The Kingdom Advancing Through Force

This morning I find myself back reflecting on the Kingdom of God/Heaven and I am tackling one of the more difficult verses about the Kingdom.  The verses for reflection this morning - Matthew 11:11-12 NIV:

[11] "Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. [12] 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."

Looking at this translation it is somewhat difficult to understand exactly what Jesus is saying, so I feel compelled to look at the original Greek.

"subjected to violence"  Greek "biazo'"Definition (verb): (a) mid: I use force, force my way, come forward violently, (b) pass: I am forcibly treated, suffer violence.

"violent people"  Greek "biastes'" definition (noun): a forceful, violent man; one who is eager in pursuit.

Additionally - biastḗs – positive assertiveness; used of the believer living in faith ("God's inworked persuasions") guiding and empowering them to act forcefully – i.e. "fired up" by God to act by His revelation. It is used only in Mt 11:12. See 971 (biazō).

"raiding it" Greek "harpazo" definition (verb): properly, seize by force; snatch up, suddenly and decisively – like someone seizing bounty (spoil, a prize); to take by an open display of force (i.e. not covertly or secretly).

Verse 12 could read ( as in Jesus speaking about Himself): From the days of John the Baptist, the Kingdom of Heaven is moving forward through force (power - my word) and the one who is forcing His way forward is openly and forcefully possessing it. 

Force is actually a word used in physics.  "In physics, a force is an influence that can change the motion of an object. A force can cause an object with mass to change its velocity (e.g. moving from a state of rest), i.e., to accelerate. Force can also be described intuitively as a push or a pull. A force has both magnitude and direction, making it a vector quantity."  It used to be  referred to as power. 

In this case, the object could be the Kingdom, and it is changing trajectory (moving forward).

Additionally, thinking about that sentence, it is helpful to think back on who is advancing the Kingdom of Heaven, from the time of John the Baptist, as in after John the Baptist's time of ministry. Clearly the one doing this is Jesus, for His message is about the coming near of the Kingdom, from the very start of His public ministry (See Matt 4:17), so it appears to me that He is describing Himself and His methods. 

Thus we could paraphrase Jesus' words more simply - I am the one who is advancing the Kingdom of Heaven with Power, and through this power I am taking possession of it!

The Kingdom exists where?  In us, in our hearts and souls.  If the people who heard Jesus speak these words looked around they would see healed people, disciples, and followers.  No territory conquered, no real base of operations and property claimed.  This Kingdom of Heaven was clearly not an earthly kingdom, with property lines, and geography, but rather with subjects (sons and daughters) spread through the world.  He was advancing the Kingdom, one person at a time.  He was rescuing them, if you will, from the Kingdom of darkness, and bringing them into the Kingdom of Light, the Kingdom of Heaven, through their faith in Him.

Going back to the definition of force found in Physics, we could say that Jesus was exerting an influence on the people's souls, and causing them to move and change trajectory (up instead of down).

Jesus spoke about the reality of the kingdom in Luke 17:20-21 NIV:

[20] Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, [21] nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

If we tie this back to His statement in Matthew 11, it makes perfect sense.  He was describing the advancing of the Kingdom of Heaven happening in their midst, advancing with force (power) and people were missing it because they didn't understand what the nature of the Kingdom was, nor where it was advancing, nor how! 

If I take all this back to Jesus message of the Kingdom of Heaven/God is near, and then His demonstration of that Kingdom reality through healing, miracles, signs and wonders, we find it fits perfectly into these two statements Jesus made concerning the Kingdom.  He proclaimed the Kingdom, then demonstrated it, then saw it advance as people believed in their hearts and souls that He was indeed the Son of Man. 

So my question this morning is whether the Kingdom advances through talk or words alone?

In my opinion, I think it can, but the much more expedient way is through the force/power of the Holy Spirit being experienced by people! We can become convinced logically that Jesus is who He says He is, but when we experience His touch in our life, that belief in our mind moves to our heart and soul.  We move from agreement to actual knowledge!  Jesus said in John 17:3,  "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."   We must move from logical agreement to actual knowledge, and in doing so the Kingdom advances!

My prayer this morning is that the Kingdom of God would advance forcefully in our midst!

Amen, come Lord Jesus!