Today we commemorate the death of Jesus of Nazareth on the cross. In that moment, much was achieved; He gave His life as a ransom for the Church, He showed the Father perfect obedience to satisfy His justice, He took on the punishment due to sinners, He showed us a moral example of non-violence, and His eventually defeat of death itself on Easter Sunday was put into motion. I want to focus on just one aspect of our Lord’s crucifixion however; that it was His coronation as King.

Jesus’ mission, and the ‘gospel’ He came to bring, was always that the Kingdom of God was near, and was being established by Jesus. The reason this is ‘good news’ is because it means that the other Kingdom, which is the rule of Satan, will be usurped. All the many ‘kingdoms’ of Earth, all its power structures, all its value systems, are under the control of Satan (Matthew 4:8 ; John 14:30). That was what C.S Lewis depicted in ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ where the Ice Queen, representing Satan, rules over Narnia, but the rightful King, Aslan comes to establish his own Kingdom. Back to reality though, Jesus was crowned King of the Kingdom of God (because He is God) on this day. There was a procession. There was a crowning. He had two men on His right and left. He was raised up above the audience. And then there was a declaration.
But it was all so different.

His procession? He was mocked and whipped all the way, carrying a burdensome cross. His crowning? It was with thorns that pierced His skin, His own blood acting as gemstones. His left and right-hand men? Criminals. His exultation? He was lifted upon on the cross, He was nailed to. The declaration? This is the King of the Jews, but it was to mock Him, little did they know that it was very true.
But for us Christians, none of this should surprise us, and I don’t mean because we’re so familiar with the crucifixion that it has ceased to impact us (which is sadly true) but that the radical subversion of the cross is exactly what we should come to expect. Of course the coronation of the King of God’s Kingdom would happen like this! Why? Because it perfectly reflects the values of that Kingdom.
About the Kingdom, Jesus said:

• The first there will be least of us
• The greatest there shall be the servants
• Those who inherit it shall be the poor in spirit, the humble, the disliked
• Those who exult themselves, those who are rich, those who are well liked, will not enter it
• It is not an earthly Kingdom to be brought about by violence or might
• Weakness here, is power there
• What is mocked here, will be praised there
• What is pathetic here, will be glorious there

The values of the Kingdom, are the exact opposite of the values of this world, which is ruled by Satan. Here, we value glory, wealth, pleasure and fame. Here, those who are rich, those who are powerful, those who are attractive are who we exult. But in the Kingdom, it is the poor, the powerless, the disliked who we exult.
Jesus always referred to His coming crucifixion as His ‘glorification’. By worldly standards, the most shameful and humiliating thing that one could experience was crucifixion – where you are stripped naked before all and left groaning in pain as your lungs slowly drown in your own built up fluids. But in the Kingdom, that is precisely what is glory. That is how Jesus became our King!
What shall we take from this? Jesus told us to take up our own cross and follow Him. What He means is that this way of glory, these values that He showed us, are to be the path we take, the values we share. It means that the cross is not something Jesus underwent so we don’t have to, but rather, an example for us to strive towards. It means that we who are Baptised, now live in the Kingdom that Jesus established for us on the cross, and so the values of that Kingdom; humility, poverty, lowliness, suffering – are to be our values.

Paul says in Colossians 1:13:
“He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son.“

And now that we are in that Kingdom, we had better act like it. Saint Paul showed us what it means to act like a Kingdom-person when he compared his marks as a true Apostle to those false apostles who thought that since they were well-liked they must be true:
2 Corinthians 11:23-30: “Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

So then, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, if we truly belong to the Kingdom of God, and if our King is truly Jesus Christ, crowned with thorns, I urge you to put to rest your old values. Do you care about how well liked you are? Stop! Do you care about riches? Stop! And if you have riches, give it away! Do you only like those who are well-liked, those who are attractive! Enough! Give praise to the disliked and the lowly. Do you try to avoid suffering and insults? Strive for them! Do you try your hardest to avoid sorrow? Embrace it! Do you hate humiliation? Love it!