It was at his order that his soldiers pinned Jesus’ wrists and ankles fast to rough timbers with railroad spikes, but then when Jesus dies after a mere six hours on the cross, the centurion lets loose with the most extravagant affirmation of faith in the entire New Testament: “Surely this man was God’s Son,” he ventures after watching the way Jesus died, forgiving his enemies, welcoming a sinister gangster into Paradise, and handing his spirit over to God.