***
Gospel: Matthew 11: 11-15
Jesus said to the crowds:
“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force.
All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John.
And if you are willing to accept it,
he is Elijah, the one who is to come.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
This is one of the most obscure passages in all of the Gospels. “The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force,” Jesus says.
What on earth does he mean?
These words come at the end of a monologue from Jesus, delivered to an anonymous crowd, after he hears of the imprisonment of John the Baptist. Certainly, the Lord could read the times.
John was nearing his end.
And so was he.
***
Some scholars break this verse down into two separate events – “the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,” and separately, “the violent are taking it by force.”
First, Jesus and John the Baptist are representatives of the kingdom of God. The Lord may be acknowledging the sad reality that they – as well as a long succession of prophets before them – have suffered, even to the point of death, for spreading the kingdom.
The kingdom of heaven suffers violence because there are forces of evil in this world that will do anything to fight against God.
***
Separately, there are those who will do anything to enter into God’s kingdom. These may be the ones whom Jesus says, “are taking it by force.”
Consider Saint Paul. Some of his final words ever written were these: “I have fought the good fight, I have competed well, I have run the race to the finish, I have kept the faith.”
Much like Jesus and John the Baptist, Paul had to fight to do God’s will. Notice he uses very athletic language to describe his ministry – he fought, competed, ran. He’s racing towards heaven, hoping to thrust himself inside the narrow gates.
The “violent” in this sense are those fighting for their salvation.
***
In what ways do we experience faith as a struggle? How do we battle against temptation, sin, and the voices in this world attempting to lead us astray?
***
May the Lord give us the grace we need to fight the good fight, to compete well, to run this race to the finish. And, if we must, take heaven by storm.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Active Christianity (2) Christian Life Church (3) ShareFaith Media