My question is regarding…
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.
How did the kingdom of heaven suffer
violence if it was not yet in existence?
How could that violence take a non-existent kingdom by force?
(By the way, thank you so much for your
diligent study of the Word and especially for making yourself so available to
those who desire the truth instead of traditions of men. I have also enjoyed and benefited from your
answers posted on the YouTube channel.)
Remember,
the term ‘kingdom of heaven’ is only found in Matthew. (See 1/2/2013
post: Kingdom
of God.) It is synonymous with ‘kingdom of God’, which is used in the parallel passage in
the book of Mark. The kingdom of heaven
is the focus in the book of Matthew because Jesus Christ is the King, the
fulfillment of the heavenly promise of God.
He is the God of heaven who will establish the kingdom that shall never
be destroyed.
Daniel
2:44
And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be
destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
When Jesus talked about the days of John the Baptist until now and the kingdom of heaven suffering violence, what was happening
in the days of John the Baptist? There
was resistance by the religious leaders of Israel who were in power. They hated the Lord Jesus Christ because he
would take away their place, their position of authority in Israel.
John 11:48
If we let him thus alone,
all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both
our place and nation.
He would be the religious, spiritual leader in Israel. He would be the King. He would be the issue. They had a pompous hierarchy of religious
leaders: scribes, Pharisees, lawyers and
other hypocrites. Christ threatened
their position. When John the Baptist
showed up, the scribes and Pharisees sent men to ask who he was.
Luke 22:66-67
And as soon as it was
day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came
together, and led him into their council, saying, Art thou the Christ? tell us.
And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe:
John 10:24
Then came the Jews round
about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be
the Christ, tell us plainly.
Even
30 years earlier, Herod the king was threatened by the announcement of the
birth of Messiah.
Matthew
2:3
When Herod the king had
heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
So
there were many who were threatened by the announcement of the King and the
kingdom.
Matthew
11:12
And from the days of
John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence…
What
was happening during that time? Persecution. John the Baptist was falsely accused and put
in prison (Mark 6:17-27). They were
violent men. They used violence against
the Lord and his people, the little flock.
…and the violent take it
by force.
The
violent are the religious leaders of Israel. They were trying to take what was rightly the
Lord’s. Remember the parable of the
vineyard which is about the kingdom (Matthew
21:33-41). But first, let’s look at your
verse in context.
Matthew 11:9-15
But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet
[speaking of John the Baptist]. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my
messenger [the forerunner of Messiah] before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of
women there hath not risen a greater [prophet – Luke 7:28] than John the Baptist:
notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the
kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For
all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive
it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear.
He
is saying that when John appeared to Israel as the voice of one crying in the
wilderness, he was the forerunner of Messiah and the sign that the kingdom of heaven was at hand.
Malachi 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah
the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord
The
kingdom was within reach for Israel. It
hadn’t come yet, but it was on the brink.
The message that John preached about the coming of Messiah and his
kingdom—that he would be the one in power—threatened the status quo of the
religious leaders of Israel.
Now
let’s look at the parable about the kingdom in which Jesus speaks of God
sending his prophets that were spitefully treated and killed.
Matthew
21:33-45
Hear another parable: There was a certain householder [God], which planted a vineyard [the
nation of Israel], and hedged
it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out
to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he
sent his servants [the prophets] to the husbandmen, that they might
receive the fruits of it. And the
husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned
another.
The husbandmen were the ones who had
watch-care of Israel—the religious leaders.
Again, he sent other
servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But
last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my
son [the Lord Jesus Christ].
The
religious leaders killed the prophets and then when God sends his Son, the
enemies say, “Kill him!”
But when the husbandmen
saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill
him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the
vineyard, and slew him [the crucifixion].
They
murder him and take his inheritance.
What is the inheritance?
Psalm
2:7-8
I will declare the
decree: the Lord hath said unto
me, Thou [Messiah] art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the
heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession.
Jesus
Christ is the King and it is his kingdom, and he will rule and reign over
Israel and the world one day; even though the religious leaders of Israel
wanted to do that. It is his rightfully;
he died for it and paid for it with his blood.
When the lord therefore
of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy
those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen,
which shall render him the fruits in their seasons [the believing remnant]. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never
read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is
become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous
in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The
kingdom of God shall be taken from you,
Who is he talking to? The unbelieving religious leaders. They were supposed to be the leaders of
Israel who would establish the kingdom by looking for, receiving and accepting
Messiah and his kingdom and then being a part of his rulership. They had the opportunity to receive that
privilege.
and given to a nation
[singular] bringing forth the fruits thereof.
(Not nations [plural—aka, gentiles];
not what God is doing today. If you
rightly divide the word, that new nation is the believing remnant in Israel.) The unbelieving religious leaders were trying
to take the kingdom by force by killing their Messiah, the Lord Jesus
Christ. They will not get the kingdom;
they will be destroyed.
And whosoever shall fall
on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind
him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his
parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
God
will destroy those wicked men and take the part of the
kingdom under Messiah that he planned to give to those religious leaders of
Israel, had they received him, and give it to a little flock of believing Jews
– the remnant.
John 10:16
And other sheep I
have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear
my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Zechariah
8:12
For the seed shall be
prosperous; the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her
increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant
of this people to possess all these things.
Hopefully this helps...Maranatha!
†††
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