In Matthew 11:1-19, the Lord Jesus presents John the Baptist as the messenger of the Lord and as Elijah who was to come. In this portion of Scripture, we find a challenging teaching; specifically, Matthew 11:12, which is also paralleled in Luke 16:16, teaches us that “the kingdom of the heavens suffers violence, and the violent seize it.” As followers of the Lord Jesus, we should ask ourselves what it really means for one to force their way into the kingdom of the heavens. To understand this teaching of the Lord Jesus, we will first comment on Matthew 11:11-12 and then on Luke 16:16.
Matthew 11:11 Truly I say to you, Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.
John has been appointed to be born. His destiny was decided before he was born (See Luke 1:13-17). He was the messenger of the Lord, and that was the purpose for him to be born.
“The least in the kingdom of the heavens” refers to heavenly beings (such as angels). Humans are born out of sinful nature, but those who are born in heaven are born with no sin. The verse gives a simple comparison between two types: the living souls on earth and the living ones in heaven.
12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens suffers violence, and the violent seize it.
“From the days of John the Baptist” refers to the days when John the Baptist started to preach in the wilderness.
“Until now” refers to the time when the Lord Jesus started His ministry.
“The kingdom of the heavens suffers violence ...” This part of the verse relates to the spiritual world.
Let us next parallel Matthew 11:12 with Luke 16:16 to complement our comments on this topic further and gain a deeper understanding of what it means to force our way into the kingdom of God.
Luke 16:16 The law and the prophets were until John; from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone forces his way into it.
“The law and the prophets were until John.” At that time, John came to initiate a new generation of believers who would follow the mercy and grace of God through the beloved Son of God. John’s coming marks the end times of the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord, as the new generation would follow the Word of the beloved Son of God, the Lord Jesus.
“From that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is proclaimed.” This time refers to the Son of God’s coming; in the old times, people followed by the prophets, and everyone tried to enter into the kingdom of God by following that preaching, but from now on, people must enter into the kingdom of God by the mercy and love of God through the beloved Son of God.
“And everyone forces his way into it.” Now, people use the love of God to force their way into the kingdom of God; think of it this way as well: people say I will not follow the old law anymore, but I will follow the law of the beloved Son of God, I have more rights than the prophets because now I am not just a follower but I have become a child of God, the beloved Son of God is the fulfillment of the law. Some enter by using the beloved Son of God’s love and mercy and ignore the Father, but they also forget that the beloved Son of God has come to fulfill the Word of the Father; the beloved Son of God has become the complete law for all humans because He became the perfect sacrifice for the Father, so people do not need to follow the prophets, but they must follow completely the teachings of the beloved Son of God that have been written down in the Holy Bible. Whoever thinks that the Holy Bible is the Word of the beloved Son of God only and they do not need to read the Old Testament of the Holy Bible will not completely follow the teachings of the beloved Son of God because the Old Testament is the story of the Father Himself that leads to Him sending the beloved Son of God for humans. So, if they forget the part of love of the Father shown by sending His Son, they will not follow completely the teaching of the beloved Son of God as well.
“Forces his way.” Forces because they use the Son’s Word against the Father’s Word. The Father uses punishment, but the Son uses love, so they feel that they have a better, straightway to enter and do not need to follow the old law. However, both Father and Son also keep the old law because the beloved Son of God became the true sacrifice for the Father. The way to be saved is only through the beloved Son of God; the Bible tells us that the beloved Son of God said, “I am the way” (John 14:6), and they use His Word to go against the Father’s Word. For the reason to ignore the Old Testament, they use the beloved Son of God’s Word, which says, “I am the way.” That is the reason they want to overlook the Old Testament because it has become the way for them to believe: just only believe what the beloved Son of God has said, and that will be enough to enter into the kingdom of heaven; but, doing this it is completely wrong because they cannot enter without both the Father and the beloved Son, so, believe in the beloved Son of God, but you also need to have faith in what the Father has proclaimed.
Therefore, we must enter the kingdom of heaven properly, using both the Father’s and the beloved Son Jesus’ mercy. We must not overlook the Old Testament, which is the story of the Father leading Him to send His beloved Son to save all humans. Furthermore, these days, after John the Baptist, the prophecies that come through the gifts of the Holy Spirit must align with the Word of God; there are no new revelations (Revelation 22:18-19), and no more teachings in the old-time style prophets. The Holy Spirit comes to each believer in the Lord Jesus to bring to our remembrance the teachings of the Lord and to enforce His Word. We must verify every prophecy against the Word of God and ensure that it aligns with the Word correctly. To support this, we can read Hebrews 1:1-4 which says:
1 God, having of old time spoken to the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, 2 has at the end of these days spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the effulgence of his glory, and the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had made purification of sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 having become by so much better than the angels, as he has inherited a more excellent name than they.
One should further meditate on 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 and 1 Corinthians 14:27-33 to understand the role of tongues and prophesies in our church today.
We conclude this topic by commenting on the saying of the Lord Jesus in Luke 16:17:
Luke 16:17 But it is easier for the Heaven and the earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a pen of the law to fail.
See also Comments Matthew 5:18.
Give attention to what this verse says: regardless of what teachings people may have, the law of the Lord stays firm forever. The beloved Son of God Himself came on earth to fulfill the law; He did not come to wipe off the law, but He lifted up the law to fullness with His own death and shedding of blood on the cross.
Luke 16:1-2 verses are the prediction of the completion of the Old Law; the Father fulfilled His promise to His people; the Old Law cannot be forgotten, but the New Law will be the continuation for making the Old Law complete by the birth of the beloved Son of God, His death on the cross, and His resurrection to fulfill the promise of the Father.
Finally, let us pray and encourage one another to follow the Law of the Lord Jesus and look to the cross, where He fulfilled the law to its fullness with His own death and the shedding of His blood.
Meditation Tasks:
- Meditate on Revelation 22:18-19 and 1 Corinthians 13th and 14th chapters to understand the role of the Holy Spirit’s gifts in today’s church environment.