When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”  Matthew 27:54

And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:39

            A centurion such as the one at Jesus’ crucifixion was probably the expert executioner and security detail for the scene.  He job was make sure everything went smoothly and peacefully.  Easily he saw hundreds of people die on these crosses.  A difficult job.  Jesus’ death was different.  The centurion “saw how he died…”  Jesus didn’t curse or blame anyone.  The centurion probably was the target of abuse by many dying people.  But Jesus seemed to die willingly.  Maybe Jesus spoke to him (it’s not recorded).  Maybe the centurion heard the chatter about him or had previously heard about him.  Either way, the man connected the dots at the cross and at some level believed.