Matthew 11:12

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingly rule of heaven is forcefully advancing (or ‘suffers violence'), and men of violence are taking it by force.”

A number of questions are immediately raised by this verse, although the problems of exact interpretation do not take away from its central meaning, which is that the Kingly Rule of Heaven is ‘now' manifested on earth, and is either 1). forcefully advancing in the face of all opposition, or 2). is being forcefully entered by those who are becoming Jesus' disciples, or 3). is being subjected to the violence of its opponents. This fact of the present existence of the Kingly Rule of Heaven must not be lost sight of in the discussion that follows.

The probable meaning of this is that the triumphant establishment of God's Kingly Rule (the word means not His Kingdom but His Kingship) on earth has begun, being advanced each time someone genuinely becomes a disciple, that is, ‘comes to Christ', and is taken up and appropriated by His saving power (or in other terms is ‘truly converted'). It will not finally result in the world becoming ‘the Kingdom of God'. Rather the Kingly Rule of God is among them or ‘within them' (Luke 17:21). The world as a whole will continue in rebellion (Jesus made that clear from the start - Matthew 7:13. He never thought that all the Jews would accept His Kingly Rule). And when the King calls the world into judgment, it is then that those who are His will enter ‘the life of the age to come' in Heaven (Matthew 25:46), while those who have refused to respond will enter into everlasting punishment.

With regard to the three main alternatives suggested the idea that the Kingly Rule of Heaven is being violently attacked by opponents does not fit the context. While it is true that John has suffered at the hands of Herod it was in fact a personal matter. John had rebuked Herod for stealing his brother's wife. But it was not an actual attack, except indirectly, on the Kingly Rule of Heaven. It is true that such hostility is indicated in chapter 10, but while the disciples might well have suffered under it, why mention it here out of the blue, except possibly in 12b as an after-comment?

But what is rather true here is that in the process of vindicating John we have just been told of the one who is least in the Kingly Rule of Heaven who is greater than John. And we would then inevitably ask, why? Further information and explanation concerning its establishment therefore fits the context. Furthermore we would also expect some evidence in respect of the success of John's ministry which accorded with the Scripture quoted in Matthew 11:10, an indication of what he had accomplished by his preparing of the way, as demonstrated by a comment on the advancement of the cause of the One for Whom he had prepared the way. That would therefore support either the meaning that that Kingly Rule is now ‘forcefully advancing' or the idea that it is being ‘entered violently' by those who are responding. This last idea is certainly supported by Luke 16:16, spoken on another occasion, but the problem with this is that there is no hint in Matthew of violence in relation to entry into the Kingly Rule, apart possibly from the description of the way as ‘afflicted' in Matthew 7:14. The emphasis is more on meekness and lowliness. (But see the next paragraph below). However there is certainly a clear indication of the violent advancement of the Kingly Rule of God in Matthew 12:28 where Jesus speaks of Himself as defeating and binding the strong man Satan through the power of the Spirit so that He might release his captives (spoil his goods). This would suggest therefore that we should translate ‘forcefully advancing', with that in mind.

And as well as these factors another factor has to be taken into account, and that is that the idea of the Kingly Rule being ‘forcefully advanced' is found in Pharisaic teaching. They spoke of bringing in the end of the age ‘by force' through fasting and study of the Law. Thus the idea of spiritually ‘violent' methods bringing in God's Kingly Rule is not limited to Jesus, and this might suggest that Jesus is here speaking of advancing the Kingly Rule of Heaven through His emphatic teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and the response to it by His disciples, fitting in with the idea in Luke 16:16. We might therefore see His words as referring to the Kingly Rule forcefully advancing through the ‘violent' spiritual activity of Him and His disciples, both in His teaching and in their opposition to evil spirits.

‘From the days of John the Baptist until now.' The phrase ‘the days of John the Baptist' refers to the time of his preaching ministry. During that time he had proclaimed that ‘the Kingly Rule of Heaven is at hand' (Matthew 3:2), and was calling men to repent in readiness for it. That had been the introductory phase. But to John the Kingly Rule of Heaven was still in the future. He saw it as something yet to happen. He did not see himself as establishing the Kingly Rule of Heaven, or his followers as coming under ‘the Kingly Rule of Heaven'. That was to happen when the Coming One arrived Who would baptise men with Holy Spirit and fire, gathering the wheat into the barn, and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:11). He was thus in his own eyes the last of the prophets prior to the establishing of the Kingly Rule of Heaven. And that is why Jesus could say that the one who was least in the Kingly Rule of Heaven was ‘greater' (in privilege and status) than he.

But Jesus probably did see the Kingly Rule of Heaven as having begun to be established while John was preaching. For He tells the chief priests and elders (and possibly the Pharisees - Matthew 21:45) that while they have delayed responding to the Kingly Rule of God, public servants and sinners ‘are going into the Kingly Rule of God before them' because they believed the preaching of John. And they are doing it by responding to the commands of the Father and thus doing the will of the Father (Matthew 21:28, compare Matthew 7:21). And then He points out that, in spite of this, the chief priests and elders, with the Pharisees, will still will not enter it (Matthew 21:31). All this emphasises that entering under the Kingly Rule of Heaven was in His eyes for them a present experience. It was not something that awaited the future.

Whether Jesus meant by this that they actually entered the Kingly Rule of God under John's ministry, or are entering it now under His own ministry as a result of having believed John's message, is not made clear, although the overall impression in context is that they heard John, believed his words, and began to do the will of the Father and thus entered under the Kingly Rule of God. But either way Jesus saw them as entering the Kingly Rule of God at that time.

What is therefore certain is that the Kingly Rule of Heaven is being established now that John is in prison, for ‘from the days of John the Baptist until now' the Kingly Rule had begun to forcibly advance. The forcible nature of the advance is explained in Matthew 12:28. The powers of darkness are being put to flight, and Jesus pictures it in terms of ‘spoiling' Satan's household, that is entering it and seizing some of his possessions. It was indeed only after John was imprisoned that we are told that Jesus advanced into Galilee and began to cast out evil spirits. On the other hand He had certainly performed some miracles earlier (John 2:11; John 2:23; John 3:2).

The question of whether the Kingly Rule of Heaven began to be established during John's ministry or awaited Jesus' sole ministry is a technicality, for without question John, who came ‘in the way of righteousness', had a part to play in its establishment, whether in a preparatory way or more. But whichever way it was the important thing to recognise is that in one way or another the Kingly Rule of Heaven began with Jesus' presence as God's chosen and beloved One (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 12:18) to Whom John pointed.

And along with that would come the forcefulness of men who eagerly pressed into it (Luke 16:16). The timing is similar in Luke 16:16, ‘the Law and the prophets were until John, since then the Kingly Rule of God is preached and every man presses into it (enters it violently)'. This division between ‘the Law and the Prophets' and ‘the Kingly Rule of God indicates either that the Kingly Rule began to be preached by John, with men then pressing into it, or that it began after he had ceased preaching. It depends how we interpret ‘since' (whether as inclusive or exclusive). But either way the present tenses indicate that it is ‘now' happening. Note that to become a disciple here involves ‘violence'. The past has to be thrust aside, genuine repentance has to take place, life has to begin anew, the cross has to be taken up because the bearer has become a revolutionary against all that his old life stood for, and Jesus must be followed. That was why Paul could liken it to the journey through the wilderness, with gross sin needing to be thrust aside (1 Corinthians 10:1 in the context of Matthew 9:24).

‘Men of violence are taking it by force.' Note the present tense. It was happening while Jesus was speaking. Unlike ‘forcefully advancing' in the first part of the verse, which is elsewhere used in both good and bad senses, the words used here are regularly used elsewhere for indicating actions which are on the whole harmful. This probably therefore indicates the opposition that was building up as depicted in Matthew 12:2; Matthew 12:14, which results from its own forcible advancement, and may also have in mind the persecution that the disciples had suffered while out on their mission (Matthew 10:16) and the imprisonment of John the Baptist (Matthew 4:12; Matthew 11:2). Alternately it may like Luke 16:16 refer to the violence which was necessary on behalf of the disciples in order to put the past aside and follow Jesus, the words being seen as ‘purified' by the context.

Note On Some Of The Interpretations Of Matthew 11:12.

As will be appreciated this verse has had many interpretations. This partly arises because it so clearly presents the picture of the Kingly Rule of Heaven as being presently established, which conflicts with various beliefs about the Kingly Rule still being in the future. We do not need to enter into that here, for any interpretation that avoids the sense of a present Kingly Rule here is forced. Whatever it means it clearly must refer to a present Kingly Rule of Heaven which in one way or another is being affected by present events. That is demanded by the present tenses (both here and in Luke 16:16), which while not necessarily conclusive are almost so, and even more by the context. For the context demands a present application.

The first problem, which we have already considered, is as to whether the timing of the commencement of the Kingly Rule was during the ministry of John, or only after it was completed. The fact that in Matthew 11:11 John is depicted as not being under the Kingly Rule of Heaven (because those who were, were greater) suggests that it commenced after John was imprisoned. Thus this suggests that when John proclaimed the Kingly Rule of Heaven as ‘at hand' he was thinking of its arrival in the near future, not as it being ‘within reach'. But once Jesus began to preach it and cast out evil spirits after John was imprisoned, He certainly meant that it was within reach. It had ‘come upon them' (Matthew 12:28). Public servants and sinners were entering it by beginning to obey the will of the Father (Matthew 21:28), while in spite of that the chief priests and the elders (and Pharisees) were refusing to enter it (Matthew 21:32).

But like all transitional periods, especially when one is taking over from another, the point of changeover is not necessarily fixed (although the imprisonment of John was certainly one turning point). Preliminary battles take place before the moment arrives when kingship is spoken of as beginning to be established. And that is what happens here.

The huge distinction made here in chapter 11 between John as a member of the old age, and the coming in of the new age, unquestionably supports the exclusion of John from being in the present Kingly Rule of Heaven on earth, as does the fact that those within it are greater than he. On the other hand there can be no doubt that he played an important part in the preliminaries that led up to its establishment. His preaching in a sense commenced the movement that led up to the establishment of the initial group that formed the nucleus of the Kingly Rule of Heaven, and those who believed his words certainly at some stage entered under the Kingly Rule of Heaven. So any disagreement on this point is marginal.

The next main problem is that in Greek both the middle and the passive tense can be represented by the same form of the verb. Thus here we can translate ‘the Kingly Rule of Heaven is forcibly advancing' (middle), or ‘the Kingly Rule of God is suffering violence' (passive), depending on which we choose. And this latter can then refer either to the violent entry of those who enter it forcibly, or advance it forcibly, or to the activity of the enemy in attacking it. The Lucan ‘parallel in Luke 16:16 suggests that the activity of true converts is in mind, for there ‘the Kingly Rule of God is preached and everyone enters it violently'. But while the verse in Luke can be seen as ‘parallel', it must not be seen as the same saying simply altered around (or vice versa). There is no genuine reason for doubting that it is a distinctive saying about a subject that Jesus no doubt emphasised a number of times, looking at it from a slightly different angle.

The decision must therefore be made in the light of the context, and the context is that of entering under the Kingly Rule of Heaven. ‘He who is least in the Kingly Rule of Heaven' in the previous verse has undoubtedly entered it, while the idea of violent opposition to the Kingly Rule is totally absent from the near context. Furthermore Jesus' words sent to John also point to men and women experiencing the power of the Kingly Rule of Heaven (Matthew 11:5), and the assumption must be that many therefore enter it. And additionally to this the verse is enclosed within two descriptions of the activity of John the Baptist as preparing the way for the Coming One, as men prepare the way for a King (Matthew 11:10; compare Malachi 3:1), and as his being the coming Elijah of Malachi 4:5 (compare Luke 1:15) whose remarkable preaching would prepare the people's hearts ready for the Lord's coming, and this in a context of violent activity (Malachi 3:1; Malachi 3:11; Malachi 4:1). All this points to Matthew 11:12 a as centrally indicating the ‘violent' advancement of the Kingly Rule of Heaven, rather than its being under attack. That is not, however, to exclude the possibility that a counterattack follows as possibly depicted in 12b. Indeed Luke in the same context replaces Matthew 11:12 with, ‘when they heard this all the people and the public servants justified God having been baptised with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptised by him' (Luke 7:29). That may well be Luke's way of interpreting this difficult verse for Gentile readers indicating the forceful onward movement of God's Kingly Rule of 12a by its result in terms of the response of the people and the public servants who press into it, and the negative counterattack of 12b in terms of the Scribes and Pharisees. This would give Luke's support to the above interpretations.

On the other hand some would argue that Luke 16:16 is decisive, for that too refers to the ‘violent way' in which men become disciples. It is true that the word used for violence here in Matthew 11:12 b always elsewhere has a negative sense, and that the context nowhere else indicates violent activity on behalf of the disciples (indeed the opposite), but Jesus is well known for suddenly using unexpectedly exaggerated language in order to make His particular point (e.g. Matthew 5:22; Matthew 5:25; Matthew 5:29; Matthew 7:6), so that it must often be read taking its significance from the main idea without reading into it all the negative aspects that might be there.

One argument set up against this whole interpretation is that in the context the advance of the Kingly Rule of Heaven is not seen as violent. It is by healing, raising the dead and preaching the Good News (Matthew 11:5). It is by bringing men under Jesus' yoke as the One Who is meek and lowly in heart (Matthew 11:28). And the Servant is depicted as acting in the way of gentleness and compassion in reaching out to the bruised reed and the smoking flax (Matthew 12:19). But that is to overlook the wider context where actual active violence is described in the activity of the One Who, acting by the power of the Spirit, demonstrates that the Kingly Rule of Heaven has come by entering the strong man's house and binding the strong man and then plundering his goods, that is, by despoiling the household of Satan and releasing his captives. Here is the Kingly Rule of Heaven advancing violently indeed.

We must also remember what we saw above about the fact that the idea of the Kingly Rule being ‘forcefully advanced' is found in Pharisaic teaching. As we saw they spoke of bringing in the end of the age ‘by force' through fasting and study of the Law. They saw these as powerful spiritual weapons for use in the establishing of their aims (compare Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 10:4). Thus the idea of the use of spiritually ‘violent' methods for bringing in God's Kingly Rule is not limited to Jesus, and this might suggest that Jesus is here speaking of advancing the Kingly Rule of Heaven through His emphatic teaching in the Sermon on the Mount and the response to it by His disciples, fitting in with the idea in Luke 16:16, and through His attack on the evil spirits (Matthew 12:28) who corrupt this evil generation (Matthew 12:45).

So that is surely what Jesus has in mind in Matthew 11:12 a. This is especially so as Satan's counterattack is then described in Matthew 12:43 as taking place on those who have benefited by Jesus' activity but have not allowed His word to fill their empty hearts (Matthew 12:41).

End of note.