Matthew 27:32-37: a reflection

32As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they compelled him to go with them, that he might carry his cross. 33When they came to a place called “Golgotha”, that is to say, “The place of a skull,” 34they gave him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. When he had tasted it, he would not drink. 35When they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among them, casting lots, 36and they sat and watched him there. 37They set up over his head the accusation against him written, “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

As Jesus is crucified, the soldiers set over his head, in mockery, a written charge: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. They meant it as a taunt, a joke at the expense of this crucified man who had claimed, they thought, to be a king. And they set up over his head the accusation written, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Yet in their mockery they wrote the truth. Jesus was, and is, the King; and here, on the cross, he was reigning in the deepest way, not by force or splendor, but by laying down his life for his people. The mocking sign told the truth: the crucified one is the true King, reigning through the cross. The mocking sign proclaimed the truth: Jesus is King. Christ reigned from the cross, the true King. The crucified one is the true King. Christ's kingship was shown, not undone, on the cross.

Notice the irony and the truth in the sign over the cross. The soldiers meant it as mockery: here is your king, this beaten and crucified man, what a king. They intended to ridicule the very idea that this dying man was a king. And yet, without knowing it, they proclaimed the deepest truth: Jesus is the King. But his kingship was not the kind they could recognize, not a reign of force, conquest, and splendor, but a reign shown precisely here, in laying down his life for his people. On the cross, Christ was not defeated in his kingship but exercising it in its deepest form: the King who lays down his life for his subjects, who conquers not by killing but by dying, who reigns by love and sacrifice. What looked like the defeat of any claim to kingship was in truth his kingship revealed. This is the strange glory of our King: he reigns from a cross, having given himself for us. We have a King who reigns not by force but by self-giving love. Christ's cross was his throne, his kingship revealed. Our King reigns by laying down his life for us. The crucified Christ is the true and reigning King.

That is worth resting in, for the crucified Christ is the true King, reigning not by force but by laying down his life for us, so that the mocking sign told the truth. We can see the cross as the defeat of Jesus' kingship, as his mockers did; but the sign over his head proclaimed, without their knowing, the deepest truth: this crucified one is the King, reigning in the deepest way by giving himself for his people. Christ reigns from the cross. When you look at the cross, see not a defeated claimant but the true King, reigning by self-giving love. Rest in the truth that the crucified Christ is the true King, reigning not by force or splendor but by laying down his life for us, so that the sign the soldiers set over his head in mockery, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews, proclaimed without their knowing the deepest truth; for they meant it as a taunt at this beaten and dying man who had claimed to be a king, intending to ridicule the very idea, and yet Jesus was and is the King, his kingship shown precisely there on the cross, not undone but revealed in its deepest form, the King who lays down his life for his subjects and conquers not by killing but by dying, reigning by love and sacrifice, so that what looked like the defeat of his kingship was in truth his kingship revealed, and we have a King who reigns from a cross, having given himself for us.

Lord Jesus, as you are crucified, the soldiers set over your head, in mockery, a written charge: This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. They meant it as a taunt, a joke at the expense of this crucified man who had claimed, they thought, to be a king. And they set up over your head the accusation written, This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Yet in their mockery they wrote the truth. You were, and are, the King; and here, on the cross, you were reigning in the deepest way, not by force or splendor, but by laying down your life for your people. The mocking sign told the truth: the crucified one is the true King, reigning through the cross. Show me the irony and the truth in the sign over the cross. The soldiers meant it as mockery: here is your king, this beaten and crucified man. They intended to ridicule the very idea. And yet, without knowing it, they proclaimed the deepest truth: you are the King. But your kingship was not the kind they could recognize, not a reign of force and splendor, but a reign shown precisely there, in laying down your life for your people. On the cross, you were not defeated in your kingship but exercising it in its deepest form: the King who lays down his life for his subjects, who conquers not by killing but by dying, who reigns by love and sacrifice. What looked like the defeat of any claim to kingship was in truth your kingship revealed. Let me rest in that, for you, the crucified Christ, are the true King, reigning not by force but by laying down your life for me. When I look at the cross, help me see not a defeated claimant but you, the true King, Lord, reigning by self-giving love, and let me worship you as the King who reigns from a cross, having given yourself for me.