Mt 11:11-15
[Jesus said to the crowds,] 11“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. 12From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force. 13All the prophets and the law prophesied up to the time of John. 14And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, the one who is to come. 15Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
Reflection
The Kingdom and violence: “The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent are taking it by force.” Luke’s version of this passage is just as difficult to understand: “The kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone who enters does so with violence” (16:16). The difference in wordings by the two evangelists does not suggest two different sayings. It does, however, make one wonder which of them quotes Jesus faithfully. The Greek words used are biazetai, meaning to repress or force one’s way in violently, and biastai, the violent, the firmly determined. Modern-day scholars claim that Matthew has preserved the wording better. As translated here, the verse could mean that the present rule of God appears as one that is threatened and attacked by its opponents.
Another translation suggested is: “From then on the rule of God presses in with power. And the forceful seize it.” This could mean that the rule of God is one which prevails and demands to be acknowledged and confirmed by resolute persons.
Today’s scholars believe that the second translation captures Jesus’ confident attitude better. He knows that the kingdom will prevail and foresees its ultimate victory. Thus, Christ’s followers must orient their lives to the breaking of the kingdom. They must grasp it, seize it, and let it shape their very lives.