“Kingdom of God: Violent Take It By Force”

Our text for tonight is taken from Mt 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.’ 

As we go on with our study in the Kingdom of God, it should be clear to all of us that what Jesus announced and taught about His kingdom is to be looked at entirely from the viewpoint of divine kingship.

With the coming of Jesus, this new era, in the form of God’s kingdom, was about to make its way through the world with great, great force. 

The divine breakthrough God promised in Isaiah’s prophecies to God’s people and to the nations that would heed God’s Word was now here. 

It revealed far more clearly the kingly character of God, the revelation of His royal majesty, power, and might, as it documented His pledge given through Isaiah.

And, if we want to have the right insight into the general design of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God, this absolutely theocentric idea of God must always be kept at the forefront.

It is the basic motive of all His teaching and explains why, from the very beginning of His ministry, as well as from the beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry in announcing the coming of Jesus, there was the twofold aspect of it - that of redemption and that of judgment.

These are the same aspects God spoke of in the Isaiah passages we just recently viewed.

In these passages, God spoke of His kingdom as meaning redemption to those who embrace Him as their God. 

At the same time, He spoke of His kingdom as meaning judgment to those who resist and oppose what He ordained to be made known to men by His Son.

And, when Jesus preached about it, He implied that its coming is entirely God’s own action, fully dependent on what He alone does.

Thus, we are forced to admit, and to see, that the kingdom of God is not a state or condition, as I have said many times before.

And neither is it a society that we humans think we can instigate or promote by our actions.

These are hopelessly superficial concepts of the tremendous thought of the fullness and finality of God’s coming as king to redeem and to judge.

And, since His kingdom is full of such enormous power and energy, it promises to permeate everything and everyone.

Seismic changes - great, great traumatic changes and clashes - take place as it advances and progresses onward.

Let us briefly look at some of the changes seen in Scripture that will help us see the actuality of that.

We start with what Isaiah prophesied of its coming when he called it ‘the rending of the heavens’.

It was originating from God and coming down with such transcendent glory that the hills or mountains flowed down in His presence.  

It caused fire to burn and the waters to boil as He made His name known to His enemies. (Isa 64:1-5)

And, then, we also see in the Scripture, the tremendous dynamic of His power by angels filling the atmosphere to broadcast the coming of the kingdom in Jesus, the Christ. (Mt 1; Lu 2)

That alone was a seismic indication of God’s power and energy to the world! 

And, we also see God’s power made evident in Christ during Christ’s ministry by Satan’s domain being filled with dread and horror, so much so, that, on a certain occasion,  one asked: ‘...art thou come to destroy us?’ (Mk 1:24) 

Jesus even said, ‘...I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven’, so fierce and violent was the change taking place in the netherworld by the advance of God’s kingdom. (Lu 10:18) 

And when Jesus cast out devils, He announced of this powerful act: ‘the kingdom of God is come...’. (Mt 12:28)

Lastly, the coming of God’s kingdom had its life-changing effect on the disciples.

This was dramatically seen with those who were with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration.

Jesus had said, in Mk 9:1: ‘...there shall be some who stand here, which shall not taste death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.’ 
 
There were those with Him at that time who would learn how absolutely transcendent the revelation of God was in Jesus for, directly after this statement, those disciples were privileged to ‘see’ the power of the kingdom of God operating upon Jesus. 

They could not help but know it when they heard the heavenly voice saying, ‘This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well-pleased’.

Such divine action, such immense force and might, is what would be characteristic of God’s kingdom as it kept moving along upon the earth.

Therefore, Jesus said in Mt 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.’

The same thought, found in Lu 16:16, the parallel to this Scripture, reads: ‘The law and the prophets were until John: since that time, the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.’

When Jesus said this, He spoke of the kingdom of heaven as being a present reality that was leading from the old dispensation to the new.

It was pushing its way through time, asserting itself with force, using ‘violence’ - and I put that word in quotes since it is not the kind of ‘violence’ we are currently seeing in this world.

Why does it meet such violence, as Scripture defines ‘violence’?

The opposition Jesus met affirmed the presence of the kingdom of God that John the Baptist was heralding.

It was powerfully operative and present. The presence of Jesus was distinguished by men resisting the rule of God.

To think of the kingdom of God suffering powerful opposition once it had come among men is an incredible thought.

Imagine! The omnipotent God is being challenged with unbelievable opposition! 

What force would dare try such a foolish counterstroke against Him, we wonder!

But Jesus took that possibility of conflict and hostility to God’s saving action very seriously.

So - in this statement of Mt 11:12, He was giving a warning.

This was probably the prime significance of the ‘kingdom suffering violence’ in His statement.

He was not just facing men.

He was facing ‘head-on’ the representatives of the opposing kingdom of darkness.

It is from that kingdom of darkness where men’s violence toward Him originates.

He was warning that this potent, forceful hostility and antagonism would be directed toward God.

And it would strongly and forcefully oppose the ministry and the work for which He had come. 

This was the opposition to Jesus that was made evident by the authorities in Jesus’ time.

When they rejected Him, they did it with such vehemence - with all the fervor and fury capable of coming from any man!

That is the kind of violence that the presence of God’s kingdom evokes.

A Christian needs only talk about Christ and His kingdom to one who is yet a citizen of the kingdom of darkness, and the mere mention of the name of Christ evokes violent opposition to it.

It immediately puts a soul on the defensive - it stirs up a queasiness in such a man. 

For - it exposes man’s revulsion hidden away that even he does not realize it is there.

Before you became a Christian, did you not notice that distaste and aversion deep within your own self against the mention of Christ?

That fact alone should tell a person that there must be ‘something’ about this Jesus that he does not yet know - should it not?

At least, we would think so!

But the church need not flinch in the face of such ‘violence’ against Christ.

For - the day lies yet ahead when God’s ongoing presence through Christ will be superseded by a time when the divine sovereignty will be established beyond the possibility of any sort of resistance!

And His kingdom will continue on, pushing back, with all its holy power and conquering energy, the opposing frontiers of darkness! 

But, Jesus also declared that many are ‘pressing’ into the kingdom in this same context of the kingdom suffering violence.

That is, He was saying that the kingdom is pushing its way with ‘force’, or power.

And it is the ‘forceful men’, or the ones who are actively
desiring to enter it who do ‘appropriate it’ and ‘take it as a booty’.

So, Jesus said essentially: ‘There has come this amazing manifestation of God to you. 

And - if you earnestly desire to become a part of it, you must violently overturn your outlook that you have against Christ establishing His divine rule within you.

And you must turn that outlook into an entirely new and different one.

Yes - it takes a lot of struggle and exertion. But - that is the way to those who really desire with the whole heart to enter it,’ He reminds His followers.

They ‘strive’ for the redemption offered by Christ without being deterred by anything.

They use all their endeavors and stake everything for its sake.

That is - God is acting on their behalf! 

He is decisively doing what their hearts are earnestly desiring.

And - He is doing it with great disturbance and with great intensity - none escapes its astronomic force!

That is why - since His forceful action is to form the kind of character that gains entrance into it - it throws man into a crisis.

It confronts him with making the all-important decision that governs him and his life.

This ‘violence’ process has been going on since the days of John, the Baptist, Jesus said.  

And many are pressing into it - and it is being done with that powerful and over-powering force of God. 

Then, the only force yet to be conquered when man places himself under the divine kingly rule, is the kind of ‘violence’ that comes out of a powerful, resolute desire to trample underfoot all prejudices, concepts, ideas, behavior, and everything that is a stench in the nostrils of God!

That takes an agonizing force to overcome, for - it is the opposition from within that opposes the establishment of the  reality of the presence of the kingdom of God in Christ. 

And everyone who is convinced of God’s provision in Christ thrusts himself on Christ to gain that kingdom, lest he comes short of it by trifling with it or being indifferent about it.

This kind of ‘pressing into’, or ‘holding fast’, or ‘pushing its way’ in a ‘violent’ sense is reminiscent of the attitude of those seeking refuge at the horns of the altar, as in Adonijah’s case of 1 Kings 1:50.

The altar was seen as a place of refuge for those deserving death as a punishment for crime.

In the horns of the altar, as symbols of power and strength, there was concentrated the true significance of the altar as a divine place, from which there emanated both life and health. (Ex 27:19)

By grasping the horns of the altar, the lawbreaker placed himself under the protection of the saving and helping grace of God, which wipes away sin, and abolishes punishment.

As long as Adonijah held fast to the altar, he was safe. And he did not let go until he was exonerated by the powers in charge.

Such a determination on the part of the lawbreaker serves to symbolize the kind of ‘holding on to’, what the ‘pressing into’ the kingdom of God involves.  

There are many, many - in this fellowship, as well as in others - who are experiencing the glory of ‘Christ within’ in just this way.

There is nothing ostentatious about it. There is no competition there. There is no foolishness there. 

There are no ‘how-to’s’ to follow, either. 

There is only that powerful, resolute exertion to annihilate everything that is not Christ within.

And that is only dependent upon Jesus Christ, the soul’s horn of salvation, that brings that soul into that place.

It is the place where the realization strikes that only Jesus Christ is there! He is King over all!

It is He Who, with all the gifts, treasures, and blessings His kingdom has, endows with His power and courage to press in, take hold, use ‘violent force’ to enter. 

As a preview for the next time, let me encourage you, if you want to get a better grasp of what Jesus was saying in Mt 11 about this, read 2 Sam 22:2-25, as well as Ps 18. 

Lord willing, we will take it from there as we continue on in the Kingdom of God the next time.

In the meantime, let me encourage you to seek the Lord in this matter.

May we - each one - let the Holy Spirit claim another victory within our innermost being for the glory of God this week.

He is able and He will do it - we need to just cooperate with Him as we trust completely in Him.

May the Lord bless you in this way.   

Amen. Let us pray.