THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN SUFFERS VIOLENCE (PART III)

“Let’s Examine Matthew 11:12 in Context”

By Akin Ojumu

Matthew 11:12 is one of the more difficult verses in the New Testament to translate with precision.

The Greek verb biazō, rendered “suffers violence” in the King James Version, appears in the form biazetai. 

Grammatically, that form can be understood as either middle or passive. Because the forms are identical, the intended sense cannot be settled by grammar alone. It must be determined from the literary and historical context.

That ambiguity explains why English translations render the verse so differently.

Broadly speaking, biblical scholars have understood Matthew 11:12 through two major interpretive approaches. Although these interpretations differ in important respects, they agree on one crucial point:

Neither interpretation presents physical or spiritual violence as a Christian virtue, nor does either authorize believers to seize political power, territory, blessings, destinies, or anything else by force.

1. Interpretation One: The Kingdom Is Under Attack

According to the passive interpretation, the Kingdom is the object of violence, not its perpetrator.

The New International Version renders the verse this way:

Matthew 11:12 (NIV)

“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it.”

On this reading, Jesus was describing the violent hostility that had accompanied the arrival of the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Heaven had broken decisively into history through the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Yet rather than welcoming God’s reign, wicked men were attempting to suppress it.

John had already been imprisoned by Herod.

Jesus was being opposed, slandered, rejected, and threatened by hostile religious authorities.

Eventually, John would be beheaded. Christ would be crucified. His Apostles would be persecuted, imprisoned, beaten, and killed.

In other words:

The Kingdom and its messengers were suffering violence. They were not inflicting it.

The “violent people” in the passage would therefore refer to the enemies of the Gospel—corrupt rulers, hostile religious authorities, and others who employ intimidation, imprisonment, persecution, and physical force in opposition to the reign of God.

Under this interpretation, Matthew 11:12 is certainly not a command for Christians to become “violent,” whether physically or spiritually.

It is a description of what happens when the Kingdom of God confronts a rebellious world:

The truth of God provokes hostility from those who hate the truth.

2. Interpretation Two: The Kingdom Is Advancing Forcefully

The verb biazō may also be understood in a middle sense, conveying the idea of vigorous movement, forceful advancement, or pressing forward.

The King James Version reads:

Matthew 11:12 (KJV)

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.”

According to this interpretation, Jesus was describing the dramatic and irresistible advance of God’s Kingdom.

The coming of Christ inaugurated a new era in redemptive history.

Through His preaching, miracles, death, and resurrection, the Kingdom of Heaven was breaking decisively into the dominion of darkness. Through the proclamation of the Gospel, Christ was invading Satan’s territory, liberating those enslaved by sin, and plundering the kingdom of darkness.

Christ came to set captives free.

Luke 4:18–19

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

He also came to destroy the works of the devil.

1 John 3:8b

“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

Under this reading, the expression “the violent take it by force” functions as vivid first-century imagery describing extraordinary urgency, earnestness, determination, and intensity.

The “violent” are not Christian militants attacking their enemies.

They are people responding so intensely to the proclamation of the Kingdom that they are pictured as pressing forward with the determination of an army forcing its way through a city gate.

The parallel passage in Luke’s Gospel helps illuminate this possibility.

Luke 16:16

“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.”

The Law and the Prophets proclaimed God’s purposes until John the Baptist. With John came the announcement that the long-awaited Kingdom was at hand. From that point forward, the Good News of the Kingdom was being proclaimed, and people were urgently pressing toward it.

The NIV renders the final clause:

“Everyone is forcing their way into it.”

The NRSV translates it:

“Everyone tries to enter it by force.”

The New Living Translation expresses the idea even more plainly:

Luke 16:16 (NLT)

“Until John the Baptist, the Law of Moses and the messages of the Prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in.”

That emphasis on urgency and determined effort also appears elsewhere in Luke.

Luke 13:24

“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.”

The point is not physical aggression. The point is urgency. The point is earnestness. The point is determined pursuit.

The sense of Matthew 11:12 under this interpretation might therefore be expressed this way:

“The Kingdom of Heaven advances relentlessly, and the relentless press their way into it.”

Christ would thus be describing both the powerful advance of the Kingdom and the urgent response of those who hear its proclamation.

The Kingdom advances with conquering power, while eager men and women respond to its message with repentance, faith, urgency, and determination.

3. What Matthew 11:12 Does Not Teach

Whichever of the above two major interpretations one adopts, one conclusion should be unmistakably clear:

Matthew 11:12 does not teach militant Christianity. It does not command Christians to become spiritually violent. It does not authorize believers to seize blessings, breakthroughs, territories, positions, destinies, governments, or political institutions “by force.”

It does not provide theological justification for intimidation, aggression, coercion, or physical violence. And it certainly does not sanctify partisan political activism as though Christians had been commissioned by Christ to conquer society through force.

Under the first interpretation, violent men are attacking the Kingdom.

Under the second, people are urgently pressing toward the Kingdom as it advances.

In neither interpretation are Christians being instructed to become violent people. That meaning simply is not in the text.

4. The Kingdom Will Continue To Advance

Regardless of the forces arrayed against it, the Kingdom of Heaven will continue to advance. The gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Through the proclamation of the Gospel, Christ continues to rescue sinners from the dominion of darkness, liberate those enslaved by sin, and destroy the works of the devil.

The advance of the Kingdom does not depend upon Christian militancy. It does not depend upon political domination. It does not depend upon coercion, intimidation, or physical force.

The Kingdom advances through the sovereign power of Christ and the proclamation of His Gospel. And no earthly opposition can ultimately stop it.

To be continued.