“The throne of the cross” by J.L. Reynolds

“When Christ uttered, in the judgment hall of Pilate, the remarkable words—‘I am a king,’ He pronounced a sentiment fraught with unspeakable dignity and power. His enemies might deride His pretensions and express their mockery of His claim, by presenting Him with a crown of thorns, a reed and a purple robe, and nailing Him to the cross.

But in the eyes of unfallen intelligences, He was a king. A higher power presided over that derisive ceremony, and converted it into a real coronation. That crown of thorns was indeed the diadem of empire; that purple robe was the badge of royalty; that fragile reed was the symbol of unbounded power; and that cross the throne of dominion which shall never end.”

–J. L. Reynolds, “Church Polity or The Kingdom of Christ (1849)” in Polity: A Collection of Historic Baptist Documents, Ed. Mark Dever (Washington, D.C.: 9Marks Ministries, 2001), 298.