Mark 15:39

39. [3463][3464][3465][3466] omit κράξας after οὕτως.

[3463] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[3464] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[3465] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mark 1:1 to Mark 10:15; Mark 10:30 to Mark 15:1; Mark 15:20 to Mark 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mark 16:8 and Mark 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[3466] Codex Athous Laurae. 8th cent. Like N and Σ, it is written in silver letters on purple vellum. Contains Mark 9:5 to Mark 16:20, and, as in L, the shorter ending is inserted between Mark 16:8 and Mark 16:9. As in Δ, the text of Mark is specially good.

39. ὁ κεντυρίων. One of Mk’s Latinisms, already used by Polybius. In Mt., Lk., and Acts we have ἑκατοντάρχης or -χος. All three call him “the centurion,” the one whose duty it was to see the sentence of execution carried out, supplicio praepositus. Legend gives the name of Longinus (λόγχη, John 19:34) to him and to the soldier who pierced the Lord’s side, apparently identifying the two. Bede calls him Legorrius. He was standing close by, opposite the middle cross, and it was his duty to keep strict watch, which would be all the more necessary during the darkness, and what he had noted greatly impressed him. Legend says that he was healed of sore eyes by Christ’s blood, which fell on him during his watch, and that he became a Christian martyr. The Gospel narrative is very different.

ὅτι οὕτως ἐξέπνευσεν. The manner of Christ’s death, especially the confidence with which He committed His spirit into His Father’s hands, completed the conviction which had been growing in him. All three Evangelists endeavour to describe this heathen soldier’s attitude towards Christ’s death. He was awe-struck. This was no dangerous or despicable criminal. This Man was not merely innocent but righteous (Lk.), and he was quite right in claiming God as His Father (Mk, Mt.). In this way Mk confirms Lk.’s report of Christ’s last Word, which Mk himself does not record. He also, in recording the centurion’s comment, reveals his own feeling about the Gentiles. The moment after the death of the Messiah the power of that death is recognized by a heathen who had taken part in inflicting it. This heathen echoes the exordium of the Gospel. See on Mark 1:1. The centurion had perhaps been told that Jesus had supernatural powers and claimed to be Divine. But he had himself heard Him, with His dying breath, address God as His Father, and he knew that dying men do not tell wanton lies. The centurion, no doubt, meant far less than the truth when he called Jesus “a son of God.” But at least he meant that he had never seen a better man die a nobler death. Lk. says that in this confession the centurion “glorified God”; i.e. he unconsciously did so. Augustine (De Cons. Ev. iii. 20) treats the differences between the narratives well. The good character of the centurions in N.T. has often been noticed; cf. Matthew 8:5-13; Acts 10:22; Acts 22:26; Acts 23:17; Acts 23:23-24; Acts 24:23; Acts 27:43. Roman organization produced and promoted men of fine character. See Polybius Mark 6:24.