Surely, This Man Must 

be the Son of God

by David Williams

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A highlight of my college years was a “Spiritual Emphasis Week,” featuring two greatly gifted communicators. One was a musician named Ken Medema, who, though he was blind, could see inside the world I was living in and the games I was playing with God. He had a unique gift of seemingly writing and arranging on the spot and weaving it into the scriptural emphasis of the day. Also, during that week, I was blessed to get an up close and personal look at the ministry of Grady Nutt. Those of a certain age remember him being well known as a Christian comedian who eventually made it to the country music staple Hee Haw and was touted as the “Prime Minister of Humor.” He had a way of making the scripture come alive with his storytelling and homespun humor. Sadly, he passed away in a tragic plane crash a couple of years after this impactful event in my spiritual formation.

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One day, during this emphasis, Grady Nutt told a story. He explained that the story was not explicit in scripture, but if one looked closely at the Gospels, it was easy to read between the lines and understand that something like this could have happened. I’ve retold my version of this story many times through the years and thankfully give Grady Nutt credit each time. I will share it as best I can remember it after 43 years:

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On a beautiful Middle Eastern day, the hillsides were bathed in sunlight as the sounds of hammering and sawing emanated through the window in the little backyard carpenter’s shop in the sleepy little town of Nazareth.

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A young Roman soldier was walking through town that day as he was taking a well-earned break from soldiering for the Empire. He was on official leave, returning to his Italian home to visit his wife and small children. He wondered how much they had changed in his absence. The soldier walked up to the little carpenter shop, smelling the fresh-cut lumber and admiring the functional table and chairs being built by a young man and his son. The soldier did what soldiers were allowed by law to do, He stopped to conscript a local into the task of carrying his pack for a mile.

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When he barked his order through the open door of the workshop, the carpenter’s son, Jesus, saw the frustration on his dad’s face and stepped up cheerfully, saying, “Dad, I’ve got this one. You go ahead and finish this project.” The Roman soldier couldn't care less who carried it, he just wanted a break. He looked at the boy, grunted, and pointed at the bag, hoping the adolescent could manage the weight. Jesus picked up the pack with no problem and started walking out of town with the soldier.

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After a hundred yards of silence, the boy broke the ice and curiously spoke in rapid fire, “Hi, I’m Jesus! Have you been on a long journey? Why are you alone? Are you going home? What is it like there?” The weary Roman answered. ”I have been gone a long time, and yes, finally I get to go home. I don’t know what it’s like now. When I left, my children were young, my wife was beautiful, and my town was a great place to live. A lot can change in 4 years.” Jesus politely responded, “I hope you find all is well.”

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The soldier began to sense this was no ordinary middle school kid. As he considered that reality, he noticed the massive shiner Jesus had below his left eye. “How’d you come by that?” the soldier inquired, pointing at Jesus’ black eye.  Jesus answered, “Oh, nothing to it really.” He told the soldier about a schoolyard scuffle he’d had with a classmate recently. In the heat of a highly contested soccer game, Jesus explained, “A new kid in town didn’t like the way things were going as my team was playing tough defense against his as the clock was running out.”  The aspiring Renaldo got frustrated and took a swing, as Jesus explained it, connecting with a bit of a sucker punch. It was a bang-bang kind of thing, and soon, the game ended. The soldier asked Jesus, punching the wind, “I bet you gave him two back, right then left?” Jesus answered, No, I just told him, 'No sweat man, it's just a game, but if it is such a big deal to you, go ahead and hit me on the other side here to balance it out.”  The soldier stopped dead in his tracks, looked at Jesus, and said, “That’s Crazy!  That’s not the way the world works. You’ve got to be tougher than the next guy, put them in their place, or they will keep hurting you.” They started walking again, and Jesus explained, “Funny thing is, he didn’t actually take another swing. He just looked me in the eye and said he was sorry, that I was right, it is just a game, and he could use a friend like me to help him adjust to living in this new town.”

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The soldier and the boy walked. As they neared the one-mile distance coming out of Nazareth, there was a stake sticking up from the dirt right off the pathway. People had placed it there to let all these Romans know that their one-mile obligation had come to an end. As they approached the stake, the soldier began to get ready in case Jesus did what many others had done: drop the soldier’s pack and run away, often leaving a bag full of broken valuables. As they passed the stake, the soldier had both hands ready to catch the bag and protect the gifts he’d obtained for his wife and family. The stake came and went, and Jesus kept walking, calmly saying to the solider, “Dude, it’s ok, I’ll carry it another mile for you. You have a long journey ahead.

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As the second mile concluded, Jesus paused, put the sack down carefully, and shook the soldier’s hand, saying, “Blessings on your journey, sir. May Father God put his hand of protection upon you and your family.” Still stunned at the unusual demeanor of this foreign kid, the soldier politely nodded and continued on his way, contemplating the strange encounter.

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Time marched on with him. Nearly twenty years in fact. Life changes, grandkids, and promotions. A lot of years and miles stood between him and the home he seldom saw. Now, he was an officer with the rank of Centurion.  A hundred men answered to him, and today they had the grueling task of executing some prisoners on the outskirts of Jerusalem. These Israelites had to be shown their place and kept in line. It was his job to make sure all could see that Caesar was in charge!  The mission was being carried out with a cold and deadly efficiency.  He knew some of his men were more sadistic than others, but as long as the job got done, that’s what mattered. Three Hebrew men on three crosses stood as silhouettes against the darkened sky. The Centurion’s attention was drawn to the center cross. This man was different. “No common criminal,” the Officer thought to himself, staring at the little placard above the dying man’s head.  It boldly stated sarcastically, “JESUS OF NAZERETH- KING OF THE JEWS.”  The Centurion was drawn to the man’s demeanor and his words from the cross. His Roman spoke to himself.  “I know this man.” He was unable to place the face, battered, bruised, and bleeding. Then he focused on the fresh black eye. The man’s actions, attitude, and empathy are expressed as he hangs dying. Like a bolt of lightning, it came to him. Thunder swelled in his ears. The boy from Nazareth, 20 years ago, that baffled him so. The numbers added up, and the name Jesus came to his memory. Yes!  The soldier turned to hide the tears gathering at the corner of his eyes. He composed himself, looked back at the face on the central cross, and heard Jesus say words like, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Thinking of the Nazarene boy, the soldier watched as the “man of sorrows” took his last breath after speaking the words, “It is finished.” 

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Something arose from a place deep in his heart, a place he forgot existed, and the centurion proclaimed Truth that came to him. From where, he wasn’t sure. These words of light in darkness and life in the midst of death, “Surely, this man must be, the Son of God!”