Making It Happen
“the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.” Matthew 11:12
Suffers Violence – What in the world is Jesus talking about? How is it possible for God’s grace in the kingdom to be associated with violent force? And who can force God to do anything?
You can hardly find a more difficult passage to translate. No matter what your Bible says, there are at least one or two other possibilities. Better to know them all than be left with a committee’s opinion.
Bear with me; it will be worth it. The problem is that this verb (biazetai) is ambiguous. It can either be passive (“taken by force” or “suffers violence”) or it can be in the middle voice (“exercises force or violence”). If that weren’t bad enough, the noun violent men is based on this verb, so its meaning is also affected by the verb. Furthermore, these particular words only occur in one other place, so we can’t determine the meaning from references. Most of the time, these words outside the New Testament always have a bad connotation. Even in the New Testament, one other occurrence (Matthew 13:19) is about the devil.
This leaves us with all the following:
- the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and violent men take it
- the kingdom of heaven comes with force and forceful men lay hold of it
- the kingdom of heaven is taken by storm and men are pressing toward it
- the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence and forceful men have tried to take it
When A. W. Tozer says that we must forcefully engage the kingdom if we are going to claim it as our own, he is opting for translation number 2. But it is more likely (although not certain) that Jesus was speaking about those who thought they could bring God’s kingdom to this world through violent acts (for example, the Zealots). Just how the kingdom is related to violence is the big question. Unfortunately, what Jesus meant will never be entirely clear.
But this much we do know. The kingdom of heaven is intense. It doesn’t come through comfort and cautiousness. Jesus calls for radical action. He calls for breaking old bonds and upsetting old ways. No man can force God’s hand, but every man must give himself totally to God’s rule and reign if he is to follow the King. Perhaps there is a corollary to this odd verse that we need to keep in mind: “Without me, you can do nothing.”
Are you ready to rumble? Are you willing to do whatever it takes to see God’s kingdom rule in your life? Then you are the right material for righteous violence. Be prepared for a fight!
Isn’t this referring to what Rabbi Gorelik talks about Micah 2:12-13
“I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head.” – John the Baptist is the breaker – “the one who opens the breach”… Tied to the prophecy of the coming Messiah – through the lineage of Boaz and Ruth – from the line of Perez…
Hello Jay, I hope you see this. These were Skip’s thoughts in 2007 (though they may not be the same today). Regardless, here is another explanation for you.
It can be argued that numbers 1 and 4 (above) are correct. Jesus came to announce and bring into effect the kingdom of heaven, but its membership was only open to a very specific group of law abiding believers. But the country had become secular and cosmopolitan. Outsiders forced their way into it and took it over. The king was supposed to be from the tribe of Judah and the priesthood from the tribe of Levi, but by the time of Jesus, Herod an Edomite had murdered and bribed his way into the Kingship and he appointed anyone he wished as High Priest. When the true Messiah did appear, Herod tried to kill him as a child. Failing that and years later, the High Priest succeeded with the help of the Romans, who had also violently forced their way into the kingdom of Israel and took control of it.
YLT Rom 9:6 And it is not possible that the word of God hath failed; for NOT all who are OF Israel ARE these Israel;