From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force

 As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John:  "What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see?  A man clothed in soft garments?  Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.  But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he of whom it is written:

'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face,
Who will prepare Your way before you.'

"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who 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 suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.  And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

- Matthew 11:7-15

Yesterday we read that when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples (before their first apostolic mission), He departed from there to teach and to preach in their cities.  And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of is disciples and said to Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see:  The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.  And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me."  

As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John:  "What did you go out into the wilderness to see?  A reed shaken by the wind?  But what did you go out to see?  A man clothed in soft garments?  Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses."  John's disciples have just come to Christ, asking Him, "Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?"  This question has come from John, who is imprisoned in Herod's castle.  A natural reaction to those familiar with the Gospel so far would be to question whether or not John had perhaps changed his mind.  After all, it was John who recognized Jesus as the Christ when Jesus was baptized, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?"  (See this reading.)  But Jesus' ministry is not what was expected of the Messiah.  He hasn't publicly declared Himself.  He will cultivate a kind of faith that responds with the heart, and so His response to John was to quote from the prophet Isaiah, and the signs of the time of the coming of the Messiah, which are manifest in Jesus' ministry (see yesterday's reading, above).   Here, Jesus seems to address the crowds and this natural questioning of John's possible change of heart because of the question of John's disciples.  John has not changed his mind at all, but wishes his disciples to be given direction to Christ.  Jesus demands of this crowd to consider what they went out into the wilderness to see when they went to John.  A reed shaken by the wind is a description found in 3 Maccabees of Ptolemy Philopator, a king of Egypt, as he was smitten by the judgment of God for his persecution of the Jews.  Jesus asks them if they thought John was one who would bend with the wind, a person clothed in soft garments and therefore not used to struggle and difficulty.  Jesus says ironically, of John who is imprisoned in a king's house (the palace of Herod Antipas), "Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses."  He is challenging the crowd to know John and to understand him, and He goes on to praise John and establish his place in the story of salvation.

"But what did you go out to see?  A prophet?  Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.  For this is he of whom it is written:  'Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before you.'  Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."  Jesus affirms that John is a prophet in the lineage of the Old Testament, but he is also even more than a prophet.  He is the forerunner, the messenger who goes before the Christ, fulfilling the prophecy of Malachi.  In the tradition of the Church, these words extend even after death, as John goes before Christ into Hades, to prepare all who have come before.  Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.  He is, as the greatest prophet, the fulfillment of all righteousness of the Law.  But there is something much greater that is now at hand, and within the ministry of Christ -- and that is the presence of the kingdom of heaven.  My study bible says that the New Covenant is of such incomparable value that those who share in it are greater than John was without it. 

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.  For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."  My study bible notes that there have been several interpretations given of this passage.  What does it mean that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and that the violent take it by force?  Some have said that this refers to the Jewish opposition to the gospel.  Others say that it refers to the Kingdom breaking into the world "violently," that is, with great power and force.  Still others have said that the Kingdom of heaven refers to Christ Himself, who has been incarnate since the days of John the Baptist, and who will suffer violence on the Cross.  But St. John Chrysostom writes that the violent who take the Kingdom by force are those who have such earnest desire for Christ that they let nothing stand between themselves and faith in Him.  Jesus seems to imply this when He says that "for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."   The time of prophecy of the Kingdom has ended with John, the prophet to end all prophets.  At this time the Kingdom is present, manifest, and those who wish to enter in seize it with all their might.   This word for violence in the Greek is used only twice in the New Testament, and both times in a positive sense.

"And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  John does not ascribe to himself the role of Elijah (John 1:21), but Jesus does, my study bible tells us.  John fulfilled the mission of Elijah (Luke 1:17, 76), and his destiny was similar.  (Malachi prophesied that Elijah would return before the Messiah and the coming of the Kingdom; see Malachi 4:5-6.)  Jesus uses the words of the prophets to indicate to the crowd that they need spiritual ears to understand the fulfillment of this prophecy in John. 

It's interesting to see this aspect of Jesus' persona:  strong and vigorous, and vigorously defending John to the crowds.  He appeals to their understanding of John's character, asking them what they went out to see when they all flocked to John in the wilderness (see Matthew 3:4-12).   We hear Jesus in a strong and bold key, claiming something powerful for John, and yet also proclaiming the boldness of those who now enter the Kingdom, with violence and force.  Jesus uses a voice of irony, nearly sarcasm, when He asks them if they went out to see a reed shaken by the wind, or one clothed in soft garments -- and declares that indeed, those who are clothed in soft garments are in king's houses.  It's also a testimony about the rulers of Israel, who seem to blow with every wind, and appease only worldly power.  We hear a Jesus who is neither soft nor a reed blown any way the wind blows.  This is the voice of vigorous defense and clear debate, a voice of bold proclamation and courage in the face of the oppression that has begun by the state and the powers that be, in the face of the imprisonment and soon-to-be death of John the Baptist.  This is Jesus who fully manifests all aspects of what it means to be human, and to use all His human capacity for exhortation and encouragement and a positive force.  He does not come into His Kingdom with an army for physical battle.  He does not call upon God the Father to send Him thousands of angels to force His Kingdom on the world.  But in His mission He also does not shrink from telling the truth, from the boldness of declaring what is what, of colorfully challenging complacency and lack of faith.  This is also the Jesus we're asked to imitate and to remember:  one who praises a positive kind of assertiveness, and the zeal for the Kingdom, the earnest and deep desire that sees and seizes the time when the "kingdom of heaven is at hand."   Spiritual understanding is a real and powerful force; it is not "ethereal."  It is not the stuff of fantasy or dreams.  Its truth is something that shatters every other power, that overturns all human or worldly plans, that permeates all things.  It is the strength and vigor of this reality that Jesus brings and challenges the world to hear, if we have ears to hear, if we can find a way to know and understand this reality He brings, His Kingdom.