TRUTHFUL ADMISSIONS THE DAY JESUS DIED 

The morning and afternoon of the day Jesus was crucified, a number of people made open confessions about whom He really was. Hours before His crucifixion, Jesus stood before the Jewish Sanhedrin and enraged its members when He responded, “I am” when asked if He was “the Christ, the Son of the Blessed” (Mark 14:62). But what were mere mortals openly admitting about God’s Son that fateful day? Who were some of these? 

Judas Iscariot, the betrayer. Judas had covenanted with the Jewish leaders to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:14-16). The morning Jesus was condemned to death, however, Judas returned to those leaders and “brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood” (Matthew 27:3-4). Sadly, Judas proceeded to go out and hang himself (Mattew 27:5). What did he gain by confessing that Jesus was “innocent?” Did he receive monetary compensation for such? No. Was he elevated to a high position, or did he have praises heaped upon him for such an admission? No. He simply told the truth — Jesus’ blood was innocent because He was the sinless Son of God (Hebrews 4:14-15). 

Pilate’s wife. When Jesus was being questioned by Pilate, the governor of Judaea, Pilate’s wife sent this message to him about the Christ: “Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him” (Matthew 27:19). Just as in the case of Judas, Pilate’s wife would not be rewarded or compensated for making such an admission about Jesus. Yet, her honest analysis was to call our Lord “just.” The word “just” is often used interchangeably in the New Testament with the word “righteous.” “Just” is from the Greek word dikaios, which means “in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God ... innocent, faultless, guiltless” [Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, p.148]. Our Lord was upright and innocent, and the wife of Pilate recognized it. 

Pilate himself. Three times in a span of time that could not have exceeded three hours, Pilate admitted that Jesus was innocent. “Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man ... And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, Said unto them ... I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod ... And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him” (Luke 23:4; Luke 23:13-15; Luke 23:22). Pilate was by no means a committed follower of the Christ, yet he admitted the truth: there was no fault in Him. 

An unnamed criminal. Jesus was crucified at Calvary with one criminal on His right hand and one on His left (Luke 23:33). At one point, “they that were crucified with him reviled him” (Mark 15:32). But, it is also written that after one of those malefactors railed on Jesus, the other one responded by saying to him, “...we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man [Jesus, rdc] hath done nothing amiss” (Luke 23:41). This criminal (that was nigh unto death) simply gave an unbiased appraisal of Jesus’ innocence. 

A Roman soldier. After Jesus died, amazing things began to happen. The veil of the temple was torn, there was an earthquake, and graves were opened (Matthew 27:50-53). That is when the Roman soldier in charge of the crucifixion, as well as those that were with him, made a great admission: “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” (Matthew 27:54). These soldiers had no built-in favoritism for Jesus. They simply called it as it really was: “Truly this was the Son of God.” 

Judas Iscariot, Pilate’s wife, Pilate himself, one of the thieves, plus a centurion and those with him — what did all of these have in common? On the day of our Lord’s death, each of them, in one way or another, made a truthful admission about Jesus, confessing that He was innocent, just, and the Son of God. There was no material, social, or political gain for any of them by making such an admission. They simply spoke the truth, and their truthful statements are recorded in the Bible for us. 

Do we believe that Jesus really is the Son of God, that He rose from the dead, and that He still lives? Absolutely. Why? Because the word of God declares these truths for us. The message of Jesus’ life and acts that He carried out is recorded in order to convince us that He was the Christ, the Son of the living God (John 20:30-31). Those truthful admissions that we have examined — those that were made on the day of Jesus’ death — serve to reinforce the message that runs throughout the first four books of the New Testament: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. May we ever appreciate His sinless life and His sacrifice that provides for the salvation of our souls. “Truly this was the Son of God.”  

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