Matthew 11: Taking the Kingdom by Force (3)
Pray Psalm 22.23.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And fear Him, all you offspring of Israel!
Sing Psalm 22.23.
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.
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.
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 bad guys 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 unleashed 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. Think: Saul of Tarsus.
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 the Kingdom, 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 is at hand. And now it’s here, bristling with holy violence unto righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Are we on board?
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
For those of us who find violence repugnant there is another way to understand this verse.
It does not disagree with the aforementioned premise; it merely adds to it.
Large crowds frighten me. They hold the threat of violence. I have never liked them. At one time in her life, our daughter Ashley’s favorite day to go to the mall was the day after Thanksgiving—a guaranteed free-for-all of humanity crashing against one another with big bags full of stuff. I went because she liked it (by the way, she also found the thought of running out of gas a real adventure. Just saying).
Suffice it to say, when I look at the way Jesus did His ministry, I sense that He felt the same about large crowds. “So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake…then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat” (Lk. 5.1-3). Good choice.
“Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone” (Jn. 6.15). Another good decision.
The Greek interlinear Bible states it this way: “The kingdom of the heavens is subjected to violence and violent ones take it by force” (Matt. 11.12). Much violence has been perpetrated against the Kingdom of God since its inception, and against its proponents. Many, many people, including our Savior, suffer violence at the hands of those who would quash the Kingdom if they could. Of course, they cannot. Yet violence has ensued and endured.
Paul writes a litany of characteristics to describe those who stand firmly against the Kingdom. These godless ones are “filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death,
not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them” (Rom. 1.29-32).
Truly violent in every way.
A verse that coalesces the two thoughts is found in Luke 16.16: “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.”
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Ps. 23.4).
“But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15.57, 58).
“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.” That is violence upon which we can all agree! “Pressing” ourselves into the mold of Christ.
Reflect.
1. What’s involved in being “violent” against the sins we find in our lives?
2. What kind of “violence” might you expect as you share the Gospel with others?
3. What does it mean to “press on” toward being more like Jesus?
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
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.
Darwall, Rejoice, the Lord is King
Than all the poor 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. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
We invite you to join us in ReThinking Church. We explain further at our ReThinking Church page, here.
Other columns of interest: This week: The Read Moore podcast continues readings from our book, The Kingdom Turn. Our Crosfigell teaching letter presses ahead in a series on the state of the Church in Europe at the time of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column begins to examine the hope for the church, especially struggling churches. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
