Luke goes so far as to say that many of the bystanders, seeing all this, repented what they had done: “When all the crowds who had gathered there for the spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts” (23:48). He also changes Mark’s account to say that the Roman centurion who saw Jesus die “praised God,” and echoed Pilate’s verdict: “Certainly this man was innocent!”
