Matthew 11:12.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force.
How did Jesus view the kingdom of heaven? As 'an active force in the world that is energized by God's power.'
Jesus said if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The ministry of Jesus was not ordinary. He expelled demons and ministered to the ailing people, as he challenged his disciples with his teaching that centered on God's reign in a dynamic personal way; God's reign as a powerful healing force being released in a hurting world, but now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence.
The Contemporary English Version of the Bible translates this verse as follows:
From the time of John the Baptist until now, violent people have been trying to take over the kingdom of heaven by force.
The New International Version translates it:
From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.
How can this be? Jesus is characterized as a man of violence on one hand, and as a man of peace on the other. Was violence Jesus' message to the people?
The Greek word translated "suffereth violence" is the word BIAZOMAI. According to Young's Concordance, it means 'to be forced.'
Since the kingdom of heaven message dominated the teaching of Jesus, a closer examination of the scriptures with a view to understanding this verse is necessary.
Micah 2:13.
The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.
The Hebrew word used here for "breaker" is PARATS; it means, "to break forth."
Luke 16:16
The law and the prophets [were] until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
Look at the word "presseth" in this verse. The Greek word is BIAZOMAI, meaning, "to force, or to use force."
Now, what do the records in Matthew and Luke have in common? Both talk about John, the kingdom of heaven, and the kingdom of God. John the Baptist made history; when John came, things changed.
In Micah, the breaker is the first to come through the gate. In the New Testament, the person who "broke forth" or came first ahead of Jesus Christ was John the Baptist.
Malachi 4:5-6
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
John the Baptist ministered in the spirit and power that Elijah had.
Matthew 17:10-12a.
And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed...
The image that I have of John is of a loud man, bursting through and preaching about the kingdom of heaven from the inside out, making the path wide for the king.
In Matthew 11:13-14, Jesus said:
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive [it], this is Elias, which was for to come.
And in verse 10 of the same chapter, Jesus explains:
For this is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Thank God for John's life and ministry! Thank God for his boldness and love to push forward. John knew his God, and he also knew who he was.
Luke 1:17
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Luke 1:16
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
Luke 1:13b
and thou shalt call his name John.
Micah 2:13.
The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them.
The second half of this verse has to do with Jesus and the people.
John 10:9.
9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
At night the shepherd in the East gathered his sheep to a safe place and kept watch. A shallow cave was a good place of safety, and a wall was often built partly across the cave mouth to form an enclosure in front of it. The wall was made of local stones, and was topped with thorns. If ther was no cave available, a pallisade of stones was made out in the open, with thorns being substituted for stones as necessary. The shepherd lay down across the opening, effectively becoming the door for the sheep. (The New Manners and Customs of Bible Times.)
The shepherds worked diligently to protect and care for the flock. Jesus laid down his life at the entrance.
It would make sense to the Hebrew mind for God to use two individuals, like the breaker and the king in Micah 2:13, in order to make a way for the release of captives. In the same way the sheep anxiously wait to be released after a night of confinement within the sheep fold, so are people looking for release from their captivity. Once a way has been opened for them, they will break through and pass through and go out by it, the King going before them as the Lord at their head.
Ephesians 1:22-23.
And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church,
Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Thank God for Jesus' love for Him, for Jesus laying down at the gate.
John, the Breaker, and Jesus, the King, played a very important part in man's redemption. Elijah was to come first to open the way, and he would be followed by the King, and those who broke through with their King the Messiah.
Matthew 11:12.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force.
The second part of Matthew 11:12 says "the violent take it by force." The word "violent" is the word BIASTES, meaning "forcible." The other word, "force", is the Greek word HARPIZO, "seize."
Luke 16:16. The law and the prophets [were] until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
"Presseth" here means to force or to use force. To force is to enter into something, to press forward. The prophets knew the king was going to come, and the breaker would be the first to come.
My understanding of Matthew 11:12 is this: from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven breaks forth, and those breaking forth are pursuing it. Pursuig what? The higher values of God's reign.
The ones breaking forth with the kingdom of heaven pursue the principles of God with all their might. God rules in every part of their lives. They are subjects of the King and accept the yoke of the kingdom of heaven, and seek to see the redeeming power of healing work in a world full of people who are in need of God's love.