Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Matthew 11:11 "Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 11:11 "I assure you and most solemnly say to you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater [in privilege] than he. |
Subject: "Least in the kingdom of God"? |
Bible Note: Zsuzsi, "Also, In Matt 11:12, Jesus states: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force." What exactly does He mean by this?" Two possible ways to interpret this. 1) John's pwersonal sacrifices and self denial are a call for the "violence" of bodily penance. We "subject our bodies" as paul says elswhere.Those who subject the body to the spirit are able to take hold of the Kingdom of God. 2) Satan has attempted to take men from God's kingdom; John himself was imprisoned and executed by Herod for announcing the kingdom of God (Matt 4:12; 14:1). Jesus likewise sufferes a violent death for inaugurating God's kingdom and rebuking those who oppose it (Matt 23:13). This is a paraphrase of the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible footnotes. Ignatius Press, San Francisco CA., 2000 Emmaus |