I have casually mentioned the soldier at the cross in several of my sermons, but I have never stopped to think in detail about what the day Jesus was crucified was like for him. He saw enough that Matthew 27:54 records him saying, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

While some of what I’m about to say falls under the heading of speculation, most of it would seem to be a logical order of what happened. After being betrayed by Judas, Jesus was shuffled back and forth between Annas, Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilate. Pilate was the final stop before the crucifixion, but there were soldiers involved in every step of the final few hours before the cross.

There were soldiers present when Jesus was arrested. There were soldiers involved in carrying Jesus back and forth in the religious authorities’ efforts to have Jesus killed. There were soldiers in Pilate’s judgment hall, and there were soldiers who walked the Via Dolorosa on the way to Golgotha. Is it possible that this soldier was present throughout everything that unfolded during this long night and day? Could he have even met Jesus prior to this day, as Jesus was teaching, feeding, and healing the multitudes?

If he was one of the soldiers in the Garden of Gethsemane, he saw the compassion Jesus had for a man who hated him, who had come to arrest him when he healed and restored Malchus’s ear. Did he observe the restraint Jesus exhibited when He did not respond to the false charges made against Him? What about the physical abuse Jesus suffered? Was he there, and was he among those who placed stripes on the back of Jesus? What were his thoughts when Pilate condemned Him, even after acknowledging that he could find no fault in Him? What did he think when a man next to Jesus on the cross asked for forgiveness and heard Jesus say, “Today, you will be with Me in paradise.” He saw the love Jesus had for His mother even as He was dying. He had probably witnessed numerous deaths, but the earth had never trembled before, and the sky had never turned dark when a man took his last breath. Was he the one who gave consent for another soldier to thrust a spear into the side of Jesus?

Something so powerful happened on this day that he could not help but say, “This Man is the Son of God.” A Roman, a pagan, a battle-hardened soldier, saw what the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees could not see. What if he was one of the soldiers who guarded the tomb and saw the angels come and roll the stone away? What if he even dared to look inside? Some historical accounts say his name was Longinus.

While I cannot prove it, I believe he became a follower of Jesus. He saw enough to convince him that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. Are you convinced about who Jesus is?