As I am pressing through the Gospels, I once again ran across the difficult passage/verse in Matthew 11:12...From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,and the violent take it by force. Any way you interpret it, one thing is clear... Faith in Christ and the advancement of the Kingdom is not for the faint of heart or wimps. John the Baptist was in a prison, about to lose his literal head for his refusal to forsake his faith in the Messiah-ship of Jesus. Jesus in making the statement was all too aware that the final destination of His earthly ministry and mission was a cross. Not a single one of the Apostles, from Peter to Paul would escape this world without suffering persecution and a violent, painful end in some form. Perhaps never in the history of The Church is there a time during which we should acquaint ourselves with the purpose behind this verse. These are violent times, and our faith and the Church is being violently and passionately opposed on many fronts, in many ways, from many sources. The Kingdom which is within the heart of every believer will not, and must not fail to advance, with violently passionate force, without physically violent response. Or, as I heard Pastor Matt Chandler say, this past week, Piety does not equal passivity. If youd like some more insight into the verse, heres a good resource for reading: pastormark.tv/2012/03/01/tough-text-thursday-matthew-11-12
Posted on: Sat, 09 Nov 2013 14:06:46 +0000
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