S146P2 – Moments of clarity: the Roman contingent
Mt. 27:50-54
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
There are many phrases that begin with “there are two kinds of people in this world.” A common adage separates the haves from the have nots. We make these simple dichotomies usually to prove a point. For example, we might say that the world is made up of those who believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and those who do not. Yet, this is not such a simple dichotomy to draw. It makes no distinction between knowledge and faith. This division is incomplete and leaves things to be addressed. The question is one of whether people can people can have a revelation of who Jesus Christ is without being his, to know who He is without believing in him.
There is a lot we do not know of this Roman centurion and those who were with him. We read about their moment of enlightenment when everything happening in that place and around them indicated clearly that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. What we do not know is whether this admission of factual knowledge led to saving knowledge. We would be naive to think that everyone who recognizes the identity of Christ also calls him Lord of their lives. This is not to say that these Roman soldiers fall into the category of those who did not believe in faith, but it paints an illustration of the possibility. In fact, if we consider the fallen heavenly host, we see that it is possible to know who Jesus is yet not accept him.
It is sad to consider, but many will know full well who Jesus is yet decide not to follow him. The demons know who He is, but their knowledge will not save them. [Jam. 2:19; Lk. 8:26-33] It is important for us to be able to distinguish between facts and faith when we are ministering to others. To understand that a person can have one without the other should guide how we share Christ. It also should guide how we live these Christian lives because we want to make sure that we are people of genuine faith. To know of him is different than to know him. Father, help us to minister effectively to others about faith in Christ, and keep our faith from being just a repository of facts.