When Jesus told Peter, and the rest of the disciples, that he was on his way to the place of the cross, they still did not understand all Jesus meant. Why would Jesus claim to be the King, but also predict his death at the hands of the Romans on a cross? 

When Jesus enters Jerusalem, the place of God and God’s people, he is given a King’s welcome. Matthew tells us he enters on a donkey in order to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, “See, your King is coming to you, gentle, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech. 9:9; Matt. 21:5).  

The crowd shouts praise to their king, chanting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matt. 21:10). Do you see what they are saying about Him? This is the Son of David! This is the King who has come to save and deliver us! This is the one who has come to establish God’s throne forever. The Son of David has finally come back to Jerusalem to establish the Kingdom of God forever. 

When Jesus and his disciples gather to celebrate the Passover meal, instituted to celebrate their deliverance from Egypt, Jesus totally reorients this important meal. Instead of telling the story of the Exodus, He begins to talk about Himself. Matthew tells us,

Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take and eat it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks, he gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. But I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. (Matthew 26:26-29)

Instead of talking about the Passover of the past, Jesus is essentially saying He is the sacrificial lamb. And did you notice the language Jesus uses to describe His death? He uses the language of covenant. Jesus is saying that a new Passover is coming to bring about a New Covenant. 

Not only does he reorient the elements around Himself, He tells His disciples that His life and death are all about covenant. 

God promised to crush the head of the serpent. 

God promised to send the son of Abraham who will offer a sacrifice to bless the nations. 

God promised that His people would be a Kingdom of priests who offer sacrifices for the atonement of sin. 

God promised to send the son of David who will establish an eternal Kingdom and reign from an eternal throne. 

God promised that his Spirit and Law would be written on the hearts of His people. 

Essentially, Jesus is telling His disciples to have in their mind's eye on the entirety of the Old Testament and the Covenants. He is saying, God makes covenants, and I am here to fulfill them. God has promised and I am here to deliver on those promises. 

After this, we get to the final hours of Jesus’ life (or so it would seem).  These hours are described in such an astonishing way. Not only is the brutality with which they treat Jesus hard to fathom, there is also something else going on in the story. Let’s see if you can pick up on it. 

Matthew writes, “They stripped him and dressed him in a scarlet robe. They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’” (Matt 27:28-29). 

They placed a sign above his head that read, “This is Jesus, King of the Jews” (Matt 27:37). 

Earlier, as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, He taught that He would destroy and rebuild the temple in three days, and while He was revealing what was to come with His death and resurrection, the leaders did not understand. At the crucifixion, the crowd mocked Him for this claim. The crowd mocks Him for this claim. They say, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross! (Matt 27:40). When Jesus claimed He could build the temple in three days he was not just making a miraculous claim, He was making a claim of Kingship. 

It’s as if they are saying, “Some king. He said he’d build the temple, but there he is on the cross.” 

Luke tells us about the criminals being crucified with him. One of the criminals hurls insults at Jesus. But the other criminal says, “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom, (Luke 23:42). 

What story are the gospel writers telling? They are telling the story of the enthronement of a king. Did you notice it? 

Jesus is given a royal robe, a crown of thorns, and a King’s staff. They mock him by saying, "Hail, King of the Jews." They mock His claim of being the king who will build a temple. They even place a sign above His head stating that He is the King of the Jews. 

Yet, the first person to recognize the true kingdom and kingship of Christ is the man being crucified next to Him. Even Peter didn’t see this coming. 

Jesus is not simply King after the cross. Jesus is the King on the cross. The cross is not simply a Roman executionary device, it is a throne. The crucifixion isn’t just an execution; it’s a coronation.  

The cross is the place, the throne, by which God is establishing his Kingdom. 

The Son of the woman has come to crush the head of the serpent at Golgotha—the place of the skull (Gen 3:15; Matt 27:33). 

The Son of Abraham, with the wood laid on his shoulders, has come to offer a sacrifice that will bless the nations (Gen 22:6-14; John 19:17-41). 

The Son of David, seated on the throne of the cross, has come to establish God’s eternal Kingdom (2 Sam 7:13; Matt 27:27-44). 

The crucifixion of Jesus is an enthronement ceremony. The King of the cosmos has come to reclaim all that was lost in Eden. The son of the woman, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham is now King.  

This is the ultimate reversal. The kings of this world exert their power by putting others on crosses, but the King of heaven rules by putting Himself there. The fruit of the tree in the garden brought death and exile; the fruit of the tree of the cross brings life and invitation into the Kingdom. The cross is the place of God by which He establishes His Kingdom on earth forever.