And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away

[Nemorivaga]

Hi! Could someone comment this verse for me? It’s Matthew 11:12. Luke 16:16 is similar: The law and the prophets were until John; from that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every one useth violence towards it. What could it mean? Thanks.

 

[JerryZ]

Hi! Could someone comment this verse for me? It’s Matthew 11:12. Luke 16:16 is similar: The law and the prophets were until John; from that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every one useth violence towards it. What could it mean? Thanks.

The Old Covenant beginning with Moses who established the LAW. Followed by all the Prophets of the Old Testament ending with John the Baptist pointed to “The Kingdom of GOD” and JESUS.

And yet what happened to the Prophets? Most of them were killed. Why? Because they “every one” did violence to the Kingdom of GOD by disobeying the LAW and murdering the Prophets who were the “Conscience” of the people of Israel.
How do you shut down a guilty conscience?

Both Matthew and Luke convey the same message with slightly different words. Same concept though.

With JESUS the new age has begun, The Kingdom of GOD is at hand, we are repeated again and again in the Gospels.
These passages however do NOT mean we can now do whatever we please. On the contrary you read that if anything there is a tightening of the Moral Code. Before Jesus you were guilty of sin if you acted, NOW after Jesus merely thinking IS as sinful.
In fact in Luke the very next verse tells them that Moses permitted the Israelis to practice divorce. Jesus tells them that this is SIN in no uncertain terms.

Luke 16:18 Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery. And whoever marries her who has been divorced by her husband commits adultery.

.

 

[thistle]

Hi! Could someone comment this verse for me? It’s Matthew 11:12. Luke 16:16 is similar: The law and the prophets were until John; from that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every one useth violence towards it. What could it mean? Thanks.

D-R Bible, Haydock Commentary:

Ver. 12. Suffereth violence, &c. It is not to be obtained but by main force, by using violence upon ourselves, by mortification and penance, and resisting our perverse inclinations. (Challoner) — Certainly it is great violence for a man to look for a seat in heaven, and to obtain that by his virtue which was refused him by his nature. (St. Jerome in St. Thomas Aquinas) — The kingdom of heaven, &c. That is, the kingdom of heaven is to be obtained by mortification, penance, poverty, and those practices of austerity which John, both by word and example, pointed out. According to this interpretation, the kingdom of heaven means eternal life. Or the meaning may be, the kingdom of heaven is taken by the violent, because it is not now confined, as in the old law, to one people, but open to all, that whoever will may enter in and take possession of it. The kingdom of heaven, in this interpretation, is taken for the Church of Christ, for the gospel, and also for eternal life. (Menochius)

Ver. 16. The law and the prophets, &c. Not that the law was made void by the coming of John [the Baptist], but that what the law and the prophets had taught, had been suited to the very imperfect dispositions of the Jews, who as yet were incapable of relishing perfect virtue. At the coming of John, the gospel began to be preached, and this called men to a life of perfect sanctity. (St. Thomas Aquinas) — Our Saviour came not to destroy, but to fulfil the law and the prophets. (Matthew v. 17.)

 

[Dorothy]

I understand that to mean that cooperating with God’s grace for our sanctification is doing “violence” to ourselves so that we may become holier and closer to Our Lord, thereby increasing grace in the Body of Christ, the Church.

(to deny our self, pick up our cross and follow Him every day in every way.)

Lord help us!

Blessed Mother …pray for us!

 

[TimothyH]

Jesus himself is the Kingdom of Heaven.

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

At hand means right in front of you, physically present. You are able to reach out your hand and touch it.

They tried to stone Jesus in the synagogue, tried to cast him off the brow of the hill, sought to kill him when he came up to Jerusalem for the Passover, swore an oath not to eat until he was dead and paid Judas 30 pieces of silver to find out where he would be so that they could arrest him illegally. The seized him, put him in chains, demanded his death and set a murderer free in his place, spit on him, whipped him until his skin came off and nailed him to a tree.

Jesus often refers to himself as the Kingdom of God.

Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, `The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ (Luke 10:8-9)

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, Lo, here it is!' or There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." (Luke 17:20-21)

-Tim-