Now the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and what had happened, were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
This episode shows how divine realities changed even the hearts of indifferent people. The centurion and the soldiers who were keeping watch near the cross, having witnessed the earthquake and all the signs that took place, recognized the truth that the people had rejected. Their words, “Truly, This was the Son of God,” became the first testimony of human faith beneath the cross, spoken from the lips of Gentiles. This shows that the cross of Christ became an open door for all nations. The earthquake, the splitting of the rocks, and the tearing of the curtain revealed that nature was bearing witness to what people had not yet recognized: the holiness of God and the divinity of Christ. In this episode the earth was shaken not only from fear, but as an act of humble reverence before the death of the Creator. The centurion’s words became the birth of human faith, a light shining in the darkness.