A Good Friday Reading for a Worship Service

For Good Friday 2009, our pastor came up with a simple Good Friday service that included readings about the crucifixion of Jesus from the perspective of people who were present at the crucifixion. My assignment was to write about the Roman centurion who oversaw the crucifixion. In response, I wrote the following monologue that the centurion may have given to people who asked about the crucifixion:

" I am a centurion who was once assigned to duty in Jerusalem. It was the worst posting I've ever experienced. Even though we gave the Jews the freedom to worship the way they wanted, they resented our presence in their land. They were always complaining and causing problems, and, occasionally, leading rebellions against us. We could never satisfy them.

I'll never forget the day we crucified the man known as Jesus of Nazareth. We expected trouble, so I had all of my men-all 100 of them-on duty in case something happened.

We were afraid of trouble because of all the things we had heard about his man. The Jewish leaders didn't like him, but the common people did. The common people! The outcasts. The tax collectors. The sick. The prostitutes. The poor. These were the people Jesus helped, and we heard all the stories of the compassionate and giving Jesus. We also heard stories of miracles that were hard to believe. But we knew that the people loved Jesus and believed in Jesus, and we were afraid that the people would try to save him...so we were ready just in case. It was my job to expect trouble and be prepared to deal with it.

What we didn't expect was how this man died. I've seen many men die that ugly, painful death on the cross. They screamed. They cursed. They struggled for breath. They went insane. They died slowly and horribly, sometimes lasting for days. Crucifixion was not just to punish a criminal; it was also meant as a warning to other people.

Jesus of Nazareth was different. He didn't scream or curse; he forgave those who had caused him to be crucified. He didn't lose control of himself; he was in control. And rather than letting death take him, he chose the moment of his death. I'll never forget his last words: After saying, "It is finished," he said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit," and he died.

What kind of man, helplessly hanging on a cross, has the power to do that? Who puts the final touches on his life and then, in a way, orders his own death? I am a man under orders and I give orders to the men under me, but never had I experienced what I saw in Jesus.

The leaders of the Jews may have called him a blasphemer. The people may have called him a miracle-worker and a great teacher.

But as I saw the way he died, I determined that Jesus was not just a man. I remember exactly the words I spoke after he died, "Surely this man was the Son of God."

I believed it then. I still believe it. This man was the Son of God."

Sources: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament of the Holy Bible