Mark 15:39

15:39 Now when the centurion, ¹  who stood in front of him, saw how he died, ²  he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!”

Luke 23:47-49

23:47 Now when the centurion ³  saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ⁴  23:48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. ⁵  23:49 And all those who knew Jesus ⁶  stood at a distance, and the women who had followed him from Galilee saw ⁷  these things.

[15:39]  ¹ sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like Paul.

[15:39]  ² tn Grk “the way he breathed his last”; or “the way he expired”; or “that he thus breathed no more.”

[23:47]  ³ sn See the note on the word centurion in 7:2.

[23:47]  ⁴ tn Or “righteous.” It is hard to know whether “innocent” or “righteous” is intended, as the Greek term used can mean either, and both make good sense in this context. Luke has been emphasizing Jesus as innocent, so that is slightly more likely here. Of course, one idea entails the other.

[23:48]  ⁵ sn Some apparently regretted what had taken place. Beating their breasts was a sign of lamentation.

[23:49]  ⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[23:49]  ⁷ tn Technically the participle ὁρῶσαι (Jorwsai) modifies only γυναῖκες (gunaike") since both are feminine plural nominative, although many modern translations refer this as well to the group of those who knew Jesus mentioned in the first part of the verse. These events had a wide array of witnesses.