Luke 23:47-49

Rachel Workman: 47 When the Roman officer[i] overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.[j]” 48 And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow.[k] 49 But Jesus’ friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching.

This is a good example of God using the hardening of hearts for his purpose. Once his purpose had been fulfilled, the heart was allowed to see. 

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John Burnett:  ⁴⁷ Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was ^[a]innocent.” ⁴⁸ And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, ^[b]beating their breasts. ⁴⁹ And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.  The centurion recognized that Jesus had done nothing wrong, He was innocent of the crimes brought against Him by the Pharisess.  I wonder if he understood just how innocent Jesus really was.  He was the spotless, sinless Lamb of God.  Did the centurion understand what Jesus was doing on the cross.  Did those beating their chest truly understand what they had just witnessed?  God had to of opened their eyes so they could see what they had done.  I heard a preacher preaching on sin and false teachers.  He spoke of a survey done by a reputable pollster asking the question, did Jesus sin?  I don’t remember the percentage that said that Jesus could have sinned but it was a crazy number.  If Jesus sinned, we would all be condemned to hell because He could not have been the perfect sacrifice.  It is amazing to me that people who claim to be Christians don’t know who Jesus Christ really is.  The Jesus they have conjured up in their mind will not save them.  Only Jesus of the Bible, the perfect Lamb of God, who never sinned could pay the price and satisfy the wrath of God against us. 

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Tomorrow’s reading for Luke 23:50-54

⁵⁰ Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, ⁵¹ but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. ⁵² He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. ⁵³ Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. ⁵⁴ This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation,^[l] as the Sabbath was about to begin.