THE CENTURION IN MARK'S GOSPEL: WITNESS TO THE GOSPEL OF PAUL

The narrative character of the centurion in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 15:39) has raised many different questions and interpretations. From those who consider his inter-vention as the ultimate mockery and sarcasm that shows Jesus' failure to those who see in his brief acknowledgement the greatest confession of faith in Jesus. The evangelist does not clarify in his account the reason for his intervention or its significance: what led this centurion to affirm that the crucified man was the son of God? The many con-nections of Mark's Gospel with the Pauline letters offer interpretative clues to the questions and ambiguities of the centurion's brief intervention. Without them, it is diffi-cult to grasp the meaning of this character and with them, one discovers that Mark's Gospel shares with Paul the centrality of the message of the cross.