Let’s just admit it. Some Scripture verses are hard to understand. They require grappling with, meditating on, and pensive prayer. Our tendency can be to pretty much skip over them and focus instead on those that bring comfort and encouragement. To me, Matthew 11:12 is one such verse.
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of God suffers violence and violent men take it by force.
There are a couple of different ways that verse is explained. One (which may very well be the most popular) is that we can expect the world to respond to the kingdom of God with opposition and hostility. While that viewpoint is not untrue, I don’t think that is what Jesus is telling us here. The context is that John is in prison, about to be executed for speaking the truth about sin and holiness. Certainly that is hostility and opposition! But the particular details of this discourse are key. While John is facing this painful and frightening trial, his soul is apparently in anguish. He sends word to Jesus asking in verse 3 Are you the Expected One or shall we look for someone else?
Jesus’s response is beautiful. I encourage you to read it for yourself in verses 4-6. Spoiler alert: He sends word back to John - yes I am!
But Jesus continues speaking to those around Him, praising John the Baptist for his courage, faithfulness, and toughness. And utters those words recorded in verse 12, that verse about violence. We usually think of Jesus as peaceful, some even call Him a pacificist. We point to His calm response to the argumentative Pharisees. His silence before His accusers. Especially His rebuke of Peter when he cut off the ear of the soldier coming to arrest Jesus. Yet here He is, praising violence. WHAT????
Jesus is indeed advocating violence - against ourselves. Not self-mutilation but rather denying our flesh. Sometimes it is called “self-mortification”, referring to the need to put to death the desires of our flesh. Jesus is telling us that we are going to face opposition - and the culprit is not external but rather internal. Even the bold, faithful, fearless John went through a dark place where he questioned God. A struggle where he wondered what God was doing in his life. A time when he puzzled if he had been duped into believing the goodness and faithfulness of God. Even John the Baptist. And Jesus didn’t rebuke him but instead comforted and assured him. And He tells us we are going to face the same fight. Faithfulness in following Christ will require spiritual violence. In order to walk in victory, we must be prepared to fight our own self with such force that we can overcome our natural tendencies and submit to the will of God.
How are we to be violent? By the grace of God. Not by mustering up our own energy but by looking to the power of Christ. That is why one of the ninefold manifestations of the Spirit of God in us is “self-control”. Because that fight is real! The other ways the Spirit bears fruit (love, joy, patience, and the like) seem lovely and desirable - but Jesus reminds us that the fight is real. And we need His Spirit to control our crucified self. And to fight that good fight will oftentimes be really really hard. Even violent. The opposition from the hostile world certainly piles it on, as well. But by looking to Jesus and what He has for us, the power of those sinful desires (for comfort, recognition, control, success, etc) is broken. It will require much of us but the reward of His fellowship and favor is sweet indeed.