³⁹ When the Roman officer^[a] who stood facing him^[b] saw how he had died, he exclaimed, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

⁵⁴ The Roman officer^[a] 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!”

⁴⁷ When the Roman officer^[a] overseeing the execution saw what had happened, he worshiped God and said, “Surely this man was innocent.^[b]” ⁴⁸ And when all the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw what had happened, they went home in deep sorrow.^[c]

⁴³ He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

⁴³ But the commanding officer wanted to spare Paul, so he didn’t let them carry out their plan. Then he ordered all who could swim to jump overboard first and make for land.

Paul Sails for Rome

27 When the time came, we set sail for Italy. Paul and several other prisoners were placed in the custody of a Roman officer^[a] named Julius, a captain of the Imperial Regiment. ² Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was also with us. We left on a ship whose home port was Adramyttium on the northwest coast of the province of Asia;^[b] it was scheduled to make several stops at ports along the coast of the province.

³ The next day when we docked at Sidon, Julius was very kind to Paul and let him go ashore to visit with friends so they could provide for his needs.

Cornelius Calls for Peter

10 In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer^[a] named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment.

⁴⁴ Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet. ⁴⁵ The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body.

The Faith of a Roman Officer

⁵ When Jesus returned to Capernaum, a Roman officer^[a] came and pleaded with him, ⁶ “Lord, my young servant^[b] lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”

⁷ Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”

⁸ But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!