Towards the end of Mark's Gospel, the author records the Centurion who has just witnessed Jesus' death on the cross as saying "truly this man was God's Son!" I wonder where the emphasis should go in reading this line?
If we want to emphasise Jesus' special status and origins (perhaps even divinity) we might hear the Centurion saying "truly this man was GOD'S Son!" Or if we are concerned to identify Jesus' place within the Holy Trinity then we might read "truly this man was God's SON!"
However, I'm not sure that this was the point that Mark is making here. It's not insignificant that the character is a Roman Centurion. It is likely he would have coins in his pocket which were stamped with the insignia of his Emperor Tiberius - 'son of divine Augustus' (i.e. son of a god). It seems to me that the best way to read this line is with the Centurion saying "truly THIS man was God's Son!" - THIS man and not that other man who claims this title.
This reading makes much greater sense than assuming the Centurion has a high Christology or worked out Trinitarian orthodoxy! What it means for understanding Christology and Trinity is for further discussion. What we do have in the verse is another way that Mark is challenging and subverting the power and authority of the Roman Empire.
