7 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? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written:
‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’
11 “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. 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is the Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
7. As they were departing, 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?
8. But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.
9. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
10. For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.’
11. “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.”
12. “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
13. “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.”
14. “And if you are willing to receive it, he is the Elijah who is to come.”
15. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
In Luke 12:54 it is written: “Then He also said to the multitudes, ‘Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘it is going to rain’; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, a pleasant breeze, you say, ‘There will be hot weather, a warm temperature’; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?”
56. “Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?”
In this passage, the Lord rebuked the people that naturally they know times and seasons, but they were spiritually not able to grasp the time they are living in. Do you realize what a privilege it is to live in the times in which we live? I mean that, out of all of the possible times in the recorded history of the human race that we could have lived, we, by God’s sovereign grace, have been granted to live in the most exciting, the most joyful, blessed period of all time. It is the period that has, to this point, been two thousand years long; but it’s that time that the Bible refers to as “the end of the ages” or the last days or even the last hour. It is a very, very special time we live in, and like we take so many things for granted, we don’t realize the time we are living in. The Bible repeatedly talks about the great blessing of living in this time.
The apostle Paul, writing to the Corinthian church about God’s mighty works to the Jewish people, recorded for us in the Old Testament, said, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). 11. “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”
This time that Paul called “the end of the ages” began when the Son of God took human flesh upon Himself and walked on this earth. Hebrews 1:2 says that God has spoken in various ways and in parts, but “in these last days” finally spoken to us by His Son. They are “last,” because they are the days toward which all of the previous ages pointed and looked ahead to. This is the time that fulfills everything that previous times prophesied.
You may not be accustomed to thinking about what exciting times these are, because they have been progressing along now for two thousand years. And you and I will live in only a tiny portion of these days. To think biblically and tune our mind biblically, don’t let the length of this period, and our short time in it, lull you into indifference about it! Viewed from the standpoint of all of human history, you are biblically very privileged. You are living in the most unique and special and blessed, exciting times! You are living in times to which the prophets of old looked ahead to and inquired deeply into (1 Peter 1:10–11).
10. “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,”
11. “searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.”
And what’s more, these times are limited. They will come to an end, perhaps very, very soon! The next great event in God’s program of history is the return of Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords!
And so, in the light of all this, the Bible teaches us to live with a sense of excitement, earnestness, zeal, and urgency that is appropriate to the times! In 1 Corinthians 10, he says these are written for our example to show how you should live. So flee idolatry, do not lust for evil things, do not test the Lord and do not murmur against the Lord.
The apostle Peter tells us to be serious and watchful in our prayers, because “the end of all things is at hand” (1 Peter 4:7). 7. “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.”
And my question to you, dear brothers and sisters, is this: Do we realize the times we live in are so special? Are you living as seriously in your faith as these great times demand? Are you pressing on with the excitement and earnestness and zeal of someone who is living in the end of the ages, and who is about to receive an eternal kingdom?
Or are you living as if none of these things are true, with no care, and as if life on earth will just go on as it always has?
Are you living with a sense of the excitement of the times, or with indifference to them?
Today’s passage talks about how this great and exciting period in which we are living first began to be declared. It was announced by the forerunner, John the Baptist, to the Jewish nation that the kingdom of God is near. Sadly, the Jewish nation, for whom it was first offered, in their unbelief and worldly love, neither appreciated the glory and privilege of the time which all the previous ages and prophets pointed to, nor the glory of the kingdom. They welcomed it with a tragic ‘yawn’ of utter indifference, a lack of interest! Here, the long-awaited kingdom was being offered to them; and yet, when it came to receiving it, most of them rejected it. As a result, its King Himself finally told them, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it” (Matthew 21:43). 43. “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.”
And here we are today, living as Gentiles who have been brought into the covenant promises of Israel, who have been made the recipients of that offered kingdom. By God’s grace, we Gentiles, formerly “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise,” have been brought near (Ephesians 2:12). “that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world,” and are now “fellow heirs” and “partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (3:6).
And this morning’s passage encourages us not to do the same mistake that Israel did, and receive that offered kingdom with indifference, or be casual, but to eagerly, violently seize, to grasp and hold fast to the truth and progress, because we are living at a very special time, “the end of the ages.” Millions have yearned to be in this time; they were not given this opportunity. It’s a call to live our Christian lives appropriate to those living “in the end of the ages,” with the sort of excitement, and zeal, and earnestness, and sacrifice, and whole-hearted devotion that is required of us.
It’s a call to eagerly, violently seize the kingdom!
The Greatness of the Herald
Let’s set the scene for this passage. Something had just happened that, I believe, left the people who saw it in a bit of shock. John the Baptist, the mighty prophet, who had announced Christ to the nation Israel, had expressed disappointment with Jesus. His situation made him shaken, he had a doubt. The Lord gave a wonderful answer to his disciples and sends them. There were people all around who heard all this; and it raised questions in their minds about John. They thought what he who looked so strong, now in jail, is so unstable. And so, Jesus answered those questions. And in answering those questions, He taught the people about the importance of the times in which they were living, and at this great time, how they should violently catch the kingdom.
The kingdom was, indeed, being offered to them; and it was up to them to receive that kingdom with the kind of violence, intense, excitement, enthusiasm, and obedience that the offer deserved. First, notice how Jesus speaks to them about…
I. GREATNESS OF THE HERALD OF THE KINGDOM (vv. 7–10)
Jesus sent those two disciples back to John. And Matthew then tells us, “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? 8 But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You’” (Matthew 11:7–10).
7. As they were departing, 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?
8. But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.”
Jesus, it seems to me, waits to say these words until the two disciples left. And then, perhaps as the crowd watched the two disciples walk down the road, Jesus asks the crowd about their expectations of John and what they went out into the wilderness to see. John’s ministry, you’ll remember, was out in the wilderness of Judea. He wasn’t a travelling preacher who came into town. It would have taken some effort for people to go out to hear him; and yet, the Bible tells us that people from Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan River went out to hear him. And Jesus asks what it was, when they expended all that effort and went out all that way to hear him, that they were expecting to see. He asks—I believe just a little bit sarcastically—”What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” “What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?”
He knows what they are thinking: “The John who was so powerful—see now how doubtful. He is not that big a man we thought. See how he doubts. He is one who said he is the Lamb of God, announced the Messiah, but now he’s doubting. Can we believe him? Is he a vacillating person?” And so the Lord says, “Well, when you went out into the wilderness, did you go out there to see a reed shaken with the wind?” What does He mean by this?
He wants them to trust John and his ministry. Christ in loving patience defends John. And He does it by pointing to their own attitude and their own experience with John. He recalls the scenes of popular enthusiasm when all Israel streamed out to the desert preacher. “What went ye out into the wilderness to see?” Why did you leave Galilee and go all the way out to the desert around the Dead Sea? Why would you make such a long, hard journey? What was it that attracted you to that man? Why were you so curious? Why was he so magnetic and compelling? What was it about him that drew you out? “Was it because he was a reed shaken in the wind?” “A reed shaken by the wind?” Was it simply because he was a vacillating, weak character, blowing back and forth with every new wave that came along?
What is the obvious answer? No, because if they wanted people like that, they could have found them in the city. They were all over the place. Most of the men are like that: say one thing, do one thing, and according to the situation, change. Such people, they could have found them all over their religious system, in the temple; they certainly didn’t need to go all the way out to the desert to find one.
Reeds that are spoken of here were very common reeds. They would grow along the bank of the Jordan River, and they were frequently growing in other places around water. They were by the thousands everywhere along the Jordan. They will bend according to the wind—no stability, no strong root, very weak plants. And so they were common, ordinary things. And the Lord is saying, “Did you go out there because he was just a common, ordinary, garden-variety guy, blown around like everybody else with no strength and no conviction?” The reed blowing back and forth symbolizes a man who yields to popular opinion, a man who is blown about by ideas and pressures, a man who can be bought, a man who vacillates on what he believes, a man who plays to the audience, a man who says what he thinks people want to hear, a man who veers from side to side, a man who does not have the courage or the boldness to be a man of conviction. It refers to the spineless. And what He’s saying is, if you wanted to find some spineless people, there are plenty of them right where you were. You didn’t go all the way to find such a man. The whole land was filled with people like that.
They were attracted to the wilderness because they never saw a man so stable like JB. Not a reed, but a strong oak tree. His emblem was not the reed, but ‘an iron pillar.’
John was no wimpy little reed that got blown around by the winds that blew around him. He wasn’t simply preaching what the culture around him pressured him to say. He wasn’t trying to please people. He didn’t care for what the world says, but preached the truth and the word of God boldly, not compromising. And they knew that. And he did not hold back his message for anybody. In Matthew 3, when all of the religious leaders came out, if he wanted to play to the crowd, that was his moment. “He saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Now that’s both parties of leaders. “And he said unto them, ‘Greetings respected leaders, if you told, I would have come. Why you came all the way?'” No, he didn’t say that. “You generation of snakes, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits befitting repentance. Do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 3:7–10). That was a very strong rebuke, aimed at leaders of that day.
John was no ‘reed shaking in the wind’! He was a mighty storm wind, shaking the reeds! There was no preacher like John! No one spoke with the mighty authority that he spoke with! He told people, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 3:2); and when you heard him, you had no choice but to either repent or become hardened! He was the kind of preacher who didn’t tell people what they wanted to hear, but rather made them hear what they needed to know.
The discussion moves from John the Baptist’s steadfast character to the significance of the age heralded by the kingdom of heaven, culminating in Jesus’s call for believers to “violently” seize its privileges. I have removed all Tamil content, corrected grammar and spelling, and used bold text for emphasis.
John the Baptist: A Man of Conviction
He was a man of conviction, of heroic firmness. It’s very rare to find such people. Convictions are strong, unbending positions that one holds because of his understanding of truth and law. It seems that we scarcely see convictions these days. Look at our political scenario: no convictions, no principle or firmness. According to elections or opinion polls, like a reed, they keep moving. A Reformer said revivals or reformation will never happen if we don’t find men of conviction. James says: “Don’t be a double-minded person, going whatever way is easy.” You go back in history, and just from the human perspective now, you mark out the great people of human history, and you will find they were people who had convictions about something, and they pursued those convictions to the end. “Though there were as many devils in Worms as there are tiles on the house-tops, go I will,” said Luther. That is the temper for God’s instruments.
His unshakable conviction was evident not only in his words, but even in his appearance and life. Then Jesus further asks, “But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.” 8. “But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses.”
Anyone who went out to hear a nice, pretty-faced pulpiteer in a shiny, decorated, sequined chapel—some sycophant, pleasing sermonizer in a silk suit—preaching that God will bless you, give you all the money you want, that is where you go. Go to a tastefully decorated church, to a preacher in a smooth velvet suit coat, a gold chain, a bracelet, with style. That is where you go. But if you want to see such a preacher, you were clearly going in the wrong direction when they went out into the wilderness in the first place!
It was customary for the king’s friends to be rewarded for their loyalty by wearing the luxurious clothing of royalty. But such were the king’s friends because they told the king precisely what he wanted to hear rather than what he needed to hear. They were his “Yes-Men,” stroking the kingly ego in order to live in ease and comfort. John wore no such clothing of kingly favor. Even today, if you talk the way people like, you will be popular instead of telling the truth which they should hear.
How was John clothed? Matthew tells us that “John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey” (Matthew 3:4). John lived the rugged life of a prophet who had a word from God burning within him. He dressed as a prophet from God would dress (Zech. 13:4), and there was no pretense about him. He didn’t dine at a fancy table, eating every day different varieties of meat like fish, prawns, mutton, and chicken. What he ate was locusts, he drank water, and ate wild honey, and didn’t live in a fancy house, decorated, with air-conditioning, but in the open wilderness. He lived in the wilderness. His lifestyle was a live visual protest and rebuke against people filled with worldly worries and no care for the kingdom, thus destroying their souls.
He was a man so consumed by a greater cause in his own mind about the coming kingdom. As the forerunner for the kingdom, he was so utterly abandoned to the cause. John’s commitment was a total, all-consuming commitment. He didn’t cut his hair, wore a camel’s dress, ate locusts, never married or lived a life of comfort. In other words, he was saying, “I do not care about what I look like. I do not care about indulging myself in those delicacies of life. I am a forerunner of the greatest kingdom of God. I am given to the kingdom glories.” The time I am proclaiming is so great, and the glory and blessedness of the kingdom is so great, I am a forerunner for that kingdom. The only thing that mattered to him was to proclaim it!
And so, Jesus goes on to say, “But what did you go out to see?” And perhaps someone shouted out, “A prophet!”—which, of course, was the right answer. But it was only partly right. Jesus says, “A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.” And Jesus then lets us know how unique John really was.
9. “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.”
10. “For this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.'”
Jesus quoted from Malachi 3:1—the last book of the Old Testament—and said, “For this is he of whom it was written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You!'” In other words, John was a prophet. But he was a prophet unlike any other prophet before him. He was a “prophesied prophet!” His role as a prophet was unique because God promised his ministry in the Scriptures nearly five hundred years before it began!
And just pause and let that sink in, dear brothers and sisters. Consider how unique a man it was that first proclaimed the message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He was a prophesied prophet, who proclaimed a message unlike any other message, in a way that was outstandingly unique. What a unique man John was.
You are recipients of the message he proclaimed! You are living today in the times that he declared were “at hand.” He didn’t even live at this time. And every day that goes by brings us closer to the end of that age, and to the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus’ coming!
The point is: If John, who was just a forerunner, was so gripped with the introducing of the kingdom—John lived like a man gripped by his own message—and you are actually receiving and are already into the kingdom, do you live like you have been gripped by it too? Do you follow Jesus with the kind of energy and zeal and self-sacrifice appropriate to the exciting age in which, by God’s grace, you live?
The Greatness of the Kingdom and the Call to Seize It
So first, Jesus speaks to the crowd about this great herald of the kingdom—John the Baptist. Second, notice that Jesus speaks to them about…
II. THE GREATNESS OF BEING LEAST IN THE KINGDOM (vv. 11–15)
He says, “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 the Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 11:11–15).
Look at that passage. Take careful note of both how it begins and how it ends. It begins with the words, “Assuredly, I say to you…“; and those words mark off the rest of what Jesus says in this passage as something very important. Literally, He says, “Amen, I say to you…“—which underscores the sober truth of what He is about to say.
And then, He ends what He says with these words, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!“—It identifies what had been said as that which can only be heard and understood through an act of God’s grace, and only by those to whom God has given “ears to hear” (Matthew 13:10–17).
These, then, are words of great importance. We should give careful attention to them and humbly seek before God to understand them, so that we hear them, meaning it should affect our hearts and impact our lives.
Now, notice what Jesus says. He says, first, that “among those born of women”—sort of a Jewish reference, or a sort of an ancient reference to the human race, that is, of all those born from within the human family—”there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.” I believe we should take those words at face value. They mean exactly what they say. I don’t know who you might put in the category of “the greatest man who was ever born”; but the Son of God here says it was John the Baptist. That pretty much ends the discussion, doesn’t it? In other words, out of all people who had been born, none were greater than John! He stood out head and shoulders above the rest of humanity.
He was unparalleled. In this sense he was greater than Adam. He was greater than Abel. He was greater than Enoch. He was greater than Melchizedek! He was greater than Abraham. He was greater than Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. He was greater than Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel. He was the greatest human being that ever lived.
And this also places John in the category of being the greatest of all the prophets of the Old Testament era. Jesus says, “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John” (v. 13). John was the last and greatest of all the prophets of the Old Testament era. All other prophets before John prophesied about Jesus long before He came. They all spoke of the glories of the kingdom from afar. But God gave John the great privilege of being the ‘prophesied prophet’ who pointed bodily to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and actually, personally “prepare the way” before One who is greater.
He declares that he is more than a prophet, because he is His messenger before His face; that is, immediately preceding Himself. But we may mark the principle on which John’s superiority to the whole prophetic order is based. It is that nearness to Jesus makes greatness.
But all that Jesus tells us about John’s greatness was simply to make an even more remarkable point. Jesus says, “…[A]mong 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” (Matthew 11:11).
11. “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.”
The “kingdom of heaven” is that kingdom which John proclaimed when he announced, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is the rule of God over men and women through His King Jesus Christ—a kingdom in its full form which commenced when the Son of God came into this world as a Man to die for men; and that will finally be consummated at His return to this earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. It’s a kingdom that we enter into by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross; and that we live today as citizens of through fellowship with Him and obedience to His commands; and that we will one day enjoy the privileges of fully in heavenly glory.
Those Jewish people Christ was talking to, they did not grasp the reality of the kingdom. He is showing them of the glory of entering the kingdom.
And Jesus is letting us know that, as great a man as John the Baptist was in the program of God, he was just the herald of a kingdom to come. The man or woman who is “least” in the kingdom of heaven is greater than even John! Do you see the glory of being in the kingdom, and the time we live in?
Dear brother or sister, you and I are not greater than John in character and power among men. He was a mighty man. And make no mistake, John is in glory now—beholding the face of Jesus and basking in His glory. But we are greater in terms of our privileges and standing before God than John was in as he walked on this earth. John, you see, was a man of a different era than ours. He as a man of the Old Covenant period—a man born under the Law. But in Christ, we are men and women of the New Covenant period—people who now stand before God by grace through faith; and who now have the law of God in our minds and written in our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33). We live in “the end of the ages”—under the fulfillment of those things they only spoke of!
Those of the Old Covenant times—of whom John was greatest—lived under the instruction of the law; but we are sons and daughters who are heirs of that grace to which the law was meant to lead us (Galatians 3:22–26)! We live in the fulfillment of those things that John and the other prophets before him could only search out and inquire into from a distance (1 Peter 1:10–11). The Holy Spirit only came upon them; but He now dwells within us (Galatians 4:6)! God spoke to them in an incomplete way—only at various times and in various ways; but has now spoken to us perfectly through His Son (Hebrews 1:1–2)! They spoke prophetic utterances; and we have the prophetic word confirmed (2 Peter 1:19)!
And the least little citizen of the kingdom of Jesus Christ is greater than the greatest prophet of the era that preceded it! What a privilege is ours today! What a wonderful honor it is to be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven through Jesus Christ! What excitement and zeal we ought to exhibit!
The Call to Holy Violence
So, living at this time, how should we approach the kingdom of God? If we rightly understand what is the privilege of living in this time and what is the glory of the kingdom, all who have understood this glory… Jesus then says, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (v. 12).
12. “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.”
This is a difficult passage with many interpretations. One view says the kingdom of God is being attacked and hindered by the violence of men used by Satan. If you compare other passages and context, a more accurate view is that translated in the New International Version, which reads, “the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it.”
It means if the forerunner who announced this kingdom was living with such conviction about this kingdom, so much self-denial, so absorbed as a forerunner, and since the least man in the kingdom is greater than the John the Baptist, then the man who grasps the glory and honor of this time and greatness of this kingdom, the man who has ears to hear, would take the kingdom violently! He would be aggressive in seizing ahold of the kingdom with all our energies—to be forceful in laying hold of it. It would be very much like what Jesus said, in a different context, in Luke 16:16: “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.”
Luke 16:16: “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.”
It is talking about entering and progress in the kingdom of God. There are great hindrances for us to enter the kingdom of God. Unless we enter it violently, we cannot enter the kingdom. In Matthew 7:13 the Lord says:
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
13. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”
14. “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
We have need therefore to summon together all the powers of our souls and strive as a matter of life and death, that we may arrive at the kingdom above. “We must not only put forth diligence, but violence.” By this “holy violence,” he meant an earnest eagerness in pursuit of our own salvation. Paul says to work out your salvation in fear and trembling.
The kingdom has been offered to the Jewish people; and their King has presented Himself to them. And yet, they are not responding to the offer. And so, this is a warning that a new order of things has arrived. The prophets and the law had preached until John; and during that time, the time of urgency had not arrived. But now, the “end of the ages” has arrived; and the kingdom must be eagerly sought and eagerly seized upon. Only such a man can enter. A man or woman of God must be earnest and zealous and eager. He or she must deny themselves, set all worldly pursuits into second place, and aggressively “seize the kingdom.” Seek the kingdom first, otherwise you will not be able to enter.
Israel rejected the kingdom because they had not understood the glory of the kingdom, but dragged down the lofty conception to their own vulgar level, looking at the worldly political circumstance. That was big for them: their dream of an outward sovereignty. Because of which they were so indifferent to the kingdom God proclaimed. Do we understand the glory of the kingdom? And again, this encourages us to not respond as the Jewish people did in Jesus’ day. We today have the kingdom offered to us! Let’s not treat it with indifference, saying other things are more important: buying a land, a cow, marriage. This is the call of Christ for intensive earnestness. This call did not ring in the ears of that slumbering generation. Those who had ears to hear should hear! Let’s not respond in an impassionate manner to the great times in which we live! Let’s seize the kingdom!
III. Christ’s Call to Greatness
We all want to be great, right? But the great problem is that so many are seeking greatness in the world’s eyes. Christ tells us how to be truly great. Christ’s standard of greatness is unlike that of the world. In light of John’s ministry as the Messiah’s forerunner as predicted by the prophets, in light of the value of kingdom citizenship in God’s sight, take heed to the call of the gospel to become a kingdom citizen.
Call for Kingdom Zeal
The word “violence” can be translated as “applying force” or “burning zeal” or “being violently treated” or “triumphant force.” The language Christ chose was very intentional. It depicts what it is like to enter the kingdom. You do not enter the kingdom passively, indifferently, or yawning, or by having a ‘ho-hum’ attitude. “Violent men” laying hold of the kingdom refers to those with burning zeal, those that feel the urgency in their own hearts by reason of their sin and Christ’s offer in the gospel. Know the terrible depravity of their hearts, and enter violently.
Entrance into the kingdom requires earnest endeavor, untiring energy, utmost exertion. Christianity is not for the spiritually lazy, or the casual that can take or leave the gospel propositions. It is for those who must have Christ. Nothing else will satisfy or fill the ache of one that desires the rule of Christ in his life.
Charles Spurgeon offers two particular reasons why our Lord uses such terminology for those that are kingdom citizens. First, “poor sinners take the kingdom of heaven by force… because they feel they have no natural right to it; and therefore, they must need take it by force if they would get it at all.” They ask: “How long am I going to be a slave to sin, and allow sin to destroy my eternal soul?” This is no retreat to a work’s orientation at all. Instead, it shows the attitude, the zeal, the enthusiasm, and the desperation found in all that have come to know Christ. Some among us have not come to know Christ because you’ve felt nothing of the desperation that Jesus speaks of in this passage. If you were in a burning house and were awakened by the flames, you would not procrastinate getting out the door. How much more so should any among us that have come to realize your own sinfulness, depravity, and God’s certain judgment, flee to the only refuge—Jesus Christ?
Second, we need to enter violently because “there are so many adversaries to oppose us, that if we are not violent we shall never be able to overcome them.” Just like Christian in Bunyan’s allegory, Pilgrim’s Progress, we face obstacles of procrastination, worldly-mindedness, slothfulness, and pliability with the world. We have a weak flesh, worldly love, and lust. So we must not rest. Strive to enter.
Conclusion
Do you realize why we make so less progress in the kingdom? Is this not the reason?
Think about your attitude in spiritual growth. So many excuses we give, so much laziness, so much indifference. We do all worldly things earnestly, and this is last. Simple things like daily reading, prayer, and meditation. If we don’t progress there, how can we be a witness and share the gospel, or prepare messages? How many excuses we have? This reason and that reason. We will never progress. We need to be men of holy violence to progress in the kingdom, overcome our remaining sin, and strive to progress and grow in the kingdom. Do we realize the great privilege of the blessed time we live in? If we do, we will have this violent attitude.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 