By O.S. Hawkins
At some time or another, most of us have been caught in a “Freudian slip,” an inadvertent mistake in speech revealing an unconscious thought of some kind. This is closely akin to the “double entendre,” a particular way of saying something that has a double meaning.
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Having stripped Jesus naked, beaten him with a whip, and battered his head with a reed, his enemies began to mock and spit upon him. Then a Roman soldier spewed out sarcastically, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (Mark 15:18). They even nailed a sign over his head, stating, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Matthew 27:37). Meaning this as a cruel joke, these soldiers unwittingly never spoke or wrote greater truth. He was a King, all right, but his kingdom was not of this world. He came to rule over the human heart . . . not on some earthly throne.
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A few hours later, the religious types added their ignorance to the barrage of double entendres around the cross: “He saved others; himself he cannot save” (Matthew 27:42). Unknowingly, they blurted out for all posterity the substitutionary aspect of Jesus’ death. He could not save himself and save us at the same time.
And who of us can forget the thief hanging next to him? “If you are the Christ, save yourself.” Then quickly he added, “And us!” (Luke 23:39). Jesus could not do both. He died so we might be saved.
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CODE WORD: SOVEREIGN
Let these three sayings, embedded in the larger story of the cross, remind you today of God’s sovereignty over the events leading up to the crucifixion. He was in total control. Marvel at this, because you are a part of this story too.
PASSION PROCLAMATION
For the LORD is the great God, and the great King above all gods. — PSALM 95:3
Lord, thank You for bearing in my place not only the pain and suffering but also the mockery and ridicule that accompanied it. Reign today as Lord on the throne of my heart. In your name I pray, amen.
[Read the Bible Gateway Blog post, The Daniel Code: An Interview with O. S. Hawkins]
The above article is excerpted from The Passion Code: 100 Days with Jesus by O.S. Hawkins. Copyright © November 2019 by Thomas Nelson. Published by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com. Pages 122-123. All rights reserved.
The Passion Code is published by HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc., the parent company of Bible Gateway.
Bio: O. S. Hawkins has served pastorates, including the First Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, for more than 25 years. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, he has three earned degrees (BBA, MDiv, and DMin) as well as several honorary degrees and is presently a PhD candidate at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the president of GuideStone Financial Resources, with assets under management of 16 billion dollars, serving 250,000 pastors, church staff members, missionaries, doctors, university professors, and other workers in various Christian organizations with their investment, retirement and benefit service needs. He is the author of more than 40 books, and speaks regularly to business groups and churches all across the nation. All of the author’s royalties and proceeds from the entire Code series go to support Mission:Dignity. You can learn more about Mission:Dignity by visiting MissionDignity.org.
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