Please turn to the Gospel according to Matthew.
But from the days of John the Baptist until now,
the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence,
and the violent seize upon it.
Lord, we want to thank Thee for gathering us together here this morning. We thank Thee for Thy presence with us, and we do look to Thee to speak to us.
Lord, we are all here waiting to hear from Thee. I pray that Thy Holy Spirit will open Thy Word to us and send Thy Word into our very hearts.
Do not allow us to just listen with our ears, but, Lord, open our understanding, that Thy Word may fall on good ground and bear fruit to Thyself a hundredfold. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
Now, once again, I would like you to join me in meditation. We need to meditate upon the Word of God—not just read it or hear it, but ponder upon it before the Lord and allow the Word of God to really be opened to us and sink very deep into our hearts.
Before we meditate together this morning, I would like to clarify one point. You know, we are talking about the kingdom of God, the gospel of the kingdom.
Brothers and sisters, we need to remember that the gospel of Jesus Christ is only one gospel. There are no other gospels. The Apostle Paul makes it very emphatically in Galatians: if anyone should preach another gospel of another kind, he is to be cursed, because there is only one glad tidings, and that glad tidings is our Lord Jesus Himself.
But our Lord Jesus is so full, so rich. So, as we open the New Testament, we find four Gospels: the Gospel according to Matthew, the Gospel according to Mark, the Gospel according to Luke, and the Gospel according to John.
Now, that does not mean that we have four gospels. There is only one gospel. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. But our Lord Jesus is so rich that you have to look at Him from different directions.
In the Gospel of Matthew, He is described to us as King; in Mark, as Servant; in Luke, as the perfect Man; and in John, as perfect God.
When you look into the nature of the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will find that it has a number of different aspects. The Gospel of Matthew reveals the gospel of the kingdom, the kingdom of God. The Gospel of Mark shows us the gospel of servanthood—how we should serve as servants of God.
The Gospel of Luke shows us the gospel of grace—how the grace of God, through our Lord Jesus, has come to us. The Gospel of John shows us the gospel of life, the eternal life of God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So you find that the gospel of the kingdom is not another gospel of another kind. It is another aspect of the same gospel: the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Most believers are familiar with the Gospel of Luke. We know Christ Jesus as our Saviour; we receive the remission of our sins. It is grace that comes from our Lord Jesus.
But unfortunately, many of God’s people do not know the gospel of the kingdom—that our Lord Jesus is more than Saviour to us. He is our King. What does He mean by being our King? How is it that we are in the kingdom of God?
That is the reason why we need more meditation on the gospel of the kingdom. This morning, I hope that you will not just be here listening, but that you will join with me in meditating. We are to concentrate our meditation on just one verse: Matthew 11:12.
But from the time of John the Baptist until now,
the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence,
and the violent seize upon it.
Here we are faced with a new term: the kingdom of the heavens. We mentioned before the kingdom of God. Wherever God rules and reigns, there is His kingdom. Therefore, His kingdom is from eternity to eternity.
But, strictly speaking, what is the kingdom of God? The kingdom of God is composed of those who put themselves under the rule of God. In other words, God rules over all, but there are people who are rebellious.
Those who are truly in the kingdom of God are obedient, submissive, and surrendered, for they put themselves under the rule of God. These are really in the kingdom of God.
But here the Scripture gives us another term: the kingdom of the heavens. This is a new term in the whole Bible. Probably you can find something close to it in Daniel 4:26: “the heavens do rule.” That is the kingdom of heaven.
The only other place in the New Testament, aside from Matthew, is 2 Timothy 4:18. The Apostle Paul said that God would deliver him from every evil work and preserve him for His heavenly kingdom. These are the only two places that come close to this term, “kingdom of the heavens.”
The kingdom of the heavens is a term used exclusively by Matthew. In Matthew, you find it many times. Some people say thirty-two times, and some say thirty-three times. But, anyway, it is a term used mostly in the Gospel according to Matthew.
Now we would like to ask the question: Is not God the God of the heavens and of the earth? If He is the God of the heavens and of the earth, then what is the need for specifically mentioning the kingdom of the heavens?
You remember the story during the Babylonian captivity of the children of Israel. The Bible says that God is the God of the heavens, but during that period He is not addressed as the God of the heavens and of the earth.
Why? It is because during that period He had no representation on earth. Even the children of Israel, who were supposed to represent God on earth, were in captivity. They failed in their testimony.
So far as the Word is concerned, it is as if God had retreated back to heaven. He was no longer on earth. He had no name on earth, because Jerusalem was destroyed. The place where He had put His name was destroyed.
During that period, you remember, He is always mentioned as the God of the heavens, and never mentioned as God of the earth, even though He is.
After the remnant came back, they rebuilt the temple. Yet, brothers and sisters, you find that very soon they degenerated. Very soon they departed from God.
Even outwardly they still maintained an appearance. They had a rebuilt temple; they had the priesthood serving; they had the law of God in their midst; and they even had Pharisees and scribes who specialized in the letter of the law. Yet, so far as their spiritual condition was concerned, they departed from God.
You remember the last book of the Old Testament, the book of Malachi. There God had a controversy with His people. His people were in blindness and darkness. They were insensitive to the love of God.
They polluted His table. They despised His name. They violated His covenant. They robbed God of His due. What was the condition of the children of Israel, so-called God’s people on earth, who were to represent God on earth? What a failure!
The last word of God to His people was:
Return unto Me, and I will return unto you.
After God had spoken this word, for four hundred years He was silent. There was no word from heaven to earth.
But after four hundred years, suddenly God spoke again. John the Baptist began to proclaim the Word of God in the wilderness, and people flocked to the wilderness to hear him.
His message was:
Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.
The children of Israel needed to repent—to turn around. Not just a little correction, but an absolute turnaround, because their direction was wrong. They were going the wrong direction. They needed to turn back, to return to God, and then God would return to them.
But God gave them a new reason for repentance. The reason for repentance was that the kingdom of the heavens had drawn nigh.
In other words, it is as if God said, “You can go on your own way if you want to, but remember, the time has changed. The kingdom of the heavens is drawing nigh, and if you do not repent and turn around, you will not have any part in the kingdom of the heavens.”
So you see, here repentance is based upon the kingdom of the heavens. Of course, we know what repentance is. We need to repent of what we did wrong. But here you find that you need to repent because something good, excellent, and perfect is coming.
This is a new reason for repentance. Do not think that you are good enough. You need to repent because when the kingdom of the heavens comes, your good is not good enough to enter in.
You need to completely change your course, change your heart, circumcise your heart, and return to God. Then there is hope for you.
The first thing we need to consider is this: What is meant by the kingdom of the heavens? Is it different from the kingdom of God, or is it the same? If it is the same, why use something different?
We mentioned before that kingdom, in the scriptural sense, basically and primarily means kingship. In other words, it is the rule of the King—not merely in an external sense, but in the sense that all those who are under His kingship and under His rule begin to take up the character of the King.
So the kingdom is the corporate expression of the King Himself. He expresses His nature and His character in a people, and that people becomes like Him. That is the kingdom.
The kingdom of God means those people who are under His rule. They take up God’s character. They are like God. God is able to express Himself through these people, so they are His kingdom.
What, then, is meant by the kingdom of the heavens? It means that heaven rules over this people. This people is under heaven’s rule, and heaven begins to be manifested in their lives. They live a heavenly life on earth. Then they are in the kingdom of the heavens.
The kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of God are parallel at some points, but not at all times. The kingdom of God is from eternity to eternity.
Even in the strictest sense, from eternity to eternity there is no lack of people or angels who put themselves completely under the rule of God, in spite of rebellion. So the kingdom of God is from eternity to eternity.
But the kingdom of the heavens is one part of the kingdom of God. In that one period, the terms are interchangeable. But apart from that period, you will find that the kingdom of God is bigger than the kingdom of the heavens.
To put it very simply, the kingdom of the heavens began with the first coming of our Lord Jesus. He who is in heaven came upon this earth. He brought heaven to earth to set up His kingdom upon this earth.
In the first coming of our Lord Jesus, the kingdom of the heavens began; and it ends with His second coming, when He shall come and set up His kingdom upon this earth. The millennial kingdom is the kingdom of the heavens in manifestation.
So, brothers and sisters, just keep in mind that the kingdom of the heavens is a section within the kingdom of God that begins with the first coming of Christ and ends with His second coming.
Why is it called the kingdom of the heavens? Because He who was in heaven came down to earth. He brought heaven to earth.
You remember what our Lord Jesus said: He who was in heaven came upon this earth, and yet He was still in heaven. He brought heaven with Him. He lived a heavenly life.
“Father in the heavens”—this is the theme of the kingdom of heaven.
When John the Baptist began to preach, he said, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.” In other words, it was coming; it was near, but it had not yet arrived.
At that time, our Lord Jesus was on earth, but He had not yet been manifested. He had been hidden in Nazareth for thirty years.
John the Baptist began his ministry six months ahead of our Lord Jesus’ ministry. So, when he was proclaiming the kingdom of the heavens, he could not say that the kingdom of the heavens was here. He said that it had drawn nigh, because the King was still hidden. He was unknown. He had not manifested Himself.
But because it was near, there needed to be preparation for the King. That preparation was repentance. The only preparation for the King of the heavens is repentance.
We often think of repentance as something for unbelievers. But, brothers and sisters, the children of Israel, who were supposed to be God’s people, needed to repent. Today, even we who believe in the Lord Jesus need to repent.
It may not be for evil, negative reasons—though unfortunately, even for negative reasons we need to repent. But more, we need to repent for a positive reason: for the King, for the kingdom of the heavens.
Because our life on earth does not seem to agree with the heavenly kingdom, we need to repent.
From the days of John the Baptist until now—brothers and sisters, John began his ministry probably around A.D. 27. Six months later, our Lord Jesus was baptized, and then He began to minister.
When He heard that John the Baptist was in prison, around A.D. 28, our Lord Jesus began His public ministry in Galilee. When He began His public ministry, He said the same thing as John the Baptist:
Repent ye; for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand.
Why was it so? The King had now come forward. We would think He would say, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens is here.” No, He said that the kingdom of the heavens had drawn nigh.
Why? It is because the King was here—but where was His kingdom? Who were those people who had put themselves under His kingship? Who were those people who began to take upon themselves the character of Christ? To put it another way, where were His disciples?
A king without a people does not have a kingdom. So, even though He was the King, His message was still that the kingdom of heaven had drawn nigh.
But when we come to Matthew 11, John the Baptist was in prison, and this was around A.D. 29. He would soon be beheaded. He sent disciples to follow Jesus because his faith was being tested.
He had not lost his faith in the Messiah, in Jesus, but he began to wonder. So he sent his disciples to Jesus and said, “Are You the One for whom we are waiting, or shall we wait for another?”
John the Baptist had given such a wonderful testimony to our Lord Jesus—so sure and so clear:
Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.
He said, “I saw the Spirit descending upon Him and abiding upon Him, and I was told that He is the Son of God.” John the Baptist also said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Such a clear testimony.
Yet he was tested to the uttermost in prison. The One of whom he testified did not seem to care. Why did He do all these miracles for people and not for me? He was almost offended.
When the Lord Jesus heard this, He said, “Tell John what I am doing. Yes, I open the eyes of the blind, I make the crippled walk, I preach the gospel to the poor, and I raise people from the dead. I am doing that, but I have not done it for you. Will you be offended?”
“I treat you specially. I know you are able to bear it. You will not be offended by Me. Are you sure enough? Will you remain faithful to the end?”
It was during that time that our Lord Jesus said:
From the days of John the Baptist until now,
the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence,
and the violent seize upon it.
During that particular time there was a change. Instead of saying, “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh,” the kingdom of the heavens was now here. Why? Because at that time the Lord already had His disciples.
What does it mean to be His disciples? What does it mean to be a disciple of Christ? To be a disciple of Christ means that you have put yourself completely under His rule.
You allow Him to teach you. You allow Him to change you. You allow Him to transform you. You allow His character to be impressed and implanted into you. That is discipleship.
The disciples of old were different from the students of today. Students today go to school, go to a teacher, listen to lectures, and try to absorb all that the teacher knows. And that is it.
They do not learn from the teacher his life, his manner, or his character. It does not matter. Everything is impersonal.
But in the old days, a disciple was different. If you wanted to learn a trade, you had to leave your home. You had to live with your master. You became one of the family of the master.
You lived there, and perhaps during the first year he would not even tell you about the trade. You would be doing different things in the family: sweeping the floor, helping with the babies, serving the master as a servant.
But gradually he would allow you to touch the tools, and he would tell you some secrets. Through the years, you learned more than a trade. You learned your master.
You began to talk like him, think like him, walk like him, and take up his manner—not only his skill, but his life. Now, that is discipleship.
Our Lord Jesus had called some to be His disciples. He called Peter, Andrew, John, James, Philip, Nathanael, and Matthew. These people began to leave everything, stay with Him, and learn of Him.
Here you find that He already had His kingdom. He had a people who were under Him absolutely.
And now begins at that time, and it continues even now. We are still in the “now.” The kingdom of the heavens is now here.
It cannot be perceived by naked eyes. It is still hidden in the world, but it is here. Wherever there are people who put themselves under the absolute rule of the King of the heavens, heaven begins to appear in their lives.
Thank God.
When we believe in the Lord Jesus, it is more than just personal forgiveness. Something much more was done when we were first saved.
When we were first saved, when we believed in the Lord Jesus, even though we did not know much—we only knew Him as our Saviour and did not know Him as our King—yet God had already done something to us.
Colossians 1:13 says:
Who delivered us out of the power of darkness,
and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.
What is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love? It is the kingdom of the heavens, because the Son of God’s love came from heaven. He brought heaven to earth, and He is going to set up His kingdom on earth.
So, positionally, brothers and sisters, we are all in the kingdom of the heavens. But the kingdom of the heavens has taken us in—have we taken the kingdom?
Positionally, we are all in the kingdom of the heavens. But conditionally, experientially, are we really living under the rule of heaven?
Do we still live our old life? Do we still follow the way of the world? Can we really walk a heavenly way?
Even though we are a heavenly people on earth, are we walking a heavenly life? Who is ruling over our lives? Whose character is beginning to build up in us and be manifested through us?
Brothers and sisters, these are questions upon which we should meditate. We should ponder them, think them over, place ourselves in the light of heaven, and allow that light to enlighten us.
The kingdom of the heavens is now here, but who seizes upon it? Our Lord Jesus said that the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and the violent seize upon it.
These are strong words. I went over many different versions, trying to see whether there were softer, gentler, kinder, easier words. But unfortunately, I could not find them.
They may be put in different ways. Some say “violence”; others say “force.” Some say “violent”; some say “forceful.” Some say that the kingdom of the heavens is taken by storm, and the eager ones lay hold of it.
In other words, these are all strong words—militant words. Take it. Storm it. Just as you are taking a city, taking a citadel, you storm it. You put all your force into it in order to seize it, to capture it.
Brothers and sisters, the kingdom of the heavens is not taken by sitting idly and being carried into it. That is the way God’s people think, but it will not happen.
It is to be taken by violence, and the violent seize upon it. Why is it so?
Is it easy to go to heaven? Yes. You do not need to do anything. You are carried to heaven. It is all grace. Even if you try to do something, it may jeopardize you. It is better that you do not do anything. Just trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
But the kingdom of the heavens is different. It has to be received; it has to be taken. If you do not do that, it will slip by.
Why? I believe there are two reasons.
One is a positive reason. The kingdom of the heavens is so precious. It is a prize beyond measure. Because it is so precious, it is costly. It is not cheap.
It is something for which you have to pay a cost in order to take it. Is not our Lord Jesus so precious? Then, in order to win Him, in order to gain Him, there is something you have to do.
Is not the kingdom of the heavens so precious that you have to pay a cost for it? There is no cheap gospel and no cheap grace.
Grace should embolden us to lay hold of eternal life. That is the attitude we should take. Dear brothers and sisters, we cannot afford to be complacent. We cannot afford to lie back and take it easy, as if it will just drop to us.
No. You have to take it. You have to seize it. You have to storm into it. You have to pay a price for it because it is so precious.
Do you see the preciousness of the kingdom of the heavens? Do you see the glory of being like Christ? Do you see the glory of suffering with Him, that we may reign with Him?
Is this not something so glorious, so beautiful, so attractive, that you are willing to pay any cost to gain it? That is the kingdom of the heavens.
Negatively, the kingdom of the heavens is so different from the kingdom of this world. Everything is different: different rules, different law, different manner, different criteria, different standard. Everything is different.
Because everything is different from earth, you have opposition, resistance, and persecution. There are laws of opposition that you need to overcome—not only the temptations of the world.
Most of all, you need to overcome yourself, because we are so selfish, so worldly, so carnal. Our thinking, our emotions, our opinions—everything is contaminated by earth, by the self, by the flesh.
All these things are opposite to what the kingdom of the heavens is, and these oppositions have to be overcome.
That is the reason why our Lord Jesus said:
If any man would come after Me,
let him deny himself,
and take up his cross,
and follow Me.
Unless you deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him, you are not worthy to be His disciple.
The kingdom of the heavens is not for cowards. It is for those who have a strong heart. In the Bible, again and again, it says, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. Be courageous. Be men.”
Brothers and sisters, it is not for weaklings. We cannot afford that.
For these two reasons, the kingdom of the heavens has to be taken by violence. But, dear brothers and sisters, this refers to a heavenly violence, not an earthly violence.
We have seen enough violence on earth—violent toward other people and kind to yourself. But this heavenly violence is violence toward yourself and kindness toward others.
Are you doing violence to yourself? Why is our Christian life so weak? A little something changes our course. For a small reason, we can leave God behind. Why? We do not do violence to ourselves.
Look at our Lord Jesus. His life on earth was the life of the heavenly Man, the Man who brought heaven to earth. He was so different, altogether different, from the world.
Not only from the worst, but also from the best, He was different. He thought differently, talked differently, acted and reacted differently, worked differently, and saw things differently.
Because He was different, He was misunderstood, rejected, persecuted, and crucified. The world was not worthy of such a Man.
Brothers and sisters, this is the King of the kingdom of the heavens.
Look at Paul. As soon as he was met by the risen Lord, he surrendered his life to the Lord. Did he have an easier life? No.
How he suffered! He told us that he kept his body under and brought it into bondage, so that his body would not have mastery over him, but he would be master over his body. Do we do that?
For the sake of winning Christ, he forsook everything and counted it as refuse in order to win Christ. How he pressed on toward the goal to win the prize!
Brothers and sisters, yes, Paul was seizing the kingdom. Are we doing that?
Our Christian life is too easy. We do not apply ourselves. We are not diligent. We are not paying any price.
Do you think you can enter into the kingdom when it shall be publicly manifested at the second coming of our Lord Jesus? Do you think we are qualified to rule with Christ for a thousand years?
Brothers and sisters, truth is costly. It is not easy.
If we press on, we shall be in glory when He returns. If we do not, when His kingdom shall be publicly manifested on earth, we will be cast into outer darkness, as the Bible says. Even though we are saved, we may be barely saved.
On the one hand, we need to be warned. The time is near. We still have a chance. Surrender your life to the Lord. Let Him have absolute rule over you.
You will discover that there are so many lessons you have to learn. You will be humbled, humiliated beyond measure. But thank God, if we humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, in due time He will exalt us.
So let us be encouraged instead of discouraged. God bless.
Dear Lord, You always mean business with us. Therefore, You sacrificed Your life for us. I pray that You will enable us to mean business with You.
Then we will be willing to put all on the altar for You. It is for Your pleasure, O Lord.