Matthew 11:1-6 11/2/25 A.M. “It’s hard to Believe”
Have you all ever heard something that was just too hard to believe? It was too hard to comprehend. That happened to me a few weeks ago. I mentioned this to a few of you so you’re gonna know what I’m talking about but most of you won’t.
In 2017, it was revealed when the last Civil War Widow died. The last woman who was married to a Civil War soldier. It truly amazed me. Are you ready for the answer? In 2017, she wasn’t dead, she was still alive.
Her name was Helen Viola Jackson. In 2017 she was making her own funeral arrangements with her pastor and as they were going over her life he said, “Of course, you’ve never married.” And she said, “Well, actually I was.” And she told him this story that has been verified with court records as being true. In 1936, the Great Depression was RAGING and things were tight, money was hard to come by, and she was living in the Ozarks of Missouri. She was 17 years old and helping her elderly neighbor do his chores. His name was James Bolin and he was a 93 year old Union Veteran of the 14th Missouri Cavalry. She was a virtuous young lady and he was a well respected man of the community. She was a great help to him doing his chores so he devised a way to help her. He proposed that they get married so that when he died she could draw his monthly pension of $73.13. A lot of money back then. She agreed and they went to the courthouse, married, and then he went home and she went back to her parent’s house.
But here’s why no one knew until 2017. 3 years later in 1939 James died. He was 96 years old. But when he died his two daughters came to Helen and threatened to shame her if she filed for the pension. So respecting his memory and avoiding scandal, she never filed for the money. She never told anyone until 2017. That’s an amazing story.
So let’s take a few minutes and read from the Book of Matthew. We’ll look at Chapter 11 and read Verses 1-6.
“And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.”
Now I want you to think about this for a minute. A fellow named John. He’s not John the Apostle. He’s John, the son of Zechariah and Elisabeth. He’s John the somewhat distant cousin of Jesus. He has become known as John the Baptist.
He has his own PREACHING MINISTRY. He’s VERY VOCAL. He’s VERY OUTSPOKEN. In fact, if he would have backed off a little bit, you know, TONED it down a little, he might have lived a longer life. And according to Matthew Chapter 3, Verse 2, this was HIS MAIN TOPIC.
“Repent ye: for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
Just a little side note here. I THINK he would have done a whole lot better if he would have preached HEALTH, WEALTH and PROSPERITY. He probably would have gotten enough money to BUY some BETTER CLOTHES and he could have EATEN a little better too. His diet was LOCUSTS and WILD HONEY. YUCK!!! That’s just my thinking anyway.
But no, John preached REPENTANCE because SOMETHING WILD. SOMETHING CRAZY. SOMETHING that was just TOO HARD to believe was fixin’ to happen. The KINGDOM of HEAVEN was at hand.
And so let’s go to the Lord in Prayer and then we’ll get into this message.
Brother ____, would you lead us?
And so, what was the Kingdom of Heaven that John was talking about here. What was he talking about when he said, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand?”
Well, I think John knew that the Messiah was coming. I don’t know if he knew exactly when. I don’t know if he suspected that it was Jesus. I don’t know if he had been studying the prophecies of the Messiah.
I don’t know these things but I do believe that the Spirit of God had moved upon him and he was simply fulfilling what GOD told him to do.
John was preaching, “You better REPENT because the MESSIAH is coming and He is going to ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM.”
He WOULD NOT back down and in Mark 6, we see that he is thrown into prison for publicly speaking out against King Herod’s Sins. And that gets us up to what we read in Matthew 11. John the Baptist is setting there in prison and he begins to HEAR about what Jesus is doing.
Could it be that Jesus is the Messiah?
Could it be that Jesus is the answer to all of the prophecies?
I can almost feel the EXCITEMENT within John as it seems TOO GOOD to be true. It’s hard to BELIEVE. The MESSIAH is here!!! He had to find out and so he sent two of his disciples on a mission to ask Jesus HIMSELF whether He was the Promised Messiah. And Verses 4 and 5 give us the answer. “GO TELL JOHN!!! what YOU HEAR and SEE.”
So John is setting there in his prison cell and here comes his two disciples back from their mission. And I can hear them “John ...
I. You won’t believe it. It’s a MIRACLE. There was a fellow who had been BLIND since BIRTH and Jesus SPIT on the ground and made some clay. He smeared it on this guys eyes. He rinsed them off and NOW HE CAN SEE.” (John 9)
I don’t know about you today but I’m thankful for a God who can make the blind see.
ILLUS: I want to tell you a story. Back in the early 70’s there was a little boy whose family went to this church. He was around 6 years old. That little boy was probably legally blind. He couldn’t see the STARS at night. He didn’t do well in school because he couldn’t see the BLACKBOARD. There was NO WAY he would ever DRIVE a car. He went to Optometrists and Optamologists but there wasn’t much the doctors could do for him.
But one day the old preacher here, Brother Jimmy Haas, called that little boy up to the front of the church and they anointed him with oil and they prayed over him. And through the years his EYES kept getting better and better. I guess you all have figured out by now that the LITTLE BOY WAS ME. I can guarantee you I’m still not NORMAL, I never will be NORMAL, but I’ve been TOUCHED by the master’s hand.
And there are people here today who were BLIND to their own CONDITION. But then, the master’s hand touched their lives. 2 Corinthians 4, Verses 3 and 4 tells us,
“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Listen, it might sound crazy. It might be hard to believe. But if you’re here today and you just can’t SEE your way out of the mess you’re in, give Jesus a chance. He is in the SAVING BUSINESS.
II. “And John, you won’t believe it. It’s hard to even imagine. But we saw a man who was SO SICK with the PALSY that he couldn’t even walk. And Jesus just spoke to him. He didn’t GRAB HIM or PULL HIM UP. He just told him to get up and take his bed with him and go HOME. AND HE DID!!! You had to be there John. It was AMAZING.” Matthew 9.
I know there are those who don’t believe that God still HEALS today. Maybe you’re one of them.
“That was a different DISPENSATION. God doesn’t do that anymore. It was just during the time of the Apostles.”
Now I’m gonna tell you what I believe? I believe
James 5:14 and 15. “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.”
I believe God can do whatever He wants to do and I believe He still heals today. Sometimes by doctors. Sometimes instantly, supernaturally. And sometimes over a period of time.
And, I believe, He will HEAL everyone of His children PERMANENTLY when we take our last breath here on this Earth. I believe in a place called Heaven where there are NO BLIND, NO SICK, NO LAME. And there will be NO MORE TEARS. It seems too good to be TRUE. It’s hard to BELIEVE. But someday it will be a REALITY.
III. “And John, this is gonna blow your mind. But we saw it ourselves. The LEPERS are CLEANSED.”
And I can imagine John might say, “What ... Can it be true?”
Matthew 8:1-3, “When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.
3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”
Back in this time there wasn’t ANYTHING that could be worse than LEPROSY. You see, it was more than just a SLOW, PAINFUL DEATH. It was SEPARATION from your FAMILY and from SOCIETY. It meant spending your last few months and years DYING ALONE. “John, you won’t believe it, but this man Jesus, He CLEANSED the LEPER. The DISEASE was GONE. It was the most amazing thing we’ve ever seen.”
And as I was studying for this message my mind went back 5 years ago to COVID. All of the FEAR and SORROW as so many of our people passed away. But one of the most horrible parts of it all was the SEPARATION when you got it. Too many people died alone without their loved ones by their side.
Can I tell you something this morning? When Jesus comes into your life, THAT is the last time you will ever be alone. He will CLEANSE you from the INSIDE OUT. He will make you a NEW PERSON. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us,
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
And then Hebrews 13:5 tells US that Jesus said,
“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
As a follower of Jesus, HE CLEANSES US and WE BECOME PART of HIS FAMILY. And we will never have to die alone.
“When I come to the river at ending of day,
When the last winds of sorrow have blown;
There'll be somebody waiting to show me the way,
I won't have to cross Jordan alone.”
Chorus
“I won't have to cross Jordan alone,
Jesus died all my sins to atone;
When the darkness I see,
He'll be waiting for me,
I won't have to cross Jordan alone.”
“John, I know it’s hard to believe, but this man Jesus is for REAL. The BLIND can SEE. The LAME can WALK. The LEPERS are CLEANSED. Do you know what else John? The DEAF can HEAR. And He even RAISED UP the DEAD. We saw it for ourselves.”
IV. “And lastly John, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Jesus is PREACHING and TEACHING everyone.”
Listen, this GOSPEL that Jesus was preaching, wasn’t to ONLY the RICH.
It wasn’t only to the Jews. It was a Whosoever Salvation.
In Mark 7, Jesus goes to an area that was primarily Gentiles. Tyre and Sidon. And He is there in a house and a GENTILE woman comes in and NEEDS JESUS to HEAL her daughter from DEMON POSSESSION. And Jesus says something that might sound HARSH but He does it to TEST her faith. Look at Verse 27-30 of Mark 7.
“But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
“John, Jesus is PREACHING and TEACHING to EVERYONE who will LISTEN. Even to the POOR and even to the GENTILES.”
Jesus tells these DISCIPLES to go tell JOHN, setting there in PRISON, exactly what they HEARD and SAW.
Listen, this may have been the most surprising thing of all to John. The HARDEST THING for him to believe. Because Jesus may not have been what John expected the MESSIAH to be. He may have expected A KING, a CONQUEROR, a RULER a LEADER. Maybe John was wanting someone who would BUST him out of PRISON. Someone who would DRIVE the ROMANS from the land.
And here’s Jesus preaching to the POOR. He’s preaching to the GENTILES. He’s preaching a WHOSOEVER SALVATION.
And maybe today you’re going through things that just don’t make sense. Maybe things aren’t what you think they should be. You may be a believer but the TRIALS you are facing are overwhelming. You may have even questioned God. Why He allows TRAGEDIES and ILLNESSES to come into your life. Why He doesn’t FIX everything RIGHT NOW. That’s probably what John the Baptist wanted. He wanted to be out of prison NOW!!! But that wasn’t to be. John the Baptist was later beheaded by Herod Antipas around A.D. 28. But listen, JESUS WAS STILL the MESSIAH!!!
And some of the things that we EXPECT or WANT may not ever happen. Things may not always make sense. Trials and Tribulations may come. BUT JESUS IS STILL the KING of KINGS and the LORD of LORDS.
There are things that come up in our lives that are HARD to BELIEVE and even harder to ACCEPT. But GOD is still in control.
Helen Viola Jackson didn’t tell anyone that she had married Private James Bolin of the 14th Missouri Calvary. Not even her parents. And she never remarried. She lived a long life in silence, becoming the last surviving widow of a Civil War Veteran. She died in December of 2020 at the age of 101.
That’s kind of CRAZY and a little bit hard to believe. It’s amazing. Her life BRIDGED 155 years of history.
But the life of Jesus Christ of Nazareth has BRIDGED 2000 years of history. And what He did for you and I on the Cross of Calvary still matters today. And though it may seem UNBELIEVABLE, we can live for eternity in Heaven because of Him.
It may seem TOO GOOD to be true but if you’ll put your trust in Him today, HE WILL SAVE YOU!!!
Let’s Pray
