In Need of a Blessing

But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. Mark 5:33-34 (KJV)

Our text today is best understood by examining the pretext. Jesus has just returned to the region of Galilee. He is immediately met by a crowd of people pressing against him. One of the rulers of the synagogue came and fell down at his feet and told him about the situation involving his little girl. His daughter was extremely ill at the point of death. He begged Jesus to come to his house and lay his hands on her that she would be healed. Jesus consented to it and was on his way through the crowd to Jairus’ house to heal his daughter. Jairus was undoubtedly worried about his little girl and relieved at the same time that Jesus was on his way to heal her. All was going well until Jesus was interrupted by someone touching his clothes. What was going through Jairus’ mind when Jesus stopped and turned around? Did another person’s request interrupt Jairus’ blessing? Does Jesus know how important it is to get to his daughter’s bed side? His daughter was at the point of death. Who could possibly have a request that was more important than life or death? Let’s take a look at this scenario:

I. Jesus was Responding to Jairus’ Request
A. Jairus asked Jesus for a Healing Miracle for His Daughter
B. Jesus went with Jairus to honor His Request

II. The Unnamed Woman Who would not be Denied
A. Was determined to be Healed of Her Hemorrhage
i. She had Suffered for Twelve Years
ii. She had Spent all of Her Money
iii. Her Condition was Worse after seeing many Doctors
B. Tried to Sneak upon Her Blessing
i. She came up behind Jesus as He was going to Heal Someone Else
ii. She came as One that was Anonymous in the Crowd
iii. She was Willing to remain Hidden after She was Healed
C. Interrupted Jairus’ Blessing to receive Her Own
D. Was called forth to give a Testimony

Sometimes it seems as though we find ourselves in Jairus’ situation. We have prayed for a blessing and it seems as though God is moving on our behalf. But before we receive the blessing it seems as though other people are getting what we have been praying for. How dare this woman sneak up to Jesus and get a healing while he was on his way to heal my daughter. Why is it when I prayed for a promotion it seems as though others got promoted all around me? When I prayed for answers, others got breakthroughs. But I have also been in the same predicament as the woman. I know others are being blessed but I also need a blessing. I don’t always have time to get in line for a blessing. Sometimes I need a blessing right now. When I don’t have a Plan B, I need a blessing right now. When I have used up all of my resources and no longer have the “hookup”, I need a blessing right now. When I cry out “Savior, Savior hear my humble cry; while on others thou art calling, do not pass me by.” that means that I am in need of a blessing. I don’t believe that Jesus went through what he went through not to bless me for putting my trust in him. Surely, I must have been on his mind when he went up Calvary Mountain. When he was nailed to the cross and suspended between heaven and earth, was it not to secure the blessing of eternal life for those that put their trust in him? When he took on our sins and died, was it not to secure our future? I feel blessed to know that he rose on the third day to give us the assurance that he will also raise us up. Are you in need of a blessing? Try Jesus.

Robert C. Hudson
July 26, 2009

The Grace of God

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. John 8:1-5, 10-11

In our text today, we have a woman in a very embarrassing predicament. She is not there because of a rumor or suspicion. She was brought to the Jewish temple because she had been caught in the act of committing adultery. This is not a sermon about adultery so I don’t want some of you tensing up and the rest of you relaxing and thinking that the message is about someone else. This is a message about sin and grace. All of us are included in today’s message. But we have this woman who has been caught in the act of a shameful situation and she has been brought to the religious house and her business has now been made public. I won’t even share with you some of the things that run through my mind when I think about this situation. Let’s take a look at the scene here.

I. The Holy Temple
A. Place of Worship
B. The Major Religious Attraction in all of Judea
C. Jesus was there Teaching Bible Study
D. The Non-religious were Probably uncomfortable There

II. The Guilty Woman
A. Brought there by the Religious Leaders (scribes and Pharisees)
B. Her shameful Act was Exposed to Everyone There
C. She did not have a Leg to stand On

III. The Unambiguous Law
A. The Legal Facts are Clearly established by Two or Three Witnesses
B. The Law Clearly defined Her Act as a Violation
C. The Law Clearly defined Her Punishment as Death by Stoning

From a legal standpoint, this was an open and shut case. Since the accused was brought by those willing to witness against her, there was no need for deliberations. Two thousand years later even I can tell you that she was guilty. The witnesses against her established that. If the scribes and Pharisees had taken her outside the city gate and stoned her, it would have been within their right according to the Jewish judicial system and the Law of Moses. They could have had some issues with the Roman government since the Romans reserved capital punishment or the death penalty as an exclusive right of Rome and not Jewish citizens. But, within the Holy Law, the religious leaders could have justified their actions. But I believe they made a mistake. Their mistake was not in accusing her. They made a mistake when they took the woman to Jesus. Jesus was asked his opinion concerning what should happen to the woman. The architect of the universe who gave the law to Moses saw two things that are not obvious to the unaided eye. Jesus saw a guilty woman and he also saw her accusers as being worse people than she was. He saw a woman with no defense for her actions and he also saw that her accusers had committed the same thing they wanted to condemn her for doing. He saw a person who had been caught at a spiritual low and now embarrassed publicly; but he also saw spiritually destitute people using other people’s shame to cover up their own shortcomings. There is only one remedy that could cure this ailment. That remedy is the grace of God. Divine justice demands that the law be upheld to its fullest extent. Divine mercy can prevent the accused from receiving what they deserve under the penalty of the law. But grace brings in something totally different. Grace gives a person what they do not deserve. Jesus told her, Neither do I condemn you. And he gave her the option to avoid the same mistake again. When he said to go and sin no more, then it suggests that she would be able to do just that. And that’s only possible if Jesus was going to give her both the will and the ability to do accordingly. God’s grace is a remedy for our sin situations. Jesus knew that soon he would be on his way to Calvary and carrying her sins and the sins of the whole world with him. God’s grace was made available to her in her time of need and even today, it is still made available to us in our time of need. We don’t have to wait for wrongful acts to be exposed, we can come to Jesus just as we are. Jesus is still the only one able to impart the grace of God to all that call upon his name. Are you willing to call upon him for the grace you need?


Robert C. Hudson
July 19, 2009

The Lord’s Supper

And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. Matt 26:26-30

In this text, Jesus institutes what we refer to as the Lord’s Supper. We have adopted this name from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth where he made a distinction between the potluck fellowship feasts the church was engaging in and the commemoration ordinance that Jesus instituted on the night of his arrest. Fellowship and fellowship meals were an integral part of the early church as it struggled for survival. Many of the early Christians were impoverished because they sold all that they had, donated the money to the church, and depended on the church to sustain them. Some of the latter Christians had not done so and yet some of them were insensitive to their fellow believers during these potluck fellowships. In order to straighten this out, Paul had to show the distinction between the fellowship meals and the commemorative ordinance that Jesus had instituted. It was for that reason that Paul referred to the ordinance of the church as the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s Supper is not a meal for participants to satisfy their hunger nor is it for them to refresh themselves. It is a commemoration that Christians have been commanded to do in remembrance of Jesus until he returns for the church. This passage of scripture takes place immediately after Jesus had concluded eating the Passover meal with the twelve disciples and dismissed Judas Iscariot. The meal was over. Supper was over. Jesus took some of the unleavened bread and wine that was there as part of the Passover meal and used it to explain to his disciples exactly who he is. Paul, again, helps us in our theology concerning leaven when he likens it to sin or evil in the church. So after three years of ministry with these twelve men, how is it that Jesus defines himself to them? He first thanked God for the provisions.


I. The Unleavened Bread
A. This is My Body
i. Without Sin
ii. Sacrificed for Those who choose to follow Him

II. The Wine
A. Jesus’ spilled Blood
i. The Fruit of the True Vine
ii. Was Poured out for Many
iii. Takes away All of Our Sins



He didn’t just identify what the elements stood for but he also instructed them to partake of them. Eat the bread that you may identify that Jesus sacrificed himself so that you can be who you are. Greater love has no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friends. All that follow Jesus should drink of the wine and be reminded that it is the blood of Jesus that washes away all of our sins. It is his blood that makes us okay with God. God cannot be satisfied with anything that we do of ourselves for that is as filthy rags in his sight. But God is completely satisfied with the fact that Jesus poured out his life to pay the sin debt that we all owed.


Robert C. Hudson
July 5, 2009