As the crucifixion of Jesus concludes, several physical events occur that make it obvious that something important has happened — the afternoon sun goes dark for three hours and there is an earthquake, causing rocks to be broken in half. Several of the people who are witnesses to what is occurring realize that this man had to be someone special.

“Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” (Matthew 27:54, also see Mark 15:39)

If Jesus was going to pick a phrase by which He would want people to remember His life on earth, “Truly this was the Son of God,” would certainly be a good one. If Jesus was going to have a tombstone — which, of course, would be a wasted effort since the tomb will only be occupied for three days! — this would be a suitable epitaph to put on His tombstone. It’s the perfect phrase to represent the life of Jesus on earth.

In Luke’s version of this event (see Luke 23:47), the centurion makes a slightly different statement, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous man.” While this phrase also describes Jesus, it’s clearly not quite as good as the phrase about Him being the Son of God. However, wouldn’t it be great if people used that phrase to describe your life? When people reflect on your life, wouldn’t you like them to say, “This was a righteous person”?

Based on your life so far, what phrase do you think would best represent your life? What would you like it to be? Some people actually do have such phrases (epitaphs) printed on their tombstones. If you could choose a phrase to be permanently displayed with your name for all to see, what would it be?

Is there a phrase that summarizes how you lived your life? Is your identity tied to your natural profession? Perhaps you would choose to be remembered as a wonderful mother, father, husband, wife, etc. Here are some examples of these from actual tombstones:

• Died Oct 27, 1881 — She lived each day as if it were her last, especially this one
• Sir John Strange — Here lies an honest lawyer, And that is Strange
• He was a good husband, a wonderful father, but a bad electrician

Aside from the humorous twists, these are all nice tributes. If any of us are remembered this way, that would be wonderful. However, what a blessing it would be to be remembered as a servant of God. If there was one phrase to represent your life, would it include God? It doesn’t have to be put on your tombstone, but let’s live our lives in a way that when we pass from this life, those who knew us will say, “This was a servant of God.”

Here’s a little quiz for you. In the table below, there are 12 epitaphs from actual tombstones. See if you can match each to the appropriate name in the column on the right — most of these names were celebrities in years past. Apologies to our younger readers who may not recognize these names — the celebrities you are familiar with are mostly still alive!

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.

Quiz Answers: 1-E, 2-G, 3-I, 4-L, 5-J, 6-H, 7-B, 8-K, 9-C, 10-A, 11-F, 12-D