Enthroned between the cherubim

Our book group is reading How God Became King by NT Wright. The title makes the premise pretty clear, but it's a twist from people's normal conception for a couple of reasons. First, most suppose that God isn't actively reigning yet, because look at how messed up stuff is! Second, he is reigning because he has already been enthroned—at the cross. 

The theatrics surrounding the crucifixion bear this out. Pilate said, "So you are a king then!" Jesus replied, "You have said so." Jesus is clothed (by others) in a scarlet/purple robe. He is crowned with thorns. People bow down in homage. Notice, however, that all this is done in mockery. That's key. God is most regal amidst people's derision.

This sets the stage for one more detail of the enthronement of Jesus as he is crucified. In the First Testament, YHWH's throne is between the cherubim whose wings overshadow the ark of the covenant. Cherubim seem to function as guardians, awesome in their appearance and might. But as Jesus is enthroned, it is between two . . . failed revolutionaries? (The best understanding is that the "thieves" were actually brigands, rebels, revolutionaries who were trying to see Rome out of Judea.) The ones who were to guard Jesus as he sat enthroned were men who were captured trying to violently overthrow Rome. They perhaps were following some other self-proclaimed messiah but had reached the end of their road before they reached their goal of a peaceful homeland. Some guardians.

This fits so beautifully. The mockery is complete. "Here, maybe the "king" needs some courtiers to attend him." His disciples nowhere to be found, the soldiers grabbed some guys who had tried fighting and failed. They go so well with this failed "king" who has succumbed to the might of Rome—not that it took much. 

But who is being mocked? Jesus seems to say, "You think you know, but you have no idea." The Creator truly is King when he gives himself up without using the biggest enemy of his creation, death. He's perfectly content to be attended by two guys who amounted to nothing when it came to killing the enemy. His enthronement is so ridiculous, there just might be something to it. 

When he is raised from the dead three days later, he is validated as the king he claimed to be, and he came to rule through overpowering life, not through the fearful control tactics of wielding death over his subjects. The Apostle Paul tells the Colossians that Jesus "disarmed the powers and authorities, [and] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." Here, Paul doesn't even call on the resurrection to vindicate Jesus's kingship. Jesus is triumphantly enthroned on the cross between the two lamest cherubim ever seen.