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NASB | Matthew 11:12 "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 11:12 "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize]. |
Bible Question:
Would someone please shade light on this passage of scriptures for me please?????????? Matt 11 vs 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force [as a precious prize--a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion]. |
Bible Answer: The key to understanding this verse turns out to be an old rabbinic interpretation (midrash) of Micah 2:12-13 which reads: 12 I will gather all of you, Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel. I will put them all together like sheep in a fold, like a flock inside its pen. It will be noisy and crowded with people. 13 The breach-maker (poretz) goes through before them Then they break out. Passing through the gate, they leave by it. Their king passes through before them, their Lord at their head. Rich imagery! A picture of a shepherd penning up his sheep at night. He quickly builds a fold by throwing up a makeshift rock fence against the side of a hill. The next morning, to let the sheep out, he makes a hole or a breach in the fence. The sheep being penned up all night can hardly wait to “break” out. The ancient rabbinic interpretation said the “breach-maker” was Elijah, and “their king” was the Messiah. “The Kingdom of Heaven,” Jesus says, “is ‘breaking forth’ [not ‘suffering violence’], and every person in it is ‘breaking out’ in it.” Two things are happening. The Kingdom is bursting forth into the world, and individuals within the Kingdom are finding freedom and liberty. In Micah it is the Lord and his sheep that are breaking out. Jesus alters that figure slightly so that it is the Kingdom and its sheep that are breaking out. Though Jesus does not refer directly to his own role as the shepherd leading the sheep out, no listener could possibly misunderstand Jesus’ stunning assertion – I am the Lord. Elijah had come and opened the way, and the Lord himself was leading the noisy multitude out to freedom. Adapted from “Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus” Bivin, Blizzard MJH |