If the devil ever laughs, this must have been one time that set him off uncontrollably. “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” affixed to the man’s own cross! Talk about particularly biting sarcasm!¹ He is finally proclaimed king, but only as He dies a cruel death, when it suits the gleeful mockery of those who opposed Him. The words are written in the three major languages of the day. Not just Aramaic, but also Greek and Latin, the languages of the cultural and political powers of the day. The devil’s apparent victory is maliciously announced to the entire world.

But the devil’s laugh is never the last. As his mocking laughter dies down, a greater sound fills the air, the laugh of God Almighty (Psalm 2:4). His will is being done here. His kingdom is advancing. The devil’s victory is a hollow one. God is indeed in the process of installing his king over all the nations.

The sign is written in three major languages, Aramaic, Greek and Latin. It is a great proclamation that the kingdom of God is breaking into the entire world. It is an anticipation of Pentecost, when the kingdom of God would come to peoples of all languages.

Here on the cross our Lord Jesus Christ is moving world history/church history into a new era. The chains and fetters of our sin and guilt are being broken. The great servant of the Lord is at work making rebellious people into servants of the Lord as well.

On the cross the Saviour takes our place as sinners and rebels. Perhaps that is what we think of first when we remember that Jesus took our place on the cross.

But the Saviour is also taking our place as a light in this world and restoring us to that task.² Here is the servant that Isaiah speaks of, the one who would “be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles” (Isaiah 42:6). That was the ultimate purpose of Israel, the servant of God. Why did God choose her great-grandfather Abraham, after all? So that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:18). God would work through one people to reach all peoples. But Israel had failed in that task. She was incapable of being a light in the world herself. She was overcome by the darkness time and time again.

And so the Saviour comes, not just to take her place as a failure before God, but also to restore her place as a light. That is what this sign in three languages illustrates. In Jesus, the people of God can become that servant that is a light to the Gentiles, to even the cultural and political superpowers of the day. In this Jesus of Nazareth the people of God, Abraham’s offspring, can finally be a blessing to all nations.

But look at how this happens! Look where that blessed light begins to shine. On a cross, of all things! A cross becomes the pulpit! What brings darkness to the King, brings light to the world! Where He is dying, life, the kingdom of God, is beginning to blossom in this world.

It is almost a paradox, this sign above the cross. But this is the paradox of the kingdom of God that is breaking into the world in Jesus Christ. It does not come like the kingdoms of mankind. It finds its point of entry in a cross! It comes when it appears to be defeated, when evil appears to get its own way! Light only comes to the world when the darkness of evil exerts its full strength. Here on the cross is the way through which the great victory of God is won.

Crosses become pulpits of the Great Kingdom. The Saviour himself shows the way. But He also equips us and enables us to bear these. His cross and our crosses are not the same. His cross allows us to bear our crosses. Because He was forsaken by God, because He lost the love of his Father, we can bear our crosses assured of the Father’s love. His cross allowed the Spirit to be poured out by whose power our light remains shining in this dark world.

It is not easy for us either. The devil at times may even rub his hands with glee. He is bent on mocking us, toying with us, even, like he tried to toy with the Saviour. But the devil never has the last laugh. Our God does. Let us bear our crosses as well, confident that through them the kingdom of God is advanced. The Saviour’s work on the cross does not free us from our own crosses. But his suffering transforms our suffering so that it speaks powerfully in this world. The devil’s mockery can become the Almighty God’s great proclamation. Blood of shed Christians can water the seed of the gospel. Our crosses of shame and disgrace can become pulpits that speak of the kingdom of heaven itself. May that fill us with joy and laughter!