In the other Gospel accounts, the cross is associated with shame. (In the ancient world, this was certainly true.) But in the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to the cross as His moment of glory. John carefully demonstrates that Jesus is in total control; the cross doesn’t happen to him, but He willfully embraces this path of suffering that leads to the empty tomb. And for His followers, the cross is not only a way of salvation but also a way of life. By seeing the cross in light of the empty tomb, we can dare to see the cross the way Jesus saw it: as a throne.