This post will appear on October 31, a day famous for at least two reasons. First, some Christian traditions call it “All Saints Day,” “All Hallows Day,” or some similar name. On this day, they celebrate the strong bond that exists between saints in heaven and those on earth.
Second, on this day in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg. This act started the Protestant Reformation. So, many Christians celebrate “reformation day” on October 31.1
We can incorporate these celebrations into this “Meditation on Matthew.” We are looking at Matthew from an inmillennial perspective.
Our last entry in this series (here) examined Matthew 10 where Jesus gave a commission to his disciples. They were to preach the gospel of the kingdom to Israel. They would not finish this task “till the Son of man be come” (Matt 10:23).
The Son of Man would destroy the Temple at his coming. This destruction would end the Mosaic age. It would also establish the parousia of Christ with his churches during messianic age (Matt 24:1–3). Jesus said this coming would happen in his generation (Matt 24:30, 34). We now know this event occurred in AD 70.
Matthew 11 focuses on this age transition. Before the disciples finished their mission, God would take the kingdom from apostate Israel after the flesh (1 Cor 10:18) and give it to the “Israel of God” (Matt 21:43–44; Gal 6:16).
Our post on Matt 9 (here) discussed age transition. This post will consider three aspects of this transition: its start, its struggle, and the sovereignty of God in it.
The Start of Age Transition
John the Baptist had started the age transition. His message was, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2). He was now in prison for confronting King Herod with this message of repentance (Matt 4:12; 14:3–4).
John sent two messengers to Jesus asking, “Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?” (Matt 11:3). We will not speculate on the reason for this question. We will, however, consider things Jesus said about John that pertain to age transition (Matt 11:1–11).
Jesus said John was the greatest “among them that are born of women” (Matt 11:11). This statement places John among “men born into the world by ordinary generation.”2 In our context, this description takes on special meaning.
The Scriptures use “birth” as a picture of God’s covenants. God gave birth to Mosaic-age Israel during the Exodus (Ezek 16:1–6; Hosea 2:3). The nation was born through Moses’s deliverance. But he said that, during Israel’s “latter days,” she would forget her national birth (Deut 31:29; 32:18).
Individual Jews took part in Israel’s covenant life by being “born of women”—Jewish women. Genealogical records played an important role in this matter. The Jews “sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy” (Neh 7:64). 3 Physical birth determined their covenant membership and privilege.
In the messianic age, things are different. Now, the “Israel of God” (Gal 6:16) comprises all those in Christ. God brought this “holy nation” to birth through the resurrection of Christ (1 Pet 1:3; 2:9). A nation was born in a day (Isa 66:8). Israel was “born again” (John 3:7).
Individuals belong to messianic-age Israel through a spiritual birth. Genealogical records are unimportant in the kingdom of God. The sons of God are now “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12–13).
Paul used birth imagery to contrast the Mosaic and messianic ages (Gal 4:21–31). He said the Mosaic age bore children for slavery (Gal 4:24b). The Jerusalem below “is in bondage with her children” (Gal 4:25). In the messianic age, Israel’s children are born free. Paul said the “Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all” (Gal 4:26).
Jesus said John was the greatest prophet “born of women” (Matt 11:11a). He was the greatest prophet of the Mosaic age. There, physical birth determined one’s covenant standing.
The Lord then made an astounding statement. He said, “he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than [John]” (Matt 11:11b).
The prophets had described the messianic kingdom using similar exalted language. Zechariah, for example, said,
In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. (Zech 12:8)
After Jesus’s resurrection, the apostles also spoke of the kingdom in similar terms. Paul said, “For even that which was made glorious [in the Mosaic age] had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth [in the messianic age]” (2 Cor 3:10).
We will not pause to describe this superiority. Our purpose here is to show that John began the transition from the inferior Mosaic age to the superior messianic age.
The Struggles of Age Transition
Today we can celebrate a reformation far greater than the one Martin Luther started. We can rejoice that God has finished the transition from the Mosaic age to the messianic age. That was a reformation indeed (Heb 9:10)!
That reformation involved a time of struggle (Matt 11:12–24). There was violence both within and without the kingdom of God.
Violence within the Kingdom
Jesus said,
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence (Gk. biazetai), and the violent (Gk. biastai) take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matt 11:12–15)
The words translated “suffereth violence” (Gk. biazetai) and “the violent” (Gk. biastai) make this passage difficult to understand. What role does violence play in our kingdom life?
William Hendriksen provides a solution to this problem. He says the verbs are in the middle, not passive, voice. (The Greek form allows for either.) His translation of Matt 11:12 is:
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom is pressing forward vigorously (Gk. biazetai), and vigorous men (Gk. biastai) are eagerly taking possession of it.4
The parallel passage in Luke reinforces this translation. Jesus said, “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth (Gk. biazetai) into it” (Luke 16:16).
Bivin and Blizzard agree with this translation. Here is a lengthy quote that shows their reasoning. They say the key to understanding this passage
turns out to be an old rabbinic interpretation (midrash) of Micah 2:13 discovered by Professor David Flusser. Micah 2:12–13 . . . are [verses] full of rich imagery. It is the picture of a shepherd penning up his sheep for the 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 by tossing some of the stones aside. He steps through his “gate” with the sheep following close behind. They have been penned up all night and can hardly wait to get out of their cramped quarters. Of course they push and shove, several trying to get through at once, literally breaking through, further breaking the little gate in their eagerness to get out and into the green pasture. Finally they burst out into the open spaces, rushing headlong after the shepherd.5
In Micah 2:13 the “breach-maker” [or, “the breaker”] and the king are, of course, the same person, but in the rabbinic interpretation discovered by Professor Flusser, they are two different persons: the “breach-maker” is interpreted as being Elijah, and “their king” as the Messiah, the Branch of the Son of David.
Now we can begin to understand what Jesus is saying. He is not only hinting at Micah 2:13, but also at a well-known rabbinic interpretation of it. “The Kingdom of Heaven,” he says, “is breaking forth [not ‘suffering violence’], and every person in it is breaking forth [literally, ‘those who are breaking out break out in it, or by means of it,’ not ‘the violent take it by force’].” (Compare Luke 16:16, the parallel to Matthew 11:12.) Two tremendous things are now happening simultaneously: the Kingdom is bursting forth into the world (like water from a broken dam), and individuals within the Kingdom are finding liberty and freedom.
In Matthew 11:12, as in the midrash, Elijah, or John the Baptist, is the breach-maker, the Poretz. He has opened the way. He is the Elijah of Malachi 3:1 and 4:5–6, who goes before the Lord to prepare His way. As in the midrash, Jesus, the King, follows John. Jesus is the Lord himself, who leads the sheep through the gate. It is a powerful image.
Jesus is again teaching his disciples about the Kingdom of Heaven, his movement. It started when Jesus began calling disciples, during John’s active ministry, “the days of John the Baptist.” Since then, the Kingdom of Heaven has been “breaking out.” Notice that this is further proof that the Kingdom is not futuristic. The Kingdom is something that has been in existence since the time of John the Baptist.
The Kingdom is breaking out, and members of the Kingdom are breaking out. In Micah and also in the midrash, it is the Lord and his sheep who are breaking out. Jesus alters that figure slightly so that it is the Kingdom and its sheep who 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’s stunning assertion—I am the Lord.
Elijah had come and opened the way, and the Lord himself was leading a noisy multitude out to freedom.6
John Peter Lange also supports this interpretation. He says,
The expression is evidently metaphorical, denoting the violent bursting forth of the kingdom of heaven, as the kernel of the ancient theocracy, through the husk of the Old Testament. John and Christ are themselves the violent who take it by force,—the former, as commencing the assault; the latter, as completing the conquest. Accordingly, this is a figurative description of the great era which had then commenced.7
This view fits well in inmillennialism.
Violence without the Kingdom
The age transition would bring another kind of violence to those outside the kingdom of God (Matt 11:16–24). John had warned apostate Israel of “the wrath about to break at any moment” (Matt 3:7, Wuest8).
The generation of Jews then living would not accept the preaching of the kingdom (Matt 11:16–19). They rejected such preaching no matter how it was done.
God had sent an ascetic to them. “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil” (Matt 11:18). Then, Jesus came “eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners” (Matt 11:19).
The apostate Jews opposed the transition from the Mosaic age to the messianic age. Their rejection of it would soon bring the wrath of God upon them.
Jesus described this judgment (Matt 11:20–24). He did so by comparing it to God’s past judgments of cities. For example, he said the judgment of Chorazin and Bethsaida would be greater than that of Tyre and Sidon (Matt 11:21–22).
Jesus was not speaking of the final judgment at the end of history. God will then judge “all nations” (Matt 25:32). All “the dead, small and great” will stand before him and he will judge “every man according to their works” (Rev 20:12, 13).
The city-judgments of which Jesus spoke were of the same nature as previous city-judgments (e.g., Jer 47:4). God would judge Israel’s cities during the “great tribulation” before the Temple fell (Matt 24:1–3, 21, 34). Jesus and his disciples were presently preaching in those cities (Matt 11:1). Soon he would judge them for rejecting the gospel of the kingdom. They would not have Jesus reign over them in the messianic age (Luke 19:14).
The soon-coming violence would be physical and deadly.
The Sovereignty of Age Transition
Jesus concluded by thanking God for exercising his sovereignty. He had hidden the things of the kingdom from the wise and prudent (Matt 11:25). Even when the Jewish leaders knew Jesus spoke against them, they did not repent of their sins. Instead, they tried to kill him (e.g., Matt 21:45).
But God had ordained that the Son reveal these things to some (Matt 11:27). Therefore, Jesus says
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt 11:28–30)
God’s elect people find rest in Christ and his kingdom during the messianic age.
Conclusion
The reformation under Christ occurred through age transition. The physical and earthly Mosaic age gave way to the spiritual and heavenly messianic age. God transferred the kingdom from Israel after the flesh to the Israel of God (1 Cor 10:18; Gal 6:16; Matt 21:43).
During the messianic age, all saints sit with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:4–6). We have reason to rejoice. They all, whether on earth or in heaven, now live and reign with Christ in his kingdom (Rev 20:4).
Let us celebrate these joyous facts today and forever.
Footnotes
- We will not notice Halloween here because it is almost completely secular and pagan in our culture.
- John Gill, An Exposition of the Old and New Testaments, in The Baptist Commentary Series, (Paris, AR: The Baptist Standard Bearer, 1989), 7:118.
- This verse refers to a specific situation. After the return from Babylonian captivity, certain men wanted to serve as priests. They could not do so because they lacked the proper genealogical records.
- William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973), 488–89. Emphasis added. In a footnote, Hendriksen says the verb form here (βιάζεται) “can be either passive or middle.” He takes it as a middle and translates it “is pressing forward vigorously.” We agree with his reasoning.
- The image in this post is Broken Wall, Commondale Moor Looking East Down the Esk Valley. It is owned by Mick Garratt and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.
- David Bivin and Roy Blizzard Jr., Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus: New Insights From a Hebrew Perspective (Shippensberg, PA: Treasure House, 1994), 85–87. I first encountered this work in James Patrick Holding, “Matthew.” Accessed Nov. 29, 2007, http://www.tektonics.org/TK-MTT.html#force.
- John Peter Lange, The Gospel According to Matthew, vol. 8 in Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, ed. John Peter Lange, trans. Philip Schaff (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1960), 206.
- Kenneth S. Wuest, Expanded Translation of the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961), 6.
6 comments
Another excellent post. My heart’s desire is that many believers would come to understand this truth. Don’t be weary in your “well doing”.
Thank you for the encouraging words!
I thought this was an interesting point. “God gave birth to Mosaic-age Israel during the Exodus.” “In the messianic age things are different. God brought this ‘holy nation’ to birth through the resurrection of Christ.” Do you see the Exodus through the Red Sea as a type of Christ’s resurrection and our being raised up together with Him to walk in newness of life? I didn’t see that parallel in the O.T. references you gave but I did see the idea of a new birth.
Thank you, again, for your very positive spirit.
Regarding your question, a former pastor of mine said the New Testament uses three major figures to show what God did for us in Christ: birth, creation, and resurrection. I could have done a better job distinguishing between them. But, in the final analysis, it seems these images refer to the same work.
Do you see a problem with equating them?
Since you brought it out, I remember that some people equate the “new birth” with the “first resurrection.” Yes, there is a sense in which “creation” and “resurrection” are included in the “new birth.” “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation” and we are “raised up together with him to walk in newness of life.”
Thank you for your further comments!
Amillennialists sometimes refer to the “first resurrection” as an individual’s “new birth” or “regeneration.” I think this is only part of the equation.
These figures—birth, creation, and resurrection—apply to individuals, but also to the corporate body of God’s people under his covenant rule.
Birth: God brought “Israel after the flesh” to “birth” through the Exodus (Deut 32:18, NKJV). She lived under the law during the Mosaic age. Israel was “born again” by the resurrection of Christ (1 Pet 1:3). Now, she lives under the law to Christ during the messianic age.
Creation: God also “created” Israel in the Exodus (e.g., Isa 43:1). Now, we are in the “new creation” of the messianic age (Gal 6:15, NKJV).
Resurrection: I do not know of a passage that refers to the Exodus as a resurrection. But, God resurrected his people through Christ. This is the first resurrection (Rev 20:5). We have a part in it through our personal spiritual resurrection from death in sin (John 3:3). Therefore, the second death has no power over us.
I think we should make the same corporate/individual distinction regarding regeneration.