, saying Cornelius.
Speaker 1 (53:03):
Looking steadily at him, and being much alarmed, he said,
what is a lord? Your prayers and charities, he replied,
have gone up as a memorial before God, and now
send to Joppa and fetch Simon surnamed Peter. He is
lodging with one Simon, a tanner, who has a house
close to the sea. So when the angel who had
(53:26):
been speaking to him was gone, Cornelius called two of
his servants and a god fearing soldier who was in
constant attendance on him, and after telling them everything, he
sent them to Joppa.
Speaker 2 (53:39):
The next day.
Speaker 1 (53:40):
While they were still on their journey and were getting
near the town about noon, Peter went up on the
housetop to pray. He had got very hungry and wished
for some food, But while they were preparing it, he
fell into a trance. The sky had opened to his view,
and what seemed to be an enormus a sheet was descending,
(54:01):
being let down to.
Speaker 2 (54:02):
The earth by ropes at the four corners.
Speaker 1 (54:05):
In it were all kinds of quadrupeds, reptiles, and birds.
And a voice came to him which said, rise, Peter,
kill and eat on no account Lord. He replied, for
I've never yet eaten anything unhallowed, and uncleaned again.
Speaker 2 (54:21):
A second time a.
Speaker 1 (54:22):
Voice was heard which said, what God has cleansed you
must not regard as unhallowed. This took place three times,
and immediately the sheet was drawn up out of sight,
meaning that that was the purpose of the vision. Okay, Now,
just while Peter was wondering as to the mean as
(54:45):
to the meaning of the vision, he had seen the
men sent by Cornelius, having by inquiry found out Simon's house,
came to the door and called the servant and asked,
is Simon's surnamed Peter staying here? And Peter was still
p over the vision when the spirit said to him,
three men are now inquiring for you. Rise, Go down
(55:07):
and go with them without any misgivings, for it as
I who have sent them to you. So Peter went
down and said to the men, I am the man
you are inquiring for.
Speaker 2 (55:16):
What's the reason for your coming? Of your coming? Excuse me?
Speaker 1 (55:22):
They said, Cornelius, a captain, an upright, god fearing man
of whom the whole Jewish nation speaks well, has been
divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you
to his house and listen to what you have to say.
On hearing this, Peter invited them in and gave them
a lodging. The next day he set out with them,
(55:49):
some of the brethren from Chocola going with him, and
the day after that they reached cessarea. There Cornelius was
awaiting their arrival and had invited all his kinsmen and
intimate friends to be present. When Peter entered the house,
Cornelius met him, and, falling at his feet, did an homage,
but Peter lifted him up stand He said, I myself also,
(56:14):
and but a man. So Peter went in and conversed
with him, and found a large company assemble. He said
to them, you are aware that a Jew is strictly
forbidden to associate with a gentile or visit him. But
God has taught me to call no one unhallowed or unclean. Hence,
when sent forth, I came without raising any objection. I
(56:36):
therefore asked why you sent for me just at this
hour three days ago, replied Cornelius. I was offering afternoon
prayer in my house, when suddenly a man in shining
rainment stood before me, who said, Cornelius, your prayers have
been heard, and your acts of charity have been remembered
(56:57):
by God. Send therefore to Joppa and invite Simon surnamed
Peter to come here. He is staying at the house
in the house of Simon, a tanner close to the sea.
Speaker 2 (57:10):
I correct my reading earlier in the verse, Cornelius.
Speaker 1 (57:14):
Your prayer has been heard. That says to me that
there is something specific he was asking God for. And
I am anyway I won't speculate. Let me go on,
and your acts of charity have been remembered by God.
Sent therefore to Java and invite Simon surname Peter to
come here. He is staying in the house of Simon,
(57:36):
a tanner, close by the sea. Immediately therefore, I send
to you, and I thank you heartily for having come.
That is why all of us are now assembled here
in God's presence to listen to what the Lord has
commanded you to say.
Speaker 2 (57:49):
Then Peter began to speak. I clearly see.
Speaker 1 (57:52):
He said that God makes no distinctions between one man
and another, but that in every nation those who fear
Him and live good lives are acceptable to him. The
word which he sent to the sons of Israel when
he announced the Gospel of Peace through Jesus Christ is
Lord of all that word. You cannot but know the
(58:13):
story I mean, which has spread through the length and
breadth of Judaea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism which
John proclaimed. It tells how keep in mind that Peter
had fled from Jesus and he was not there. Let
me keep going to the text. Let me not even
(58:35):
get into all that. Okay, God had anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, so that
he went about doing good and curing all who are
oppressed by the devil. For God was with him, and
we are all witnesses to all that he did, both
in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. But
(58:56):
they even put him to death by crucifixion. That saying, Jesus,
God raised to life on the third day, and permitted
him to appear not to all the people, but to witnesses,
men previously chosen by God, namely to us who ate
and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
And he has commanded us to preach the people and
(59:18):
solemnly declare that this is he who has been appointed
by God to be the judge of the living and
the dead.
Speaker 2 (59:26):
To him, all the prophets bear witness that through his.
Speaker 1 (59:30):
Name, all who believe in him received the forgiveness of
their sins. While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy
Spirit fell on all who were listening to the word,
and all the Jewish believers who had come with Peter
were astonished that on the Gentiles also the gift of
the Holy Spirit was poured out, for they heard them
(59:53):
speaking in tongues and extolling the majesty of God. Then
Peter said, can anyone forbid the use of water for
the baptism of these people, men who have received the
Holy Spirit just as we did? And he directed that
they should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (01:00:11):
Then they begged him to remain with them for a time.
Speaker 1 (01:00:15):
So that, ladies and gentlemen, is the wonderful story of
the centurion who comes up in different instances in.
Speaker 2 (01:00:25):
My view, in the Bible.
Speaker 1 (01:00:27):
And I would like to make sure I expressed for
those who don't know that the way to be saved
in Jesus is to believe in your heart God raised
Jesus from the dead. Choose to believe God raised him
from the dead, and then confess with your mouth Jesus
as Lord.
Speaker 2 (01:00:49):
And the sermon. These things that Peter.
Speaker 1 (01:00:56):
Told the apostle, Peter told Cornelis and his household, these
are for you as well.
Speaker 2 (01:01:02):
The Bible says.
Speaker 1 (01:01:03):
That with a heart a person believes that God raised
Jesus from the dead, resulting in righteousness. That means you
become right with God when you believe that. And with
the mouth of confession that Jesus's Lord is made resulting.
Speaker 2 (01:01:20):
In salvation, so that's how you get saved.
Speaker 1 (01:01:23):
And once you do that, you can also ask to
be baptized in the Holy Spirit, just like Cornelius and
his household were. God bless you. Thank you for listening.
I'll be back again soon.
Good evening, good morning, depending on what time is theone
that you're in. Thank you for joining me today. I
really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Praise God.
Speaker 1 (00:27):
Today's basis is on the centurion in the Bible, and.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
I think it'd be best to start with prayer. Heavenly Father,
I thank you for your word, Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Please bring wisdom and revelation to myself and.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Those who listen in Jesus' name.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God Lord, and.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I pray.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Greater understanding and appetite for the truth in Jesus' name.
Speaker 2 (01:05):
Amen, Praise God. So glad that you've joined. Let me
just accept my see here code name. I'm trying to.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
Make you a co host. So if that works, lovely
and okay, let's get started. Thank you God. So obviously,
one of the if you are familiar with the Bible,
you know that one question is if these centurions mentioned
(01:44):
in the Bible are the same person. And my talk
today is done from the standpoint that they are.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
So. The first thing that I.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Would like to mention is I noticed that God arranged
the assignment of the specific centurion Jesus's hometown and ministry
base of Capernaum in advance for Jesus. This isn't something
Jesus didn't arrange such a character of a person to
(02:18):
be in such a crucial position in his life. God
the Father arranged that for him. Jesus concentrated on doing
the Father's will. And I think that that's so such precious, special,
valuable insight to life. So I noticed that wanted to
mention it. So there are three major events concerning the Centurion.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
In the Bible.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
One is the healing of the servant of the Centurion
that's mentioned in.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
A couple of the gospels.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Another main event with the centurion is the crucifixion of Jesus.
And then the third made event, the crucifixion of Jesus
the Centurion is mentioned in a few of.
Speaker 2 (03:05):
The gospels, so we'll look at those. And then the
centurion and his.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Household being filled with the Holy Spirit and getting born
again when the Holy Spirit and the Angels of God
coordinated a special preaching and ministering time with the Apostle
Peter for them.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
So these are the three things we're going to talk about.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Obviously, this man, the Centurion, is a colorful character simply
by virtue of being a Roman soldier.
Speaker 2 (03:42):
These men were intense.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Tremendously physically fit, tremendously skilled in warfare, and capable as people.
This was a leader of leaders and capable meaning physical,
also capable mentally and disciplined in their lives, and probably
(04:06):
intense personality, probably somewhat rough or course humor at times
in that culture, and probably of violent, somewhat violent culture
amongst them in terms of lots of physical contests.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
Or things of that nature.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
Were probably part of what was going on with the
Roman soldiers even when.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
They weren't fighting.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
And Rome was an intense place, then these were some
of the most intense participants in Roman cultures, the Roman soldiers,
and the centurion was over a hundred of them.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
So this is again a.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Leader of leaders, intense person just by being a centurion.
And then of all places, this particular one an assigned
to the Jewish, the nation of the Jews, and being
(05:05):
stationed there and because called Judea. If I'm not mistaken, okay,
So let's take up and get to the Bible pretty
much right away. So I'm going to read Luke seven
one through ten. I use paper bibles.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
I don't know if you do. But I enjoy them
so much. Okay, Luke seven one through ten.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
After Jesus had finished all that he had to say
in the hearing of the people on the mountain, he
entered Capernaum.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So this is where Jesus had moved, This is.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
Where he had placed his ministry, and this is where
the centurion was posted.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
He was in charge of this area. Now Jorian had a.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Bond servant who was held in honor and highly valued
by him.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Who was sick and at the point of death.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I'll take a brief moment here to say I believe
the term bond servant has to do with a servant
who had fulfilled their obligation to their employer and was
now serving out of free will.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
They became a part of.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
That person's household of their own free will, of their
own choice, not because they had an.
Speaker 2 (06:35):
Obligation to work off.
Speaker 1 (06:38):
And so this was a special relationship.
Speaker 2 (06:44):
Let me go back to the text.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Now, a centurion had a bond servant who was held
in honor and highly valued by him, who was.
Speaker 2 (06:52):
Sick and at the point of death.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
And when the centurion heard of Jesus, he sent some
Jewish elders to him requesting him to come and make
his body servant. Well, that's an unusual event in a
culture of every man for himself. He sent some Jewish
(07:27):
elders to Jesus, and they asked on the centurion's behalf
wow verse four.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
And when they reached Jesus, they begged.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Him earnestly, saying he is worthy that you should do
this for him, for he loves our nation, and he
built us our synagogue at his own expense. So this
takes interesting character to a whole other level. This isn't
just a Roman soldier. This isn't just a Turian. This
(08:01):
isn't just one who is stationed in the Jewish amongst
the Jewish people as a representative of the government ruling
over them. This is one who has convinced the lead
Jewish leadership that he loves the Jewish people and has
(08:21):
personally built a place for them to worship out of
his own pocket. What What a person? What a character?
What not a character in terms of fiction? What a
character in terms of personality and choices and life and priorities?
Someone in a lot of ways who was larger than
(08:42):
life to experience for the people around him. Let's keep
going and Jesus went with them. So this giving had
an effect. But when he was not far from the house,
the centurion sent some friends to him, saying, Lord, to
not trouble yourself, for I am not sufficiently worthy to
(09:04):
have you come under my roof. Neither did I consider
myself worthy to come to you.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
But just speak a word, and my servant boy will
be healed.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
For I also am a man daily subject to authority,
with soldiers under me.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
And I say to one.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Go and he goes into another common he comes, and
to my bond servant, do this, and he doesn't.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Now. When Jesus heard this, he marveled at him.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
And he turned and said to the crowd that followed him,
I tell you, not even in all Israel have I
found such great faith as that. That is powerful? Isn't
it to take someone at their word? And also to
understand that Jesus was in authority and represented authority over
(09:53):
these works of sickness and disease in people's lives, meaning
that God is greater than the devil and sin and
the things that he does.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
That that's what I mean by that. I don't mean
by that that God causes sickness and disease not at all. Okay,
here we go verse ten.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
And when the messengers who had been sent returned to
the house, they found the bond servant who had been
quite who had been ill, quite well again. They found
the bond servant who had been ill quite well again.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
Special, special, miracle, special person, special life, special things being
accomplished that were affecting those around him. Okay, let's look
at I want to talk actually briefly about the Centurion
(10:58):
being advocated for by the leaders of the Jewish.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
People when he had a need due to.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
His generosity in building them as a synagogue.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
And the thing I would like.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
To do is mention Acts ten twenty eight, because it
gives some insight into what this process was like for
the Centurion. Let's see Acts ten twenty eight. It says,
(11:38):
and he said to them, you yourselves are aware how
it is not lawful or permissible for a Jew to
keep company with, or visit, or to come near or
to speak first to anyone of another nationality.
Speaker 4 (11:59):
But God has shown and taught me by words that
I should not call any human being common or unhallowed,
or ceremonially unclean. So this was the context that these
Jewish leaders and the whole.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
Jewish nation came from that.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
In their beliefs, in their faith, in their culture. It
was that lawful or permissible for them to keep company
with this centurion, visit with him, come near him, or
speak first to him.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
So in other words, he had to do all the initiating.
Speaker 1 (12:43):
In my view, that would be an extremely offensive climate
and culture wherein to navigate, show generosity.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
And be the bigger person. And this centurion did that
so much.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
He had to overcome so much opportunity to get I
would call it offended.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Over their behavior, their attitudes.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
And this is widespread through the Jewish nation. And I
think that it makes this centurion and his accomplishments in
becoming this ambassador.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
Because if he wouldn't have been doing.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
His job and representing the Roman government, he wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Have kept it.
Speaker 1 (13:48):
So this means that he had to have been a
very just and righteous man who.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Was sticking very closely to what is proper and correct.
He was both not letting.
Speaker 1 (14:01):
Them take advantage of and exploit them and convincing them
that he loves their nation. This is an amazing person
and I am impressed.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Okay, and I will.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
Highlight for those who are interested that in the topic
of not getting offended Psalm one hundred and nineteen, verse
one sixty five. And the King James, it says, great
peace have they that love Thy law, and nothing shall
offend them. Let's get to another passage about the centurion.
The same events are described in Matthew chapter eight, So
(14:40):
let's go there next, Matthew chapter eight, verse five through thirteen. Okay,
as Jesus went into Campernaum, a centurion came up to
him begging him. Now you may think that this is
described different events, because this one is stating that it
(15:05):
was the centurion that came up to him. So I
made to make a quick note about the culture that
in this culture, because authority was so understood and recognized, representation,
things like that.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Were understood and recognized.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Much that that's been eroded a lot, at least from
American culture, and so the understanding was solid and in
place back then in.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
This culture of authority and representation.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Therefore, the representatives.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Were referred to as if it was that very person.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
So it's important to understand the context of the writer
and the culture and the historical the historical context of
what was documented okay. So as Jesus went into Capernaum,
a centurion came up to him, begging him and saying, Lord,
(16:08):
my servant boy is lying at home.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Excuse me, I correct myself.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Lord, My servant boy is lying at the house paralyzed,
distressed with intense pains. And Jesus said to him, I
will come and restore him. But the centurion replied to him, Lord,
I am not worthy or fit to have you come
under my roof. But only speak the word, and my servant.
Speaker 2 (16:35):
Boy will be cured.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
For I also am the man's subject to authority, with
soldiers subject to me, And I say to one go
when he goes into another common he comes and to
my slave, do this, And he does it. When Jesus
heard him, he marveled, and he said to those who
followed him, that is who adhered steadfastly to him, conforming
(17:02):
to his example in living, and if need be, in dying, also,
I tell you, truly, I have not found so much
faith in this with anyone as this with anyone, even
in Israel. Then he shares this particular person Matthew. Matthew's
(17:22):
account documents some additional comments Jesus made additional truth he share.
I tell you, many will come from the east and
west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
in the Kingdom of Heaven, while the sons and heirs
of the kingdom will be driven out into the darkness outside,
(17:44):
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Then to the centurion, Jesus said, go, it shall be done.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
For you as you have believed. And the servant boy
was restored to health at that very moment. Powerful So
I see that Luke remembered more of the details of.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
The exchange that resulted in the healing.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Luke was a doctor, so these things were obviously fascinating
to him, And Matthew remembered more about this teaching about Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob and sitting at the table with them
in the Kingdom of Heaven and the sons of the Kingdom.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
So interesting to see the.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
Different mindsets and personalities there. Let's keep going about the centurion.
The differences in the accounts of Matthew and Luke pertain
to different aspects being found memorable by each of them. Again,
in my opinion, as a student of the Word, this
is the same centurion.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
The first person I asked the first.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
My first resource in studying and preparing for this was
the Holy Spirit. I claimed to promise an Ephesians one to.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Receive his help.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
And my second resource was Matthew Henry commentary. I have
a print copy of the Matthew Henry Commentary of the
whole Bible, and I looked that up and I found
the way that Matthew Henry Commentary handled it was very responsible.
They handled each account in such a way that it
could have been the same centurion or a different one.
(19:38):
Their account just strictly discussed the events and commented on
the exchange and insights about spiritual aspects of the exchanges.
So I thought that was very responsible for them to
not get into the question. But I'm not an expert
as a student, and I am sharing my opinion that
(20:01):
this is all the same person. And I did consult
Rock because I wanted to find out from Rock kind
of what the consensus was. Because I didn't want to
be doing a bunch of research schlepping here ordering a.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Bunch of books.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
I thought, I'll see what Brock has to say about
the consensus.
Speaker 2 (20:23):
And I couldn't take seriously the.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
Things that Rock was sharing about it because one of
the things I noticed when I was asking different questions
is that Rock referred to a number of people.
Speaker 2 (20:43):
So there are a.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Number of soldiers involved in the crucifixion of Jesus. In
Mark fifteen sixteen and in Matthew twenty seven twenty seven.
Matthew twenty seven twenty seven and Mark fifteen sixteen.
Speaker 2 (20:59):
Both shared the.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
I believe the original language the original word is speirara,
but please.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Don't quote me on that.
Speaker 1 (21:09):
It's called a cohort in English, and it's a technical
term and it means up to about six hundred soldiers.
So it had been about five to six hundred soldiers
were participating in the crucifixion of Jesus. And when I
was asking Bradley's questions in preparation, it said that the
(21:33):
number was a quote unquote rhetorical.
Speaker 5 (21:37):
Exaggeration, and after that I couldn't take it seriously as
a resource for something like this, because if there's the Bible,
is the book of all books to be taken literally?
Speaker 1 (21:54):
Okay, let us keep going in the Matie burial. This
is another thought I had about the centurion that was
involved being involved in the.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Crucifixion of Jesus and in fact overseeing it.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
That so the Roman soldiers were the.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Ones responsible for carrying out executions that were declared.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
By the government.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
If you don't know that the government declined to create
the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the past of the
Jewish leaders that's in uh, in proximity to different passages
I'll read if you want to look that up for yourself,
and and and so the centurion, being in this leadership rule,
(22:43):
would have overseen.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
It, in fact did oversee it. Bible tells us that.
So we'll talk about that.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
We'll get into some different different accounts of that. But
by observation to people who might think, well, the centurion
and Capernaum loved the Jewish nation and he received this
great benefit of a personal miracle from Jesus that significantly
(23:12):
affected him and his daily life.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
So how would he have been the one that crucified Jesus?
Speaker 1 (23:19):
I would say, I do say if the centurion wouldn't
have carried out Jesus's crucifixion, he would have been killed
immediately as well as his men. This was an example
to me of a do or die situation. And so
that's what I'll say about that.
Speaker 2 (23:39):
Let's go to.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
Mark fifteen, Verses sixteen through thirty nine.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
Mark fifteen. Here we go. Now, the soldiers took.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
Him away into the palace, that is, the Praetorian, and
they called together the whole Roman cohort. Again, this is
hundreds and hundreds of soldiers in this place, milling around,
egging each other on those that are close of harming Jesus.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Okay, verse seventeen.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
And they dressed him in purple, and after twisting together
a crown of Florence, they put it on him, and
they began.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Saluting him, Hail King of the Jews.
Speaker 1 (24:29):
And they repeatedly beat his head with a reed and
spit on him, and kneeling they.
Speaker 2 (24:34):
Bowed before him.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
And after they had mocked him, they took the purple
cloak off him and put his own garments on him,
and they led him out to crucify him. And they
compelled a passer by coming from the country Simon of Syrene,
the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
Speaker 2 (24:58):
Then they brought him.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
I'll take a quick pause here to mention that I'm
not going to take time to get into why, but
in my experience of studying the Bible. The reason why
the sons of Sign the Sire were mentioned by name
is because their lives were marked with blessing as a
(25:24):
result of their father and these events. The way that
this is praised, the way that this account is laid out,
tells me that these sons received blessings from God as
(25:46):
a result of their father's role in carrying Jesus's cross
for that.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
Period of time. Distance.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Okay, let's get back to the account of verse twenty two.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
Then they brought.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Him to the place Galgatha, which is translated place of
a skull, and they tried to give him wine mixed
with merv but he did not take it. And they
crucified him and divided up his garments among themselves, casting
lots for them to decide what each man would take.
Now it was the third hour when they crucified him.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
The inscription of the charge against him read the King
of the Jews.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
And they crucified two rebels with him, one on his
right and one on his left. Those passing by were
hurling abuse at him, shaking their heads and saying, ha,
you who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild
it in three days? Save yourself by coming down from
the cross. In the same way, the chief priests also
(26:56):
along with the scribes, were mocking him among themselves and
saying he saved others, he cannot save himself. Let this Christ,
the King of Israel, come down now from the cross,
so that we may.
Speaker 2 (27:08):
See and belief.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
Those who were crucified with him were also insulting him.
When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole
land until the ninth hour.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
At the ninth hour.
Speaker 1 (27:25):
Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Helloi eloi lemma sebaktanai,
which is translated, my God, by God, why have you
forsaken me? And when some of the bystanders heard him.
Let me just take a quick note about verse thirty
four that the Bible says that Jesus became sin on
(27:49):
the cross, and in Galatians three thirteen, the Bible also
says that Jesus became the curse on the cross, so
hopefully that provides some context verse thirty five. And when
some of the bystanders heard him, they began saying, look,
(28:12):
he's calling for Elijah.
Speaker 2 (28:14):
And someone ran and filled.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
A sponge with sour wine and put it on a
read and gave him a drink, saying, let.
Speaker 2 (28:20):
Us see if Elijah comes to take him down.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
But Jesus let out a loud cry and died, and
the veil of the temple was torn in two.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
From top to bottom.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
So if you're not familiar with the historical context of this,
I believe the veil was something like ten layers deep,
So this was massive.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
It's a total supernatural act what happened. And the veil
was separating the Holy of Holies, where the presence of
God was from where the people could come. And that veil,
that separation being torn in a supernatural way starting from above,
(29:08):
really a beautiful.
Speaker 2 (29:10):
And special sign. Let's get back to the text.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
And when the centurion, who was standing right in front
of him, saw that he died this way, he said, truly.
Speaker 2 (29:22):
This man was the son of God. Wow. Wow, Okay.
Speaker 1 (29:32):
I would like to mention that this is the first
account or witness attesting that the centurion said this truly,
this was the son of God.
Speaker 2 (29:43):
And I find it interesting in light of my.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Belief by confidence, that this was the same person that
in the midst of in the midst of all the events,
all the people in their various roles and intensity of
people and events and things that were going on in
the situation.
Speaker 2 (30:11):
I am noticing that.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
This centurion had come to have doubts concerning Jesus's role
had begun because he expresses himself there and makes up
his mind what he believed, standing right there in front
of Jesus as he died. I find that so powerful personally. Okay,
(30:37):
let's go to Matthew twenty seven twenty seven through fifty four.
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the
Praetorian and gathered the whole Roman colport to him, and
(30:58):
they stripped him and put a red cloak on him,
and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put
it on his head and put a reed in his
right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him, saying,
Hail King of the Jews. And they spit on him
and took the reed and beat him on the head.
(31:19):
And after they had mocked him, they took the cloak
off him and put his own garments back on him,
and led him away to crucify him. As they were
coming out, they found a man of Syreene named Simon,
whom they compelled to.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Carry his cross. And when they came to a place.
Speaker 1 (31:40):
Called Galgatha, which means place of a skull, they gave
him wine mixed with bile to drink, and after tasting it,
he was unwilling to drink it. And when they had
crucified him, they divided his garments among themselves by casting
lots and sitting down. They began to keep watch over
(32:02):
him there, and above his head they put up the
charge against him, which read this is Jesus, the King
of the Jews. At that time, two rebels were being
crucified with him, one on the right and one on
the left, and those passing by were speaking abusively to him,
(32:24):
shaking their heads and saying, you, who are going to
destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself,
if you are the son of God, come down from
the cross. In the same way, the chief priests, also
along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying,
he saved others, he cannot save himself.
Speaker 2 (32:43):
He is the king of Israel.
Speaker 1 (32:45):
Let him now come down from the cross, and we
will believe in him.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
He has trusted in God.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Let God rescue him now if he takes pleasure in him,
For he said, I am the son of God, and
the rebels who have been crucified with him were also
in him in the same way. Now, from the sixth hour,
darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth that hour.
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a
(33:12):
loud voice, saying, Li Lima sabattuna, that is my God,
my God, why have you forsaken me? And some of
those who were standing there when they heard it, said,
this man is calling for Elijah. And immediately one of
them ran, and, taking a sponge, she filled it with
sour wine and put it on a reed and gave
(33:34):
him a drink. But the rest of them said, let
us see if Elijah comes to save him. So interesting
the difference in mindset that is revealed here, because the
other count kind of.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Makes it sound like everybody was of the same mind
Verse fifty. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice,
and gave up his spirit.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in
two from top to bottom, and the earth shook, and
the rocks were split. Also, the tombs were open, and
many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were
raised and coming out of the tombs. After his resurrection,
they entered the Holy City, appeared to many, and appeared
(34:25):
to many.
Speaker 2 (34:26):
Now.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
As for the centurion and those who were with him
keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and
the other things that were happening, they became extremely frightened
and said, truly, this was the Son of God. But
we know that it was the centurion that was standing
(34:47):
right in front of him, that was.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Overseeing his crucifixion.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
He's the one specifically that said truly, this was the
Son of God. And I would like to highlight that
this is the second witness verifying who said that. But
what he said of Deuteronomy nineteen fifteen talks about things
(35:14):
being established through the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Let's go to the last.
Speaker 1 (35:23):
Account here that I have Luke twenty three, Verses thirty
three through forty seven. And when they came to the
place called the Skull, there they crucified him and the criminals,
one on the right and the other on the left.
But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, for they do
(35:46):
not know what they are doing, and they cast lots
dividing his garments among themselves. So, in other words, despite
the century and being in a do or die situation,
what he was doing was wrong. Jesus is making it
(36:07):
clear by asking God to forgive him that before God,
the centurion should have died rather.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Than crucify Jesus. That makes an impression on me.
Speaker 1 (36:22):
And they cast lots dividing his garments among themselves, and
the people stood by watching, and even the rulers were
sneering at and saying, he saved others, Let him save himself.
If this is the Christ of God who's chosen one.
The soldiers also ridiculed him, coming up to him, offering
him sour wine and saying, if you are the King
(36:45):
of the Jews, saved yourself.
Speaker 2 (36:47):
Now there was.
Speaker 1 (36:48):
Also an inscription above him, this is the King of
the Jews. One of the criminals, who was one of
the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse that
and saying, are you not the Christ?
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Staying yourself enough?
Speaker 1 (37:02):
But the other responded and rebuking him, said do you
not even fear God? Since you are under the same
sentence of condemnation. And we indeed are suffering justly, for
we are receiving what we deserve for our crimes. But
this man has done nothing wrong. And he was saying, Jesus,
(37:23):
remember me when you come into your kingdom, and he
said to him, truly, I say to you today, you
will be with me in Paradise.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
Okay.
Speaker 6 (37:34):
I was following the punctuation there, and I shouldn't have,
because it is actually truly I say to you today,
you will be with me in Paradise.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
Jesus did not go to Paradise right away when he
was raised.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
It was after three days and three nights in the
belly of the earth.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
Okay, the translators put the comma before today instead of after.
Speaker 2 (38:00):
I just need to remember when.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
I say the verse that it could the way that
it's supposed to be said. Is truly, I say to
you today, you will be with me in Paradise. Verse
forty four. It was now about the sixth hour, and
darkness came over the entire land until the ninth hour
because the sun stopped shining, and the veil of the
(38:24):
temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with
a LOUDHOI said, Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit, and.
Speaker 2 (38:34):
Having said this, he died.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
Now, when the centurion saw what had happened, he began
praising God, saying this man was in fact innocent. So
during all of this upheaval and events and everything that
was going on, the centurion had been wondering if Jesus
(38:57):
was guilty, wrong, etc. And he saw it for himself
in that moment, which is so powerful to me, so
powerful that he kept his sense of self, his sense
of purpose, his sense of awareness. And anyway, let me
(39:19):
keep going on. You can have your own reflections the meditations.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
Let me.
Speaker 1 (39:25):
Move to Yes, I did want to mention that the
Bible refers to the centurion saying this man was in
fact as praise to God. And I wanted to mention
that I've learned a number of things from looking into
(39:46):
how the Bible defines different terms at times in the text.
So I will move on from that to the next
event with the center.
Speaker 2 (40:01):
Again.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
My argument is as a student of the Bible, that
this is the same person.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
One thing is.
Speaker 1 (40:10):
One of my main considerations is how spiritual progress even works.
Acts Chapter ten describes the centurion, identifies him as Cornelius,
and talks about him as someone who prays to God,
continually talks, gives a number of details about his spiritual life.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
And his.
Speaker 1 (40:40):
Physical you know, it's kind of his natural life, his
household and things like that.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
And I'll read that.
Speaker 1 (40:49):
But my consideration of how spiritual progress even works is
that a person doesn't go from just being worldly and
part of the fitting in with the system of this world,
fitting in with worldly society two suddenly.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
Being someone of constant.
Speaker 1 (41:17):
Prayer and the type of devotion to God that is
detailed here. This is something that is a progression, and
we see a progression with the Centurion in these different events,
and that is the main part, the main persuasion I
(41:40):
have that this is the same person.
Speaker 2 (41:43):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
Acts ten twenty two says that the entire Jewish nation
spoke well of the Centurion, and I just don't believe
that there were two such centurions. I just don't believe
that there was. The one heard him, the leaders, the
elders of the Jews spoke that he loves our nation,
(42:07):
He's built us a synagogue.
Speaker 2 (42:09):
And then this one, the entire Jewish nation spoke well
of him. I don't believe that this is two different people.
Speaker 1 (42:17):
Okay, let's see, and I think that given the scope
of the Roman soldier's involvement in Jesus' crucifixion again approximately
six hundred of them, up to six hundred of them,
I think it's realistic that the centurion who had supervised
the crucifixion ended up being promoted in a significant way
(42:37):
in his career.
Speaker 2 (42:39):
So God answered Jesus's prayer for.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
The centurion's forgiveness, and he wasn't guilty for Jesus's death,
even though he seems to have profited from it personally significantly. However,
the centurion seems to me to have remained very mindful
of his role in Jesus's death. So let's read. Let's
(43:04):
read the account I think. I think I'm going to
try Jamie Phillips translation. Here acts chapter ten, and here
we go. There was a man in Cesarea by the
name of Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the
(43:24):
Italian Regiment. He was a deeply religious man who reverenced God,
as did all his household. How easy is that to achieve,
even for a strong leader, one's entire household fearing God.
Speaker 2 (43:43):
What a what an accolade, what a testimony?
Speaker 1 (43:47):
What a what an account of who this man was. Okay,
he made many charitable gifts to the people and was
a man of regular prayer. About three o'clock one afternoon,
he saw perfectly clearly in a vision an Angel of
(44:09):
God coming into his room, approaching him and saying, Cornelius.
Speaker 2 (44:14):
He stared at the angel in terror and said, what
is it? Lord?
Speaker 1 (44:18):
The angel replied again, this is not because he was
calling the angel Lord. This is because he was identifying
the angel as representing the Lord.
Speaker 2 (44:33):
Let's get back to the text.
Speaker 1 (44:35):
The angel replied, your prayers and your deeds of charity
have gone up to heaven and are remembered before God.
Now send men to Jappa for a man called Simon,
who is also known as Peter. He is staying as
a guest with another Simon, a tanner whose house is
down by the sea. When the angel who had spoken
(44:56):
to him had gone, Cornelius called out for two of
his house servants and a devout soldier who was one
of his personal attendants. He told them the whole story
and then send them off to Joppa.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Next day. While these men.
Speaker 1 (45:13):
Were still on their journey and approaching the city, Peter
went up about midday onto the flat roof of the
house to pray. He became very hungry and longed for
something to eat. But while the meal was being prepared,
he fell into a trance and saw the heavens open,
and something like a great sheet descending upon the earth,
(45:36):
let down by.
Speaker 2 (45:37):
Its four corners.
Speaker 1 (45:39):
In it were all kinds of animals, reptiles and birds.
Then came a voice which said to him, get up, Peter,
kill and eat. But Peter said, never, Lord, for not
once in all my life have I ever eaten anything
common or unclean. Then the voice spoke to him a
second time. You must not call what God has cleansed common.
(46:04):
This happened three times, and then the thing was gone,
taken back into heaven. So I would like to point
out that verse again Deuteronomy. I think it's nineteen fifteen
that specifies things are confirmed or established by two or
(46:26):
three witnesses. So that's the purpose of the three times.
One aspect of the purpose of the three times is
to indicate that the matter is settled. This is fully
attested to, okay, verse seventeen. While Peter was still puzzling
(46:46):
about the meaning of the vision which he had just seen,
the men said by Cornelius, had arrived asking for the
house of Simon. They were in fact standing at the
very doorway, calling out to inquire of Simon's surname.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
Peter was lodging there.
Speaker 1 (47:03):
Peter was still thinking deeply about the vision when the
spirit said to him, there are some men here looking
for you.
Speaker 2 (47:11):
Get up and go downstairs.
Speaker 1 (47:12):
Go with them without any misgiving, for I myself have
sent them. So Peter went down to the bend and said,
I'm the man who are looking for. What brings you here?
They replied, Cornelius the Centurion, a good living and god
fearing man whose character can be vouched for by the
whole Jewish people, was commanded by a holy angel to
(47:35):
send for you to come to his house and to
listen to your message. Then Peter invited them in and
entertained them. On the next day, he got up and
set out with them, accompanied by some of the brothers
from Joppa, arriving at Cesarea on the day after that.
Cornelius was expecting them and had invited together his relations
(47:59):
and intimate friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met
him by falling at his feet and worshiping him, but
Peter raised him up with the word stand.
Speaker 2 (48:09):
Up, I'm a human too.
Speaker 1 (48:12):
Then Peter went right into the house in deep conversation
with Cornelius, and found that a large number of people
had assembled.
Speaker 2 (48:21):
Then he spoke to them.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
You all know that it is forbidden for a man
who is a Jew to associate with or even visit
a man of another nation. But God has shown me
plainly that no man must be called common or unclean.
That is why I came here when I was sent for,
without raising any objection. Now I want to know what
made you send for me, then Cornelius replied, four days
(48:46):
ago about this time, I was observing the afternoon hour
of prayer in my house, when suddenly a man in
shining clothes stood before me and said, Cornelius, your prayer
has been heard and your charitable deeds have been remembered
for God. Now you must send to Joppa and invite
here a man called Simon, whose surname is Peter. He
(49:09):
is staying in the house of a tanner by the
name of Simon, down by the sea. So I said
to you without delay, and you have been most kind
and coming. Now we are all here in the presence
of God. To listen to everything the Lord has commanded
you to say.
Speaker 2 (49:26):
Then Peter began to speak and solemn truth.
Speaker 1 (49:30):
I can see now that God does not discriminate between people,
but that in every nation, the man who reverences him
and does what is right is acceptable to him. He
has sent his message to the sons of Israel by
giving us.
Speaker 2 (49:45):
The good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is
Lord of all.
Speaker 1 (49:49):
You must know the story of Jesus of Nazareth, why
it has spread through the whole of Judaea, beginning from
Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed. You must have
heard how God anointed him with the power of the
Holy Spirit, of how he went about doing good and
healing all who suffered under.
Speaker 2 (50:08):
The devil's power, because God was with him.
Speaker 1 (50:11):
Now we are eye witnesses of everything that he did,
both with the Judean country and the Jerusalem itself. And
they murdered him by hanging him on across. But on
the third day God raised that same Jesus and let
him be clearly seen, not indeed by the whole people,
but by witnesses whom God had previously chosen.
Speaker 2 (50:34):
We are those witnesses, We who.
Speaker 1 (50:36):
Ate and drank with him after he had risen from
the dead. Moreover, we are the men whom he commanded
to preach to the people, and solemnly witness to the
fact that he is the one appointed by God to
be the judge of both the living and the dead.
Speaker 2 (50:52):
It is to him that all.
Speaker 1 (50:54):
The prophets bear witness, so that every man who believes
in him may receive forgiveness of sins through his name.
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit
fell upon all who were listening to his message.
Speaker 2 (51:11):
The Jewish believers.
Speaker 1 (51:12):
Who had come with Peter were absolutely amazed that the
gift of the Holy Spirit was being poured.
Speaker 2 (51:17):
Out even upon Gentiles.
Speaker 1 (51:20):
That means people not previously incovenant with God, for they
heard them speaking in foreign tongues and glorifying God. Then
Peter explained, could anyone refuse water or object to these
men being baptized? Men would received the Holy Spirit just
as we did ourselves, and he gave orders for them
(51:42):
to be baptized in.
Speaker 2 (51:43):
The name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1 (51:45):
Afterward, they asked him to stay with them for some days.
Speaker 2 (51:50):
How beautiful, how wonderful.
Speaker 1 (51:54):
So I consider from verse seven that his accordios close
associate was someone debout.
Speaker 2 (52:02):
I find that noteworthy.
Speaker 1 (52:05):
And I also notice in verse thirty three that he
viewed himself as being before God in what he did
in his life. I think that's powerful. Let me go
to one more account of it, just reading, just going
to read a different translation. Hopefully that's a blessing and
(52:28):
enjoyable for you as well. Acts ten now, captain of
the Italian regiment named Cornelius, was quartered at Cessaia. He
was religious and God fearing, and so was every member
of his household.
Speaker 2 (52:47):
He was also liberal in his charities to.
Speaker 1 (52:49):
The people, and continually offered prayer to God. About three
o'clock one afternoon, he had a vision and distinctly saw
an angel of God enter his house.
Speaker 2 (53:00):
And by name, saying Cornelius.
Speaker 1 (53:03):
Looking steadily at him, and being much alarmed, he said,
what is a lord? Your prayers and charities, he replied,
have gone up as a memorial before God, and now
send to Joppa and fetch Simon surnamed Peter. He is
lodging with one Simon, a tanner, who has a house
close to the sea. So when the angel who had
(53:26):
been speaking to him was gone, Cornelius called two of
his servants and a god fearing soldier who was in
constant attendance on him, and after telling them everything, he
sent them to Joppa.
Speaker 2 (53:39):
The next day.
Speaker 1 (53:40):
While they were still on their journey and were getting
near the town about noon, Peter went up on the
housetop to pray. He had got very hungry and wished
for some food, But while they were preparing it, he
fell into a trance. The sky had opened to his view,
and what seemed to be an enormus a sheet was descending,
(54:01):
being let down to.
Speaker 2 (54:02):
The earth by ropes at the four corners.
Speaker 1 (54:05):
In it were all kinds of quadrupeds, reptiles, and birds.
And a voice came to him which said, rise, Peter,
kill and eat on no account Lord. He replied, for
I've never yet eaten anything unhallowed, and uncleaned again.
Speaker 2 (54:21):
A second time a.
Speaker 1 (54:22):
Voice was heard which said, what God has cleansed you
must not regard as unhallowed. This took place three times,
and immediately the sheet was drawn up out of sight,
meaning that that was the purpose of the vision. Okay, Now,
just while Peter was wondering as to the mean as
(54:45):
to the meaning of the vision, he had seen the
men sent by Cornelius, having by inquiry found out Simon's house,
came to the door and called the servant and asked,
is Simon's surnamed Peter staying here? And Peter was still
p over the vision when the spirit said to him,
three men are now inquiring for you. Rise, Go down
(55:07):
and go with them without any misgivings, for it as
I who have sent them to you. So Peter went
down and said to the men, I am the man
you are inquiring for.
Speaker 2 (55:16):
What's the reason for your coming? Of your coming? Excuse me?
Speaker 1 (55:22):
They said, Cornelius, a captain, an upright, god fearing man
of whom the whole Jewish nation speaks well, has been
divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you
to his house and listen to what you have to say.
On hearing this, Peter invited them in and gave them
a lodging. The next day he set out with them,
(55:49):
some of the brethren from Chocola going with him, and
the day after that they reached cessarea. There Cornelius was
awaiting their arrival and had invited all his kinsmen and
intimate friends to be present. When Peter entered the house,
Cornelius met him, and, falling at his feet, did an homage,
but Peter lifted him up stand He said, I myself also,
(56:14):
and but a man. So Peter went in and conversed
with him, and found a large company assemble. He said
to them, you are aware that a Jew is strictly
forbidden to associate with a gentile or visit him. But
God has taught me to call no one unhallowed or unclean. Hence,
when sent forth, I came without raising any objection. I
(56:36):
therefore asked why you sent for me just at this
hour three days ago, replied Cornelius. I was offering afternoon
prayer in my house, when suddenly a man in shining
rainment stood before me, who said, Cornelius, your prayers have
been heard, and your acts of charity have been remembered
(56:57):
by God. Send therefore to Joppa and invite Simon surnamed
Peter to come here. He is staying at the house
in the house of Simon, a tanner close to the sea.
Speaker 2 (57:10):
I correct my reading earlier in the verse, Cornelius.
Speaker 1 (57:14):
Your prayer has been heard. That says to me that
there is something specific he was asking God for. And
I am anyway I won't speculate. Let me go on,
and your acts of charity have been remembered by God.
Sent therefore to Java and invite Simon surname Peter to
come here. He is staying in the house of Simon,
(57:36):
a tanner, close by the sea. Immediately therefore, I send
to you, and I thank you heartily for having come.
That is why all of us are now assembled here
in God's presence to listen to what the Lord has
commanded you to say.
Speaker 2 (57:49):
Then Peter began to speak. I clearly see.
Speaker 1 (57:52):
He said that God makes no distinctions between one man
and another, but that in every nation those who fear
Him and live good lives are acceptable to him. The
word which he sent to the sons of Israel when
he announced the Gospel of Peace through Jesus Christ is
Lord of all that word. You cannot but know the
(58:13):
story I mean, which has spread through the length and
breadth of Judaea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism which
John proclaimed. It tells how keep in mind that Peter
had fled from Jesus and he was not there. Let
me keep going to the text. Let me not even
(58:35):
get into all that. Okay, God had anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, so that
he went about doing good and curing all who are
oppressed by the devil. For God was with him, and
we are all witnesses to all that he did, both
in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. But
(58:56):
they even put him to death by crucifixion. That saying, Jesus,
God raised to life on the third day, and permitted
him to appear not to all the people, but to witnesses,
men previously chosen by God, namely to us who ate
and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
And he has commanded us to preach the people and
(59:18):
solemnly declare that this is he who has been appointed
by God to be the judge of the living and
the dead.
Speaker 2 (59:26):
To him, all the prophets bear witness that through his.
Speaker 1 (59:30):
Name, all who believe in him received the forgiveness of
their sins. While Peter was speaking these words, the Holy
Spirit fell on all who were listening to the word,
and all the Jewish believers who had come with Peter
were astonished that on the Gentiles also the gift of
the Holy Spirit was poured out, for they heard them
(59:53):
speaking in tongues and extolling the majesty of God. Then
Peter said, can anyone forbid the use of water for
the baptism of these people, men who have received the
Holy Spirit just as we did? And he directed that
they should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2 (01:00:11):
Then they begged him to remain with them for a time.
Speaker 1 (01:00:15):
So that, ladies and gentlemen, is the wonderful story of
the centurion who comes up in different instances in.
Speaker 2 (01:00:25):
My view, in the Bible.
Speaker 1 (01:00:27):
And I would like to make sure I expressed for
those who don't know that the way to be saved
in Jesus is to believe in your heart God raised
Jesus from the dead. Choose to believe God raised him
from the dead, and then confess with your mouth Jesus
as Lord.
Speaker 2 (01:00:49):
And the sermon. These things that Peter.
Speaker 1 (01:00:56):
Told the apostle, Peter told Cornelis and his household, these
are for you as well.
Speaker 2 (01:01:02):
The Bible says.
Speaker 1 (01:01:03):
That with a heart a person believes that God raised
Jesus from the dead, resulting in righteousness. That means you
become right with God when you believe that. And with
the mouth of confession that Jesus's Lord is made resulting.
Speaker 2 (01:01:20):
In salvation, so that's how you get saved.
Speaker 1 (01:01:23):
And once you do that, you can also ask to
be baptized in the Holy Spirit, just like Cornelius and
his household were. God bless you. Thank you for listening.
I'll be back again soon.
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