And 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 it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples as He sent them out on 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 his 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.  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.'"  As Jesus has just sent out the apostles on their first evangelizing mission, telling them to announce everywhere they go that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand," things begin to fall into place in the clues to the salvation plan unfolding.  John the Baptist is in prison, and has sent his disciples to ask if Jesus is the Messiah.  Christ has answered in the affirmative, indicating that all the signs prophesied about the Messiah are present in His ministry (see yesterday's reading, above).  What this does is make clear, also, just who John the Baptist is, as Jesus explains by quoting from Malachi 3:1.  As we read this text, we must understand the powerful role John the Baptist played in his own time as a revered figure of holiness, and among the disciples of Jesus, many of whom were first disciples of John.

"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."  My study Bible explains that in terms of the Old Testament Law, John the Baptist is the greatest prophet.  The New Covenant, it says, is of such incomparable value that those who share in the New Covenant 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."  My study Bible explains that several interpretations have been given to the idea that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence.  Some say that it refers to the Jewish opposition to the gospel.  Others have commented that it refers to the Kingdom breaking into the world "violently," meaning with great power and force.  Yet others have remarked that the Kingdom of heaven refers to Christ Himself, incarnate since the days of John the Baptist, and who will suffer the violence of the Cross.  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom as teaching 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.

"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!"  It is not John who assigns himself the role of Elijah (John 1:21), but Jesus does.  My study Bible explains that John fulfilled the mission of Elijah (Luke 1:17, 76), and his destiny was similar.  But John is honored over Elijah, as it was John who prepared the way for the advent of Christ Himself.

As John is now in prison, Jesus brilliantly gives an exhortation which both lauds John and his role as that of "Elijah who is to come" and at the same time affirms His own identity as Messiah.  Jesus seems to be shaking up the people when He asks them what they went out to see in the wilderness.  "A reed shaken by the wind?" ...  "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."  One wonders if they now deride or diminish John as he is in prison (and he will be beheaded by Herod Antipas).  Jesus clearly refers to the rough nature of John, so radically committed to dependence upon God that he lived in a poverty of the wilderness, reflected in his clothing and food (Matthew 3:4).  But it was John himself who prophesied what was to come in this shift of perceptions, as Jesus sends out apostles for the first time, and John is now in prison:  "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).  Nevertheless, Jesus vigorously defends John and his important role, even as the picture of a salvation plan shifts and comes more into focus, and Jesus' identity as Christ manifests more clearly.  What is important about the elements of today's reading, and especially in Jesus' speech about John, is that we note the profound and powerful role each saint plays in the making of this Kingdom.  Each is a living stone, in the words of St. Peter (see 1 Peter 2:4-6).  John the Baptist cut a great, dynamic figure, a powerful voice of the time, with the backdrop of the great historic shifts to come.  There was nothing fragile or weak or soft about him, as Jesus' words tell us.  And yet, John -- even by his own telling -- fit humbly into the salvation story as one who served and recognized Christ as the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36), the One "whose sandals I am not worthy to carry" (Matthew 3:11).  This teaches us quite vividly the role each "living stone" may play in the life and reality of the Church, the Body of Christ.  Each one fully-fleshed, vivid and dynamic, a full character and life in and of oneself, and yet serving to build up this Body in humility under Christ.  There is no half-way or part-way in humility; there is only the fullness of real discipleship and the fullness of the soul.  A strange paradox for most, but entirely true in the unity of God and God's peace.  In the true image of salvation, there is no competition but rather complementarity, each one fulfilling a dynamic unique persona, but only through humility to the One deserving of our worship.   So it is in the profound creativity of God.  Hence the paradox and mystery of faith, where one such as John is herald to Christ; John is the greatest prophet, and yet now "the kingdom of heaven is at hand."  It is those like John, forceful and powerful, with a strength of passion and desire for God, who are entering in.  There is no more period of the great prophets before the Kingdom, but a different reality has come among us, and in this sort of roughness and violence those who deeply desire it, fishermen and tax collectors alike, are storming in.  There are only two places where this word for force or violence is used in the New Testament, and we read them in the words of Jesus today.  He uses these as positive images, reminding us that it is the lukewarm who are distasteful to the Lord (Revelation 3:16).  Christ affirms for us that in our faith, we are not meant to be abstract beings, but fully human, made more dynamic through love of God and humility to Christ:  not passive but rather passionate to serve, to find His narrow way.  It is Christ who makes us more, God's work in us which fulfills the image and likeness of which we're capable.  Let us aspire to be like John, to know who we truly are in Christ's light.