Most religions believe in a powerful God. It is assumed that God will use that strength for the benefit of His followers. That is a reasonable assumption, but it begs the question. What is real strength? It is easy to assume that real strength means exerting your will over another by using any means necessary, including force. But this week we see Jesus Christ demonstrate a different kind of strength.

We have come to Holy Week. It begins with Jesus humbly riding a donkey colt straight into the hands of His enemies. As the week progresses, it will appear that Christ’s adversaries are the ones in a position of power and Jesus is in a position of weakness. Yet what Christ does this Holy Week—setting His divine strength aside, being passive in the face of death—would change the world. To do what Christ did for us and our salvation took real strength.

Most religions believe in a powerful God. It is assumed that God will use that strength for the benefit of His followers. That is a reasonable assumption, but it begs the question. What is real strength? It is easy to assume that real strength means exerting your will over another by using any means necessary, including force. But this week we see Jesus Christ demonstrate a different kind of strength.

We have come to Holy Week. It begins with Jesus humbly riding a donkey colt straight into the hands of His enemies. As the week progresses, it will appear that Christ’s adversaries are the ones in a position of power and Jesus is in a position of weakness. Yet what Christ does this Holy Week—setting His divine strength aside, being passive in the face of death—would change the world. To do what Christ did for us and our salvation took real strength.

Rethinking the Solution to Sin. While not every religion uses the word “sin,” they all embrace the concept. Every religion acknowledges that mankind’s flawed attitudes or misguided actions are a source of pain, both now and potentially in eternity. So, every religion offers a solution: a set of laws, a moral code, a path to more enlightened behavior. What do they have in common? We are to solve sin through human effort. Be better! Try harder! This is the heart of every false religion. Those who correctly understand will never overcome their sins are crushed by guilt. Those who ludicrously believe they have defeated their sin are killed by pride.

True religion offers a better way—one that frees us from guilt and has no room for pride. Jesus teaches that the solution to our sin is not to work harder. It is to trust in the work He has done for us. Salvation comes through Spirit-wrought faith in Christ.

We know that the cross was an instrument of torture and execution. However, Scripture also uses the term “cross” to refer to any suffering that one endures because he is believer: the painful denial of the desires of the flesh; ridicule and persecution from unbelievers; etc. This is one reason people reject religion. They see Christians struggling in life with these crosses, while non-Christians often seem perfectly happy. Even the prophet Jeremiah asked, “Why do all the faithless live at ease?” (12:1).

Today, Jesus asks us to rethink suffering under the cross. It is not pointless pain. Our crosses are not how we pay for sin. Jesus already did that on His cross. Our crosses are not redemptive, but they are constructive. Any suffering unbelievers face is only bad, a foretaste of worse to come. But the suffering believers face under the cross is only good, a way Christ connects us tightly to Himself with fire-tested faith.

The Verse of the Day reminds us that one day, everyone will bow before Jesus of Nazareth and confess Him as Lord. Some will do so in grief and others in joy. God wants real repentance from every sinner so they might bend the knee to Christ in true obedience and confess with gladness that Jesus is Lord. The Church prays that God would rule our hearts through Word and Sacrament, that our repentance might be real and our obedience truly pleasing. Our God wants real repentance that leads to true obedience.

Today Christ tells us that for Him and for us, going God’s way means death must come before life. He calls on us to deny ourselves and follow Him on the way of the cross. Those words offend our sinful flesh and make our Old Adam cry with Peter, “Never!” So today the Church prays for the never-failing mercy of Christ that we might avoid such wicked and harmful thoughts and instead be guided on the cross-laden path to salvation. Then, and only then, do these words of Christ cease offending our flesh and become a joy and delight for our heart (Verse of the Day). The Church is militant: first the cross, then the crown.

From the beginning of time, God provided rest for His creation. He blessed the seventh day and set it apart, that man might learn to find his rest in God alone. In Jesus, the Christian finds rest from his burdens, rest from his battles, and rest forever in heaven. The Christian finds rest in Jesus.

Over the next three Sundays we hear Jesus’ Missionary Discourse (Matthew 10:5-42). Last Sunday we saw the unworthiness of the servants God calls by mercy. Today the emphasis is still on the Ministry of the Word, but the focus shifts from the servants to the people they serve. We see the compassion and love of God for this world, love so great that he called ministers of the Word to share His grace and mercy and foretell of the coming kingdom of heaven. The Holy Ministry is given by God out of compassion for his people.

The Season: After reliving the great events of the life of Christ, the worshipping Church spends half a year focusing on the teachings of Christ. The Church wears green during the season of Pentecost as the Spirit uses those teachings of Jesus to grow the faith of believers. The appointed lessons teach us the characteristics of the Holy Ministry, the Christian, the Church, our God, and the Christian life.

The Sunday: We believe in the Triune God. The third and longest of the ecumenical creeds underscores the importance of this Sunday’s message. The doctrine of the Trinity is not a logical exercise or a dogmatic excursion. It’s central to our salvation. The Triune God is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Lose this doctrine, and as the Creed says, you lose it all. A Jesus who is less than God is also less than Savior. The Holy Ministry proclaims the Triune God.