| Matthew 11:12 |
| And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. |
Have you ran into this verse and become stumped? What exactly did Jesus mean? How could heaven suffer violence? And how did violent people take it by force?
Jesus was pointing to the ministry of John the Baptist and to His own. During the ministry of John the Baptist large surges of people would gather in the wilderness to hear his word and be baptized. These crowds of people followed John eagerly and without hesitation. Prostitutes and tax collectors had their lives changed and wanted of the Kingdom (Matt 21:31-32).
These people who followed John and went on to follow Jesus was likened to a great army of soldiers who were trying to take over a country. Their faith was in Johns message of the coming Messiah, and they witnessed that Messiah for themselves. Nothing would stop them, they moved with them and pressed hard for the kingdom of God.
It was a figure of speech. They were not violent people. They committed no violence. But they knew the truth, they witnessed miracles, they saw lame men walk and blind men get their sight back. They realized their blessings and was determined that at all cost they would push forward.
These followers were bringing the sick to Jesus (Luke 5:18) believing that this man they heard of, the Messiah, would cure them. Nothing stopped them and the crowds grew larger and larger.
Although we are in a different situation than these crowds of people, they walked with Christ in the flesh and we don’t, we should pray for their zeal. The Messiah they followed is the same Messiah we have. The kingdom they pressed hard and strived for is the same kingdom we should pray and strive to inherit. The promises they heard preached are the same we hear.
Are we willing to take the Kingdom of heaven by violence? Or are we just going to idly sit back and watch the crowd? It should be our desire to approach Gods Kingdom with much eagerness, in a relentless way much like a military takeover of a city. Letting nothing get in our way, nothing between us and God. This in no way means we are including works into our salvation, but it does mean that we should be willing to work, willing to sacrifice, willing to kill our sin, willing to obey and follow. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone, but that faith is not alone.
Matthew 7:13-14 ”Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
No King but Christ 