Westminster Abbey in London has a rich historical background. In the 10th century, Benedictine monks began a tradition of daily worship there that still continues today. The Abbey is also the burial place of many famous people, and every English monarch since ad 1066 has been crowned at the Abbey. In fact, 17 of those monarchs are also buried there—their rule ending where it began.
No matter how grandiose their burial, world rulers rise and fall; they live and die. But another king, Jesus, though once dead, is no longer buried. In His first coming, Jesus was crowned with thorns and crucified as the “king of the Jews” (John 19:3,19). Because Jesus rose from the dead in victory, we who are believers in Christ have hope beyond the grave and the assurance that we will live with Him forever. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (11:25-26).
We serve a risen King! May we gladly yield to His rule in our lives now as we look forward to the day when the “Lord God Almighty” will reign for all eternity (Rev. 19:6).
To learn more about the crown and cross Christ bore, check out The Mockery and Majesty of the Cross at discoveryseries.org/hp081
At Jesus’ crucifixion, all of the disciples (except John) were in hiding (Matt. 26:56; John 19:26). However, a group of women from Galilee kept vigil at the execution grounds until His burial (Matt. 27:55; Luke 23:55-46). “Many other women” were also there (Mark 15:41), but only four are identified in John 19:25: “his mother” (Mary); “his mother's sister” (whom scholars say is Salome, the mother of Zebedee's sons James and John); “Mary the wife of Clopas” (believed to be “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph”); and “Mary Magdalene” (see Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:40). Sim Kay Tee
