Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. The claim for admission into the covenant had hitherto, from Abraham to John the Baptist, been a national one; it now became a solely moral one. 1. We lay down as our first principle that indomitable earnestness is the soul of our religion and the key to all progress. 2. Let no man suppose that this will clash with the doctrines of Divine grace. 3. It is easy to see that there are two ways of taking the kingdom, a weak way and a violent way. Faith may be merely of an educational kind, or strong and personal; the inner life of man may go on easily from (lay to day, or it may contend with evil influences; prayer may consist in empty cries. 4. The promise of success is to the violent. (1) Not because God is unwilling, but because it is His way to exercise grace that He may increase it. (J. Vaughan, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. |
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