The Enthronement of the King Text: John 19:16-27
Introduction: The Center of All Things
We have come to the center of all history. All the lines of all the stories that God has ever told meet at this one place, on this one bloody hill. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is not an unfortunate tragedy that God had to salvage. It is not a plan B. It was the plan from before the foundation of the world. It was the event for which the world was made. This was not done in a corner; it was a public spectacle, a cosmic battle waged in broad daylight before the watching eyes of men and angels.
Here we see the absolute pinnacle of human rebellion. We see the cowardice of the politician in Pilate, the blind fury of the religious establishment in the chief priests, and the callous indifference of the world in the Roman soldiers. Men are doing their absolute worst. And yet, at the very same moment, God is doing His absolute best. In this passage, we see the perfect intersection of man's murderous free will and God's meticulous, sovereign decree. Every sinful action, every contemptuous word, every roll of the dice, was written into the script before time began. God is not reacting here; He is conducting. He is taking the most horrific crime in history and turning it into the most glorious salvation in the universe.
The world thinks this is the execution of a failed revolutionary. The Jews think this is the just punishment of a blasphemer. The Romans think this is just another Tuesday, another crucifixion of a provincial troublemaker. But God is pulling back the curtain to show us what is really happening. This is not an execution; it is an enthronement. This is not a defeat; it is a triumph. This is the coronation of the King of the Jews, the King of Heaven, and the King of your heart.
The Text
So he then delivered Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between. And Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, "JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS." Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews;' but that He said, 'I am King of the Jews.' " Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written." Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, a part to each soldier and also His tunic; now that tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be;" this was in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled: "THEY DIVIDED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND FOR MY CLOTHING THEY CAST LOTS." Therefore the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" From that hour the disciple took her into his home.
(John 19:16-27 LSB)
A King's Coronation March (vv. 16-18)
The scene begins with the final, cowardly act of Pilate and the grim procession to the place of death.
"So he then delivered Him over to them to be crucified. They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between." (John 19:16-18)
Pilate delivers Him over. The world always washes its hands. But notice who is in control. Jesus "went out, bearing His own cross." This is not the posture of a victim being dragged to his doom. This is the posture of a king, a priest, and a sacrifice, all in one. He is Isaac, carrying the wood for His own offering. But unlike Isaac, there is no ram in the thicket. He is the ram. He bears the instrument of His own death, which will become the instrument of our life. The cross was a symbol of Roman terror and shame, but He transforms it into the symbol of divine love and victory.
He goes to Golgotha, the Place of a Skull. Tradition says this is where Adam was buried. Whether that is true or not, the symbolism is potent. Here, on the hill of the skull, the second Adam will crush the head of the serpent. Death's domain will become the very place where death is defeated. It is on the skull of the old humanity that the new humanity will be born.
And they crucify Him between two others. This is done to heap shame upon Him, to number Him with the transgressors, as Isaiah prophesied. But God's purpose is different. Placing Jesus in the middle establishes Him as the central figure of all human history. On one side, a thief repents and is saved. On the other, a thief reviles and is condemned. And Jesus is in the middle, the great divider of men, the watershed of eternity. Every human soul is represented by one of those two thieves. Your reaction to the man in the middle determines your eternal destiny. There is no third option.
The Unwitting Herald (vv. 19-22)
In a moment of profound and divine irony, a pagan governor becomes the first evangelist to the nations.
"And Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It was written, 'JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.' ... and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, 'Do not write, The King of the Jews; but that He said, I am King of the Jews.' Pilate answered, 'What I have written I have written.'" (John 19:19-22)
Pilate does this out of spite for the Jewish leaders who backed him into a corner. He means it as a final, sarcastic jab. But God means it for glory. God commandeers the pen of a Roman politician to write the central truth of the gospel and nail it above the head of His Son for the whole world to see. Pilate, in his cynical pride, becomes a prophet against his will.
The inscription is trilingual. Hebrew is the language of religion, of God's covenant people. Latin is the language of power, of Roman law and empire. Greek is the language of culture, of philosophy and commerce. In these three languages, God proclaims that Jesus is King over every sphere of life: over the church, over the state, and over all of culture. This is a totalizing claim. Christ is not king of a small, private, religious part of your life. He is King of everything.
The chief priests, of course, are incensed. They understand the political implications of this title. They want it amended to reflect a subjective claim, not an objective fact. "He said, 'I am King...'" This is the perennial cry of the unbeliever. They want to reduce the kingship of Christ to a personal opinion, a religious preference. But Pilate, his heart hardened by God for this very purpose, refuses. "What I have written I have written." His stubbornness becomes the instrument of God's unalterable decree. God has written this title over His Son, and no man can erase it.
The Scripted Profanity (vv. 23-24)
As Jesus hangs there, the King of all creation, the soldiers engage in the mundane business of state-sanctioned murder.
"Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts... now that tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, 'Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it shall be;' this was in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled..." (John 19:23-24)
The soldiers see only the meager possessions of a condemned man. They divide His outer garments, but the tunic is another matter. It is seamless, woven from top to bottom. This was the kind of garment worn by the High Priest. Here, Jesus, our great High Priest, is being stripped bare. He who clothes the lilies of the field is made naked for our sakes. He takes our shame so that we might be clothed in His righteousness.
The seamlessness of the tunic is significant. It represents the perfection and unity of Christ's person and work. You cannot take Christ in parts. You cannot have Him as Savior but not as Lord. You cannot have His peace without His commands. He is one, seamless reality. The soldiers, in their ignorance, recognize that this garment should not be torn. They unwittingly honor the indivisible nature of the one they are murdering.
And in their greed, they fulfill the precise words of Psalm 22:18. "They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots." These men think they are acting freely, but their hands and their dice are moved by the invisible hand of God. This is the bedrock of our comfort. If God controlled the dice of Roman soldiers at the cross, then He most certainly controls the chaotic circumstances of your life. Nothing is random. Everything serves His ultimate purpose.
The New Covenant Family (vv. 25-27)
In the final section of our text, Jesus, in His dying moments, establishes the nature of His new community.
"But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!'" (John 19:25-27)
While the men have fled, the women remain. There is a faithful remnant at the foot of the cross. And it is here, in the shadow of death, that Jesus constitutes the church as His new family. He sees His mother, Mary, and the beloved disciple, John. His words are not merely a sentimental provision for His mother's care, though they are certainly that. This is a foundational, covenantal act.
He addresses His mother as "Woman." This is not a term of disrespect. It is the same word He used at the wedding in Cana. It is a formal, significant title. He is taking us back to the garden, to Genesis 3:15, where God promised that the seed of the "woman" would crush the serpent's head. Mary is the representative "woman" through whom the Seed has come. And now, at the cross, that promise is being fulfilled.
He then gives her a new son, John. And He gives John a new mother, Mary. He is forging a new family, a family defined not by natural bloodlines, but by the shed blood of the cross. The church is a family. We are brothers and sisters, sons and mothers to one another. Our bonds in Christ are deeper and more lasting than our natural family ties. Jesus is teaching us that to be His disciple is to be adopted into His household. "From that hour the disciple took her into his home." This is the practical outworking of faith. The church is a people who take one another into their homes, into their lives.
In the midst of His agony, His concern is for the establishment of His people. He is building His church, and the gates of Hell, which are on full display at Golgotha, cannot prevail against it. He is creating a new humanity, a new family, right at the epicenter of the death of the old.
Conclusion: The Victorious King
What do we see at the cross? We see the ugliest sin of man. We see political cowardice, religious hypocrisy, and worldly brutality. But through it all, and in it all, and over it all, we see the sovereign hand of God. We see a King being enthroned, not in a palace, but on a cross. We see a title being proclaimed, not by heralds, but by a pagan governor. We see a High Priest being consecrated, stripped bare so that He might clothe us. And we see a new family being born, a family united by His blood.
The cross is not a symbol of defeat. It is the wisdom and power of God. It is the throne from which Christ rules the world. It is the place where our sins were paid for, where the devil was disarmed, and where the new creation was launched. Therefore, we must not be ashamed of the cross. We must glory in it. For it is at the foot of that old, rugged cross that we cease to be orphans and aliens, and become sons and daughters in the household of God, forever.