Matthew 11: Taking the Kingdom by Force (3)

Pray Psalm 22.23-25.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
My praise shall be of You in the great assembly;
I will pay My vows before those who fear Him.

Sing Psalm 22.23-25.
(Darwall: Rejoice, the Lord is King)
All you who fear the Lord, now praise His holy Name!
You children of His glorious Word, declare His fame!
We stand in awe of our eternal God, and on His mercy call.

For He has not despised the anguish of our King,
Nor from Him hid His eyes, Who knew such suffering.
Let praise arise from all who love and serve the Ruler of the skies!

Read Matthew 11.1-15; meditate on verses 12-15.

Prepare.
1. How did Jesus describe the coming of the Kingdom?

2. How do people “take” the Kingdom?

Meditate.
OK, get strapped in and hold on tight.

Jesus makes two shocking claims here. The first is that the Kingdom of God “employs violence”. The Greek verb, βιάζεται, biazetai, can mean “suffers violence”, as NKJV has it here. But the larger context of Matthew’s gospel suggests that the second meaning of this verse, employs violence, should be preferred. Let’s review.

Remember that Jesus began His earthly ministry by confronting and binding the devil (Matt. 4.1-11). Then He strode into the devil’s domain and began throwing the blackguards out, casting out demons, sending them into swine, reversing the effects of sin, sending death packing, and shocking the lie-filled world with the truth of the Kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy.

This is the kind of violence we associate with the Kingdom of God.

As the Kingdom of God comes to earth, spiritual power is exerted in ways that upset the world (cf. Acts 17.6). People’s settled ways of thinking are dismantled; their preferred lifestyles are razed; cultures, societies, institutions, and moral templates are remade. Yet the power that does all this is spiritual, and works on the souls of people, rather than against their bodies. From the soul through the body, that power bears on all aspects of life, as the Lord Jesus makes all things new.

Consider the apostle Paul. The light of the coming Kingdom knocked him to the ground, tore out his heart of stone and implanted a heart of flesh, exposed the folly of his worldview, and changed the entire course of his life. And Paul insisted that his experience is to be regarded as an example for all believers (1 Tim. 1.16).

If the Gospel of the Kingdom does not exert holy spiritual violence for righteousness, peace, and joy against your sinful soul, then you have not entered it, and you need to “take it by force” and delay no longer. That’s the second shocking claim. Gaining the Kingdom means exerting ourselves continually in seeking that which the Lord is all too eager for us to have. It means capturing all our time for the Kingdom, taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ, subduing wayward affections, overhauling priorities, and learning the ways of the Kingdom in all we say and do.

As Elijah called down the violence of God against the pagan worldview of ancient Israel, so John the Baptist tapped the hydrants of heaven to unleash the living water of the Kingdom not of this world. And Jesus came to show and declare that the Kingdom was at hand. Get ready.

Reflect.
1. How do you experience the holy spiritual violence of the Kingdom, coming in your life?

2. How would you explain to a new believer what it means to take the Kingdom “by force”?

3. How do you interpret Jesus’ warning in verse 15?

A vast assembly of men is now collected, as if men were rushing violently forward to seize the kingdom of God; for, aroused by the voice of one man, they come together in crowds, and receive, not only with eagerness, but with vehement impetuosity, the grace which is offered to them. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on Matthew 11.12

Work violently in my soul, O Lord, that I may with holy spiritual violence…

Pray Psalm 22.26-28.
Pray that God will use you today to encourage a fellow believer and bear witness to an unbelieving friend, as you seek the Kingdom and righteousness of God with holy spiritual violence.

Sing Psalm 22.26-28.
Psalm 22.26-28 (Darwall, Rejoice, the Lord is King)
The suff’ring King shall eat and praise with us the Lord.
Forever we His praise repeat and trust His Word.
Praise God above, all you who keep His vows and who His mercies love!

All nations shall repent and hasten to the Lord;
All those to whom His truth is sent shall praise His Word.
The Lord is King! His sovereign rule on high now we His people sing!

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).