LUKE 23:44-49 CERTAINLY THIS WAS A RIGHTEOUS MAN2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 23:44-49 Certainly This Was A Righteous Man

The Roman centurion cried out, certainly this was a righteous man. This guy is not a Jew. He is not a follower of Jesus. He's a Roman soldier.

And yet as he sees what takes place upon the cross, he makes the declaration certainly, assuredly, guaranteed, this is a righteous man. What was it that the centurion saw? What was it that convinced him that he could be so certain that Jesus was

was a righteous man. It's not just that the Roman soldier here, the centurion, was declaring that Jesus was innocent. It's not just that he was saying, oh, you know, this is injustice. There's an innocent man and he was put to death anyway. The centurion is saying much more than that because in Matthew and Mark, it also points out that the centurion said, truly he is the son of God.

And so his declaration about Jesus was his understanding. He came to the conclusion as a result of what he saw that Jesus is the Son of God, a righteous man because he is God who became man.

And I want to take some time to focus in this morning on verse 47 here on this centurion. And what was it that brought him to this conclusion? Let's understand that we can have the same certainty that Jesus is a righteous man, that Jesus is the Son of God.

Now, first of all, a centurion was a person of rank in the Roman army. Normally, a centurion would be the commander of 80 to 100 men. They were the backbone of the Roman army.

They became centurions or commanders as they moved up in the ranks. And so these were career soldiers. They were in the military. They'd been serving well. They'd been, you know, showing loyalty and bravery and discipline. They were known for these things. And

And so as a result, they were entrusted then with men to lead. And they led from the front lines. I mean, when they were in battle, the centurions were on the front lines with their men. They were noble men. They were bold men, brave men. And that's the kind of person this centurion was. He was a centurion who had seen things.

Well, he'd seen lots go on before. This was not his first crucifixion. This was not his first execution. In fact, crucifixion would be carried out by special teams, which would be led by a centurion with four soldiers. And so this centurion was the captain of this specialized team that focused on

executing people through crucifixion. This was their job. This is what their primary responsibility was. They didn't expect anything different when they showed up for work that day. That was what they were supposed to do. That's what they were enlisted to do. And so this centurion saw his fair share of crucifixions. And he had four soldiers with him. And you can see that in John chapter 19 verse 23.

Where it tells us that they took Jesus' garments and...

They parted them or they divided them between four soldiers so that each soldier had a piece of Jesus' garments. Each soldier had their own piece from Jesus' wardrobe. And so you can see this team. There was the centurion there. There was the four soldiers there. And they were the ones who were administering this crucifixion upon Jesus and the two others who were being crucified.

But again, the point is that this was not their first. This was normal for them. It was their job. It was their routine. They'd done this probably hundreds of times. It was as common for someone to be crucified or executed as, I would say, you know, people being sent to prison today. We don't have the death penalty. You know, we do have it, but it's very rarely carried out.

But Rome didn't have a prison system. You know, there wasn't a sentence to prison. Prisons were only the holding place in order to, you know, hold you till you stand trial and then receive the sentencing, whatever that might be. And so crucifixion, execution, it was the normal method of dealing with criminals who had done a certain degree of crime against the state. And so this was their job. They were executing people. They were executioners. This centurion,

then was a seasoned experienced centurion and what would it take for him to come to the point where he makes this statement about Jesus I mean you might think well if it's his first one you know then okay he was kind of overwhelmed he just kind of exclaimed because he was emotional because this is the first time he's seen someone die but but that would not be the case with this centurion

If it was the only time anybody was crucified, you could understand, well, this is unique. But this was the common method for executing criminals and slaves. Sometimes they would have mass crucifixions. About 30 years prior to this event in 4 BC, there was a revolt that took place by the Jews. And so Rome crucified 2,000 Jews at one time.

Later on, at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, about 40 years after the crucifixion, they put to death Jews by crucifixion. Josephus says like 500 a day were being crucified. I mean, it was common for them.

They were experienced in this. They knew all about it. And so what would it take for this guy? He's seen it all. It doesn't bother him anymore. The blood doesn't bother him. The screams don't bother him. The agony doesn't bother him. He's callous to all that. He's experienced all that. It doesn't bother him. What would it take for him then to see what transpires before him and come to the conclusion, certainly this man is

is the Son of God, a righteous man. Well, I think it's four things that we can point to this morning. Four things that we can consider that the centurion observed that brought him to this conclusion. And I pray would help us also grow in our certainty that Jesus is the Son of God. Well, the first thing he saw was

I would suggest, is that Jesus behaved like no other. Jesus behaved like no one else behaved when it came to his execution and his crucifixion. Jesus behaved differently. How many people do you think this centurion heard claim innocence? How many people do you think he heard try to talk their way out of

this condition or this sentencing? How many begged to be out of this? How many tried to escape or tried to weasel out of their execution? I'm sure he's heard it all. He's heard all the excuses. He's heard all the proclamations of innocence. He's heard all the people come up with their reasons why this isn't fair and this isn't just. He's heard it all.

He's familiar with those stories. He's familiar with those plots. But then, here was Jesus. Now, Jesus actually was innocent. He wasn't just proclaiming himself to be innocent. He actually was innocent. But he did not proclaim it in an attempt to get out of the crucifixion. He didn't try to say, I'm innocent. Stop this right now. He didn't try to convince Jesus

the centurion, that this was not right, that he did not deserve it. Listen, Jesus did not fight against what transpired to him. He didn't fight against this injustice. He did not resist the crucifixion, the scourging, the things that took place. He behaved like no one else. I would ask you to consider with me Isaiah chapter 50 verse 6.

Here the prophet Isaiah speaking about Jesus, the Messiah, says, I gave my back to those who struck me and my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. I did not hide my face from shame and spitting. Notice what he says about Jesus. He's speaking as the Lord. He says, I gave my back to those who struck me. I didn't withhold my back. I didn't try to avoid the blows, but I

You wanted my back? Okay, here it is. Go ahead and strike me. He gave himself to this. He says, I gave my cheeks to those who plucked out the beard. Jesus was mocked by the Jews, by the Romans, and he just took it. He just accepted it. He didn't try to avoid it. He didn't kind of recoil back. They were grabbing for his beard and he let them have it. He let them grasp hold of the hair. He gave his cheeks to

to those who plucked out the beard. And he says, I did not hide my face from shame and spitting. And so as people are spitting upon him, demonstrating their spite and their disgust of him, he didn't try to dodge it. He didn't pull away. He just took it. Jesus behaved differently. When Jesus was scourged, he just took it.

Now this centurion would have overseen the scourging as well. And when they would scourge the person, of course they would shackle the person to the post and prepare him then to be scourged, to be whipped. And it would be normal, the centurion was used to seeing the people struggle against the shackles. Struggle to be set free. Fighting the soldiers against

Until the point that they're chained. I mean, it would be normal. It would be acceptable. Expected, rather, for the criminal to fight, to scream at his captors, to scream at those who whipped him, to curse at them, to threaten them. It would be normal. But Jesus, he behaved differently. He didn't scream and curse at those who led him. He was quite different.

Another passage that illustrates this still, it's Isaiah chapter 53 verse 7. Again, talking about Jesus says, He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shears is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

Now, this is a familiar verse to many of us. We've heard it many times. And I've always related this verse as I read it to Jesus before Pilate. Jesus before the Sanhedrin. As he's on trial and Jesus, the Bible declares, he was silent while all these accusations are hurled against him. And he was silent. He did not attempt to defend himself in those things.

But I think it's interesting, it goes on to say, he was led as a lamb to the slaughter. Jesus was not like a wild boar being led to the slaughter. He wasn't fighting against it. He wasn't like a wild horse fighting against the restraints, fighting against the leading. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And he was silent as a sheep is before its shearers.

There's a few words that he spoke, but even those words that he spoke were nothing like those who were executed. Again, those who would be scourged, they would be fighting, they would be thrashing, they'd be screaming curses and threats at the Roman soldiers. Hey, if I ever get out of this, you know, I'm going after you or whatever they would threaten them with. Probably things I shouldn't share from the pulpit today, right? I mean, they would be quite violent, cursing and screaming.

Also the time of scourging was a time of confession. That's the time where they would try to get the people to confess whatever crimes they had committed before they were executed. Jesus had nothing to confess. He wasn't shouting curses or he wasn't threatening his captors. Instead he gave his back. He offered it willingly. He submitted to it without the fight. When it came time to crucify or to nail the person dead,

to the wood. It would be normal for the criminal to be fighting against the soldiers trying to escape, trying to get out of being nailed to the cross. And so they would be thrashing, they would be fighting, doing everything that they could. In fact, that's why you had the Roman centurion with four soldiers. Because it would take the four soldiers to hold the man down and

Because, well, he's fighting for his life. And so they would likely each grab a limb, right? Everybody hold a limb down. A soldier would probably kneel on his chest to hold him down while another held his arm to begin attaching him to the cross. All the while, the guy is screaming and cursing and threatening.

That's normal. The centurion was used to that. That didn't bother these guys. They were accustomed to it. They were expecting it. They were prepared for it. They were trained for it. But then here was Jesus. He behaved like no other. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. He wasn't fighting against them. He wasn't hurling curses and threats at them. Demian Kyle says, I wonder if Jesus just walked over and laid down and says, okay guys, I'm ready. Maybe not that casual. But

Jesus wasn't fighting it. He was just submitting to it. He gave himself to it. He was silent. Jesus behaved like no other. And so probably very early on, the centurion's thinking, something's up with this guy. I mean, maybe he has a death wish. Maybe he wants to die, so he's just taking it.

But there's more than this that is going on. And so the second thing that I think the centurion was observing that day, which brought him to this conclusion, is there were supernatural signs like no other. He's crucified people before, but there were supernatural signs that were happening that had not happened any other time he's crucified someone. There were some amazing signs that happened as Jesus was crucified. They were unusual and more than that,

supernatural. What were these signs? Well I think there's three that we could look at pretty easily. Here in verse 44 and 45 of Luke 23 it describes a darkness that took place in the middle of the day. Then in verse 45 it talks about the temple veil that's torn and then over in Matthew chapter 27 verse 51 it says at the same time there was a great earthquake and the rocks were split.

These were unusual signs, but more than just unusual, we have earthquakes all the time, right? But the coinciding and the timing of these things made it quite unique. Check out verse 44 here in Luke 23. It says, Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And then in verse 45, Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.

So there was this strange darkness that came upon them. In verse 44, as he talks about the sixth hour to the ninth hour, that would be the same for us as 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. They counted the hours from sunrise. So sunrise about 6 a.m. that time of year. And so 6 a.m., six hours later is noon. And then three hours after that is nine. I'm sorry, the ninth hour is 3 p.m.

So from about 12 to 3, there was this darkness. Now Jesus was on the cross from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. And so this is talking about the last three hours of his time on the cross. There was this darkness. And it was not a normal kind of darkness. Remember that this was taking place right at the Passover feast.

The Passover feast takes place, well, whenever there's a full moon. So when the Passover feast is happening, there is a full moon. Always, every time, without exception. Because the Jewish calendar was not like our calendar. We base our calendar off of the solar year, or the solar cycle. And so we have, let's say, December 25th is Christmas. Now,

You could have Christmas and it be one kind of moon and Christmas next year be a different kind of moon and the next year be a different kind of moon because it's based on the sun. But the Jewish calendar was based on the moon and the cycles of the moon. And the Passover feast was related to the full moon at that certain time of year. So Passover was always at a full moon. Now that's significant because you cannot have a solar eclipse during a full moon. The moon's in the

exactly opposite position of where it would need to be in order to block the sun and provide an eclipse. So it wasn't the moon that darkened the sun. What was causing this darkness? Maybe it was just cloudy, right? It was like gloomy. It was like thundershowers. No, it wasn't that either. There's a Roman historian who writes about this event and

He says, there was an extraordinary eclipse in the sun at the sixth hour. The day turned into dark night so that the stars in heaven were seen and there was an earthquake. So this Roman historian writes about this event that took place and it wasn't a normal darkness. There wasn't just clouds covering the sky. He says, we could see the stars in heaven. So it wasn't just clouds blocking the sun, but there was this strange event that

happening when there was a full moon, so it wasn't an eclipse, but there was some supernatural event where the sun was darkened and they could see the stars in the sky as if it was night. I don't have the answer. I don't know what it was, but something happened. God did some supernatural work on this day for these three hours while Jesus hung on the cross.

Verse 45 also tells us that at this time the temple veil was torn. The sun was darkened and the veil of the temple was torn in two. Now the centurion would not have seen this. But Luke records it. He shares with us actually in Mark chapter 15 verse 38. That the temple veil was not only torn but it was torn from top to bottom. So you didn't have you know a troublesome priest you know messing around and pull a thread on the bottom of the string. And then boom you know it all came apart.

It wasn't some man-initiated thing, but from top to bottom. It's like God took it, grabbed hold of it from the top and just ripped it open. Now this is the veil that would separate the most holy place from the holy place within the temple. And what that means is the most holy place was where the Ark of the Covenant would be.

And it was where God was to dwell in the midst of his people there between the wings of the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant in the most holy place. And then the holy place that had the table for showbread. It had the lampstand. It had the altar of incense. And that's where the priests would minister. But they wouldn't go into the most holy place except for one day a year. But on this day as Jesus is being crucified.

God does something unique and he tears that veil in two from top to bottom. Hebrews chapter 10 talks about this and shows us that this is symbolic. That Jesus is the veil and that his body was broken which opened the way for man to approach God. To enter into the presence of God. And so the death of Jesus Christ accomplished this great work of giving us access into the presence of God.

But there was another sign that the centurion did see. And that is the earthquake that Matthew talks about in Matthew 27, 51. The earthquake and rocks were split open. This wasn't a little rumble. It was an earthquake. Rocks were split. Now the timing for this is noteworthy. Because here's Jesus on the cross. There's this strange darkness happening.

During these last three hours of his time on the cross. He dies with a shout. And we'll see that in a few minutes. And then there's this immediate earthquake. And then the sun is restored after that. And so you can see the centurion understood. These things are all tied together. This is not just random coincidence. In Matthew chapter 27 verse 54 says,

It tells us when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly saying, truly this was the Son of God. The centurion at that time recognizes this is not random coincidence. These things are all happening together for a reason and it brings him to the conclusion, truly this is the Son of God. This is a righteous man.

He's not just innocent, but he is God who became man. Because look at these signs. Look at what has taken place. This strange darkness in the midst of a full moon. We can see the stars, but we can't see the sun. We hear him cry out to breathe his last. And then there's this crazy earthquake that happens. And then the sun returns. This is, it's a supernatural work.

This is the work of God. And so it tells us that the centurion glorifies God. He's recognizing this is God at work. And truly this is the Son of God. Well that's not the only thing that he saw. He also saw Jesus speak like no other. He saw Jesus' behavior and he said, you know, that's different. He's not behaving like other people I've crucified. He saw the supernatural signs and he's thinking, that didn't happen with anybody else that I've crucified.

Nobody else had those kinds of signs accompany their death. But while Jesus hung there on the cross, he also got to hear Jesus' words. And I already mentioned, Jesus didn't curse and scream like the others who were crucified. But when he spoke, when he spoke, listen, think about this. You could take the words that Jesus said from the cross, pretty much all of them, you could place them at any point in his earthly ministry and it would fit.

His words there on the cross were consistent with his character, with his nature, with the love, with the kindness, with the grace that he demonstrated all throughout his ministry. It didn't change just because he was on the cross. We have, as you look at the different gospel accounts, seven statements that Jesus made from the cross. The first one we saw a couple weeks ago, Jesus said, Father, forgive them.

Now the order of these sayings might, you know, could be rearranged a little bit here or there. We don't know the exact order. But here at the get-go, Jesus is saying, Father, forgive them. As he's being nailed to the cross. Never before had the centurion experienced this, where...

Someone that he was crucifying was praying that the Father would forgive this centurion and these soldiers and those who were doing this against them. No one else ever prayed like this for those Roman soldiers, for that centurion. Jesus, well, his heart was not embittered toward them. He wasn't threatening them. He was praying, God, forgive them. Father, forgive them.

The next statement that Jesus made from the cross, Luke chapter 23 verse 43, Jesus tells the criminal next to him, today you will be with me in paradise. We saw this last week in our study. Today you'll be with me in paradise. Centurion's watching, he's thinking, no one else has ever given that kind of assurances to another person being crucified with them. No one else is hanging from the cross talking about their kingdom saying,

How they're going to enter into it. They're going to remember the other person. And today you're going to be with me in paradise. Nobody else spoke this way. Nobody else had this assurance. Nobody else could assure anybody else like this. This has never happened, this centurion thinks. He's speaking like nobody else ever has. The next thing he says, Jesus says, Woman, behold your son. In John chapter 19. And he tells John, behold your mom.

What Jesus is saying is, hey, I'm going away, so John, take care of her for me. Mary, look to John, let him take care of you. He's going to take care of you in my absence. Jesus is hanging there on the cross in incredible pain, but he's caring for others. He's concerned about others. And the centurion marvels. No one else marvels.

cares so much for others that they speak these words of comfort, that they're caring for them from the cross. This is different. No one else speaks like this at their execution. In Matthew 27 verse 46, Jesus says, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Here Jesus cries out to God and others, I'm sure the centurion was used to them cursing God, blaspheming God, speaking out against God, but

But here Jesus, he's having a discussion with God. He's expressing what he's experiencing. He's expressing the forsakenness that he feels, but not in anger towards God, just expressing this forsakenness, this loneliness. But also we know, we studied this a couple weeks back, in Psalm 22, Jesus, as he says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This is the first and last line of that psalm.

And so Jesus is pointing back to Psalm chapter 22, which is a passage that's all about him and describes with great detail the crucifixion that he was experiencing. And so not only was Jesus not cursing God and just expressing himself and having this prayer time and conversation with the Father, but he's also quoting the scripture through the midst of this.

No one else ever spoke like this. No one else ever handled the situation like this. In John chapter 19 verse 28, Jesus said, I thirst. Now what makes this significant is as you look at John 19 28, it tells us that Jesus said this, that the scripture might be fulfilled. And so there on the cross, Jesus is thirsty, just like

Everybody on the cross is thirsty because of the dehydration and the loss of fluids. And so here he is on the cross. He's thirsty, but he's recognizing the scripture needs to be fulfilled. And so he says, I thirst. He's making a conscious, deliberate choice to declare his thirst to fulfill the word of God. Again, the Roman centurion would be accustomed to people saying that they're thirsty, demanding a drink.

But Jesus, he was different. He wasn't saying the same things in the same way. Then in John chapter 19 verse 30, Jesus said, it is finished or paid in full. Now, this was an accounting term. It speaks to the fact that Jesus paid the full price for our sin. He received the full penalty for our sin. And so he says, it's finished. It's paid in full.

But also, we got to understand, this is a victory cry. This is like when you, you know, make it to the end of the video game. You beat the game and you're like, yeah! Or you accomplish something great and you're just rejoicing. You're celebrating. You have the best golf game of your life. Or you hit a home run or whatever it is. But there's this victory cry. There's this shout like, I did it! Yeah! And that's what Jesus is doing here. This isn't, ah, it's finished.

It's not a cry of defeat. I give up. I can't take it anymore. He's saying, I've won. I've conquered. I've paid it in full. It's done. He cries out in victory. The Roman centurion looking on, people don't cry out in victory from the cross. But Jesus does. He spoke like no other. And then finally, Luke 23 verse 46, Jesus says, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

I commit myself to you, Father. And having said this, he breathed his last. No one else ever spoke like this. Jesus was different. Even from the cross, his words were still kind. His words were still loving. He was still giving assurance. He was still forgiving. He was still fulfilling the scriptures, even from the cross. And the centurion is looking on. He's recognizing Jesus.

There's something different. There's something unique. No one else has ever behaved this way. No one else has ever had these signs accompany their death. No one else has spoken this way in the midst of their execution. And then finally, the fourth point. The centurion saw the way that Jesus died and he said, that's unique. That's different. No one else has ever died that way.

Again, it's here in Luke 23 verse 46. Jesus says, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Having said this, he breathed his last. What makes this unique? Crucifixions would normally last between two to three days. For a normal person, for a normal criminal, it was average to survive the cross for two or three days. Now, we looked at the crucifixion

details of the cross and what all entailed and the pain and all the I mean it's just horrendous stuff it's torture and it would be normal for these guys to endure this torture for two to three days you could understand that men on a cross wished they could end it early in that kind of pain in that condition they they wish they could say all right that's it I'm dead and they'll just be done they wish that

That was part of the horror of the cross, was that they were stuck. They were in this torturous condition. They weren't dead, but they wished that they were. It was Rome's point. That's what they wanted. That's what they were going for, this painful torture to spread it out as long as possible. If they had a choice between beheading and crucifixion, they would choose the beheading. Yeah, get it over with.

Or even if they didn't choose it, one hour on the cross and then they would have said, okay, take off my head because I just want this over. I want this done with. They wished they could end it sooner, but they could not. But here's Jesus. There's something different about Jesus. He has control. He determines the time. He says, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And then he breathed his last. He decided what time he died.

David Guzik puts it this way, this shows that Jesus gave up his life when he wanted to and how he wanted to. No one took his life from him. He gave it up when his work was finished. Jesus is not a victim we should pity, but a conqueror we should admire. He's a conqueror. Nobody took his life from him. He gave himself to the scourging. He gave himself to the crucifixion.

He said it's finished. He cried out in victory. He did what he came to do. He rejoiced in that. And then he committed himself to the Father and said, I'm committing my spirit into your hands, Father, and I'm letting it go. And he breathed his last. He determined the time. And that was so significant.

In Mark chapter 15 verse 39 it says, When the centurion who stood opposite him saw that he cried out like this and breathed his last, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God. The centurion, he was used to watching people wish they were dead but be unable to die. But he watched Jesus cry out and breathe his last. And he said, Truly this was the Son of God. This was different. This was different.

He had control. He wasn't trapped here like others are. He was able to release his spirit at the time of his choosing. This was a righteous man. This is the Son of God. These things brought this centurion to the conclusion, certainly, assuredly, I guarantee you, the centurion says, I've seen hundreds of people die. I've executed many people before. This is the Son of God. This really is the Savior.

I can tell that, the centurion would say, because he behaved like no one else. There was these supernatural signs that were going on that have not accompanied any other crucifixion that I've been a part of. He spoke from the cross like no other being has ever spoken from a cross. And then he died like no one else died, on his own terms, in his own time, when he chose, when his work was completed.

And so in verse 47 here in Luke 23, it says, When the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, This was a righteous man. He glorified God. He recognized this was not a natural occurrence, but this was a work of God. This was a work that God accomplished, that this Jesus truly is.

The righteous and holy son of God. He was convinced. He was certain. Are you? And that's the question for us today as we prepare ourselves to partake of communion. The worship team, you guys can come on up and the ushers are going to make ready. We're going to conclude this service by partaking of communion once again because communion is what Jesus gave us as a reminder of the cross.

He gave us the bread and he said, this is my body which is broken for you. And he said, do this in remembrance of me. Do it frequently. Do it often. And as you do, remember that I gave myself, I gave my body to be broken for you. That you could have your bonds broken. That your bondage to sin, that your bondage to death would be broken. Your shackles loosed.

No longer bound to those things because, well, remember what I did. Remember my body was broken for you. And then he gave the cup and he said, look, this is my blood which is shed for you. And do this in remembrance of me. Do it often. Do it frequently. And as you partake of it, remember that I bled for you so that you could be forgiven.

So that your sins could be washed. So that you could have right standing with God and have the hope of eternity. Jesus told us these things the night he was betrayed. The day before he was crucified. He wanted us to know. I'm going to this on purpose. Willingly. This isn't something I'm a victim of. This is my choice. My doing. This is a work of God. So that you can have everlasting life.

And through the process of his execution, it brought the centurion to the conclusion, this really is the Son of God. And that is the conclusion that we must come to because it really is who Jesus is. And so this morning as we partake of communion together, the ushers are going to pass out the bread and the cup and the worship team is going to lead us in worship. And at any time during the worship, I would encourage you and just open it up that you can partake

on your own between you and the Lord at any time during the worship, as you have the bread and the cup, go ahead and partake. But before you partake, make sure that you can clearly state as the centurion did. Make sure that you have that certainty. Make sure that you spend time with the Lord and receive and believe and hold fast to that yes, certainly, absolutely guaranteed,

Jesus is the righteous and holy Son of God. And as you make that claim like the centurion did, as you recognize who Jesus truly is and what he's done for you, then go ahead and partake. Remember Jesus Christ and what he has done and rejoice in his work on your behalf. Let's worship the Lord and you go ahead and partake.

making that cry, making that declaration, Jesus is the Son of God. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.