THE KINGDOM OF GOD… & VIOLENCE
Matthew gives the detail that John is in prison. And he’s not coming out alive. Perhaps he thought that Messiah would overthrow Herod and get him out of jail.
Jesus confirms to the crowds that John is indeed more than a typical prophet. He’s the one Malachi foretold:
“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
Malachi 3:1 NLT
And if you read the rest of the prophecy, you can understand why John the Baptist and others would think that, if Jesus IS the Messiah, then Judgment Day has arrived!
“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.”
Malachi 3:2-4 NLT
Messiah is supposed to radically change the people of Judah. He’s going to take on the corruption and “burn it all down.” Right?
So why isn’t Jesus doing that? Why is He spending all His time teaching on hillsides and healing the sick? Why isn’t He taking on the corrupt establishment?
Well… He IS. Just not in the way everyone expected.
“And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it.”
Matthew 11:12 NLT
I think this is helpful translation.
The Kingdom of God is the dominion of God. The dominion over the earth was entrusted to mankind in Genesis 1:28 and then promptly corrupted at the Fall.
And now a divine human has come and has begun taking that dominion back by force. He is expelling demons, driving out diseases, reversing death, commanding nature itself; wind, waves, water, wine, bread and fish.
The corrupt governments and compromised religious systems are the fruit, not the root of the rebel dominion. John the Baptist said that the AXE was laid to the ROOT of the tree, not a pair of nippers to a twig. Jesus isn’t messing around. He’s going right into the HEART of the problem. He is tying up the “strong man” and plundering his house.
The dominion of the King has to happen first in the hearts and souls and minds of men. If you forcibly change a government without changing the hearts of the men governed, you have only made an outward rearrangement. The Kingdom of God originates from the eternal unseen reality, of which the visible world is a mere shadow or subset. It is impossible for His Kingdom to only reign over the material without reigning over the immaterial.
And the immaterial realm of spirits (be they human or otherwise) is not just going to give up their autonomy without a struggle. It’s a very REAL fight. “Spiritual warfare” isn’t a metaphor. It’s just as real as any kinetic, human battle for territory or sovereignty.
Jesus is a one-man invasion.
He has stepped onto the Enemy’s (stolen) turf and of course He is facing opposition. But, as is usually the case in a war, there are oppressed people who have been looking for someone to stand up to the regime that promised freedom and gave only bondage. And those oppressed people start pushing too. They are pushing their way toward real freedom. Some are not very nice about it. They are shoving others out of the way, inciting violence, trying to make things go the way they want. War is never tidy. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell friend from foe.
I think that’s what Jesus is getting at with “the Kingdom of God has suffered violence and the violent take it by force.” I don’t think He’s suggesting that people can force their way into the Kingdom. But that the Kingdom of God is being met with violent opposition in the earth.
WOE TO THE UNREPENTANT CITIES
In this context of the “invading” Kingdom of God, Jesus denounces 3 particularly resistant cities: Choraizin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum.
It reminds me a bit of when US forces invaded Iraq. There were some particularly resistant cities that required months of fighting to drive out pockets of insurgents.
These three towns in the Galilee region were where Jesus spent a lot of time and performed a lot of miracles. It’s like they were happy to accept the free miracles, but they didn’t want to really repent and get fully on board the Jesus train.
This is still a problem.
Plenty of people want to stop in a get a miracle fix from Jesus when they are in the hospital or their kids are making horrible life-choices or their marriage or bank account is in shambles. They want to pray a quick prayer, (or perhaps have the preacher pray it), get patched up enough to function, and go back to being in charge of their lives.
May I be blunt?
This approach is IDIOTIC.
May I be even blunter?
Get your whole sorry hide on the Jesus train or get off the tracks.
PICK. A. SIDE.
If you want Jesus and eternal life and all the goodness Heaven has to offer, you MUST sign over your WHOLE LIFE. You don’t get to own yourself anymore. You are no longer your own. You are bought with a price. If Jesus buys you, you belong to Him, not yourself.
Jesus gave up His life for you.
Now it’s your turn.
Go big or go home.
HIS YOKE IS EASY
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 ESV
Seems kind of counterintuitive to talk of rest and a light burden after a challenge to hand over one’s whole life. And yet here we are.
Life is a weighty thing. Especially if one takes it all upon one’s self. Jesus invites us to hand our lives (and the heavy load of it) over to Him and in exchange, share His life. He is not striving to be something. He already is. We can cease striving and enter into His rest.
A yoke is a pairing. Coupling. Joining.
Jesus said His yoke was easy or, as the NASB has it, “comfortable.” It’s a Greek word that comes from a root that means “to furnish what is needed.” It carries the idea of a lightness of touch. If you go to a fully furnished AirB&B on vacation, you can pack pretty light. Imagine you were invited to stay as the guest of your bestie who is a Billionaire and wants to provide you with everything you need. What packing list? Your friend has brand new pjs for you and a whole walk-in closet with everything you could want.
You wouldn’t even need your wallet or a toothbrush. Talk about comfort! That’s the idea of your soul being coupled with Jesus.
When Jesus speaks of being “heavy laden” it’s the word phortidzo which is like a semi truck that is overloaded with too much weight.
It comes from the Greek word phortos which is basically this:
When He says that His “burden is light,” the word for burden is a diminutive form of phortos: phortion.
We don’t have to haul the whole (overweight) load and carry “the weight of the world.” We are invited to lay it down. Jesus has one lightweight package. And I think verse 28 tells us what’s inside the box.
“I will give you… REST.”
Two recommended songs today:
To The Reader 