The Kinetic Kingdom

“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force” (Mat 11:12)

I submit Matthew 11:12 as one of the worst translated scriptures in English bibles. It is quite ironic the violence this verse has suffered at the hands of its translators!

Notice how the Kingdom of Heaven is portrayed as a victim. We’re told it has suffered violence at the hands of violent men. This conveys the image of a victim being mugged. But that couldn’t be further from the truth of what Jesus is declaring in this verse.

First, there is no word in the original Greek of this sentence for “suffer”. For instance, the word “pascho” isn’t found in Matt 11:12. That word is translated “suffer” over three dozen times in the New Testament. The woman with the issue of blood, for instance, suffered at the hands of doctors trying to treat her ailment. Pascho is most often used to speak of the Son of Man suffering many things, especially at the hands of the religious rulers. (Therefore, people might mistakenly think Jesus is saying the same thing happens to the kingdom of heaven as will happen to Him on the cross.)

Second, the Greek word “biadzo”, translated “violent” in our verse, doesn’t convey a sense of evil. It comes from a root word meaning “life/lively”. A variation of this word is found in Acts 2:2 where a violent wind (or breathing) accompanied the tongues of fire in the upper room on Pentecost. Biadzo speaks more of the power of elephants than of felons. Matthew used a different word in chapter 8 to describe the two demoniacs of the Gadarenes who were so “violent” no one dared draw near to them.

Here is my translation of Matt 11:12: “The kingdom of heaven is kinetic, active and active, kinetic men grasp hold of it.” His next statement helps validate this: “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John.” John the Baptist’s ministry was the alarm that woke up the sleeping giant of the kingdom of heaven. “I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel” (Jn 1:31).

The time of talking about the kingdom was over; the time of pining for the days of God moving had ended. “For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Lk 10:24).

Karl Marx was a louse. The best I can say of him is, he was a dour pessimist. But I mention him as a proxy for “the prophets and the law” merely speaking. Marx said, “Eventually, things are going to get so bad, the poor will rise up. The rich will get so rich, and the poor will get so poor, a revolution will inevitably take place.” I think that is a fair summary of what he declared.  He was a (mediocre) philosopher and thinker.

Now, Lenin was an even worse louse than Marx, but he wasn’t content to merely talk. “Forget this ‘eventually’ nonsense - give me that gun!” Marx was all talk; Lenin was a man of action. Marx spoke of “revolution someday”; Lenin was a revolutionary in his day. I submit the matched set of Marx and Lenin works an example of what Jesus is telling us in Matt 11:12-13. The time for talking has ended. The Jesus Revolution has begun!

Yes, the bible tells us they were a few rabble rousers just prior to Jesus appearing. But they were political agitators. But John’s message was on another plane. Neither he nor Jesus worried very much about the Romans, for instance, or about whether to pay taxes, or not. John pointed people up to heaven. The Messiah was coming! And the kingdom is coming with the King! Notice, Jesus said the kingdom was active. Something more was at work than just John’s anointing and words. An anointing was “in the air” - as clearly seen in the crowds coming to John as in John himself. They were the active ones Jesus spoke of, laying hold of the kingdom.

John, of course, is a transitory figure. He stirred up a spirit of immanence - a sense of what Jesus meant by “the kingdom is at hand” - but “John performed no sign” (Jn 10:41). The Kingdom went fully kinetic with Jesus. Power was a defining characteristic of His ministry. “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him” (Jn 3:2).

But staying in touch with Matthew 11:12, notice how people surged forward to Him. Yes, “He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38) but we see instances of people laying hold of Him: The woman with the bleeding issue; a short guy climbing a tree; the Syrophoenician woman with a demon-possessed daughter; the Synagogue ruler risking his position to come to Jesus because of his little girl. And how about those four friends tearing off a roof to get to Him! And the crowds! Always the crowds.

Yes, the kingdom was active and active people were grasping hold, reaching out for what they needed. Let the rulers pout and shake their heads, the people knew instinctively a switch had been thrown and they would not be put off by obtuse nay sayers.

But I want to end by telling you that the new epoch, introduced by John and fully activated by Jesus years ago, has not expired. The name Immanuel is constructed in the present tense, people! “God IS with us”. We know it didn’t expire with Jesus, because He carefully, and successfully, mentored and trained His disciples in carrying on after Him. And He asked the Father to pour out the Holy Spirit on them, to enable them to carry on. Luke provided us with ample evidence to say the Kingdom remained fully animated throughout that first generation of Christians.

But that’s where the controversy sets in, doesn’t it? Some want to say the Kingdom of Heaven is no longer active; that kinetic people are no longer laying hold of it. But the righteous are still as bold as a lion! (Prov 28:1) And it is still true that “the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chron 16:9)

More to the point, Peter declared the whole Church Age as one cohesive whole, from that day when the Spirit came in power until the day Christ returns in power. And what marks that age? Call upon Him to be saved (Acts 2:21) and receive (“take”) the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). People who smile at us when we get saved have no right to frown at us when we appropriate the Spirit, since both were promised in the same prophetic declaration.

By the Spirit, Peter promised us the gift of the Spirit. And he was very clear about who were being offered these “great and precious promises”: “The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself” (Act 2:39). That includes you and me.

Read the room, beloved. Sense the mood of the Triune God and flow with it. Wise Solomon said there is a time for everything. One of them is “a time to build up” (Eccl 3:3). That’s the time the Church is in and has been for two millennia. God is building His living temple, stone by stone. The Body is building itself up in love (Eph 4:16). Well, the first mention of being filled with the Spirit was the Lord telling Moses He had filled Bezalel with His Spirit to edify and beautify the tabernacle (Ex 31:1-5) - the very work we continue to do, down to this day. We must build, inspired in the same way; inspired with the same indwelling One.

We, too, are to be teachers sent by God, therefore, we too, ought to be doing signs that validate us. Like Jesus, Moses was sent to the people and to Pharaoh with signs from God to accompany his message from God. Our turn. Are we so foolish? This kingdom began in the Spirit. Are we now trying to bring it to completion by the flesh? (Gal 3:3). I’m not! And I hope you aren’t either.