New Living Translation
Matthew 27:54
54The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
Matthew 27:54 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
- New International Version (NIV)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!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
- New King James Version (NKJV)So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Context of Matthew 27:54
52and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. 53They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people. The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!” 55And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.
Read all of Matthew 27Matthew 27:54 word by word
Ὁ δὲ ἑκατόνταρχος καὶ οἱ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ τηροῦντες τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἰδόντες τὸν σεισμὸν καὶ τὰ γενόμενα ἐφοβήθησαν σφόδρα λέγοντες· ἀληθῶς θεοῦ υἱὸς ἦν οὗτος.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Now whenδέde · thenG1161
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- the centurionἑκατόνταρχοςhekatontarchēs hekatontarchos · centurionG1543
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- withμετάmeta · with/afterG3326
- himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- watchingτηρέωtēreō · to keep: guardG5083
- JesusἸησοῦςIēsous · JesusG2424
- sawὁράωhoraō · to see: seeG3708
- the earthquakeσεισμόςseismos · earthquakeG4578
- those things that were doneγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
- they fearedφοβέωphobeō · to fearG5399
- greatlyσφόδραsphodra · veryG4970
- sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Trulyἀληθῶςalēthōs · trulyG230
- thisοὗτοςhoutos houtoi hautē hautai · this/he/she/itG3778
- wasεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- the Sonυἱόςuihos · sonG5207
- of Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
Cross-references for Matthew 27:54
- Matthew 27:36Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there.
- Matthew 8:5When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer came and pleaded with him,
- Acts 10:1In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment.
- Acts 21:32He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul.
- Acts 23:17Paul called for one of the Roman officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander. He has something important to tell him.”
- Acts 27:1When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment.
- Mark 15:39When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”
- Luke 23:47When the Roman officer overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.”
- 2 Kings 1:13Once more the king sent a third captain with fifty men. But this time the captain went up the hill and fell to his knees before Elijah. He pleaded with him, “O man of God, please spare my life and the lives of these, your fifty servants.
- Acts 2:37Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
- Acts 16:29The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
- Revelation 11:13At the same time there was a terrible earthquake that destroyed a tenth of the city. Seven thousand people died in that earthquake, and everyone else was terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
- Matthew 27:40“Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”
- Matthew 26:63But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
- Luke 22:70They all shouted, “So, are you claiming to be the Son of God?” And he replied, “You say that I am.”
- John 19:7The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.”
Commentaries on Matthew 27:54
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 54The centurion - The Roman officer who superintended the execution, called centurio, from centum, a hundred, because he had the command of one hundred men. Truly this was the Son of God - An innocent, holy, and Divine person; and God thus shows his disapprobation of this bloody tragedy. It is not likely that this centurion had any knowledge of the expectation of the Jews relative to the Messiah, and did not use the words in this sense. A son of God, as the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 54Now when the centurion - Centurion, a captain of a hundred soldiers. He was here placed over the band that attended the crucifixion. They feared greatly - They regarded these things as proof that God was angry, and they were terrified at the prospect that vengeance was coming on them. Truly this was the Son of God - They had heard, probably, that Jesus professed to be the Son of God. Seeing these wonders, they believed that God was now attesting the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 51-56Verses 51-56 The rending of the veil signified that Christ, by his death, opened a way to God. We have an open way through Christ to the throne of grace, or mercy-seat now, and to the throne of glory hereafter. When we duly consider Christ's death, our hard and rocky hearts should be rent; the heart, and not the garments. That heart is harder than a rock that will not yield, that will not melt, where Jesus Christ is plainly set forth crucified. The graves…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 54The Roman officer and the other soldiers were not Jewish. the Son of God: This could be a clear statement that Jesus is the unique Son of God (see Matthew 14:33; 16:16) or perhaps a general statement about the innocence of Jesus (see Luke 23:47). They reacted to the earthquake and everything that happened as signs of divine involvement in this event.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5454. Now when the centurion--the military superintendent of the execution. and they that were with him watching Jesus, saw the earthquake--or felt it and witnessed its effects. and those things that were done--reflecting upon the entire transaction. they feared greatly--convinced of the presence of a Divine Hand. saying, Truly this was the Son of God--There cannot be a reasonable doubt that this expression was used in the Jewish sense, and that it points…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 27:54
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 27
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Catena Aurea
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- John Lightfoot Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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