Matthew 27:54

Centurion - Commander of a hundred men.

The 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 Romans used the term, would signify no more than a very eminent or Divine person; a hero.

Now 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 truth of his professions. The centurion was a pagan, and had probably no very distinct notions of the phrase "the Son of God" - perhaps understanding by it only that he was like the pagan heroes who had been deified; but he certainly regarded these wonders as proof that he was "what he professed to be." In the original it is "a son of a god;" an expression perfectly suitable to a polytheist, who believed in the existence of many gods. Mark Mar 15:39 says that they affirmed that "this man was the Son of God." Luke Luk 23:47, that they said, "Certainly this was a righteous man.' These things were said by "different persons," or at different periods of his sufferings - one evangelist having recorded one saying, and another another.

27:54 The centurion - The officer who commanded the guard; and they that were with him feared, saying, Truly this was the Son of God - Referring to the words of the chief priests and scribes, Mt 27:43: He said, I am the Son of God.