How did the centurion come to this conclusion? Once a sinner who tortures, now a friend who confesses Christ crucified: how did this happen? Well, consider the fact that his sin is brought into sharp relief by the blood he has spilled, in this instance, the innocent blood of the one who endures the evil he does. Perhaps in this blood he sees himself for the first time, his violence and disorder, and he is able to repent of this evil only as Jesus is willing to endure this wrong and allow his own blood to be shed. In this divine forbearance, in this grace—an act that far outstrips the demands of ordinary tolerance—the centurion is redeemed, not so much from the punishment he is due, but from the violence he does and his alienation from the person it afflicts.