Matthew 11:12,13 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence— Is violently invaded. Dr. Heylin reads it, The kingdom of heaven is entered by force, and they who strive with all their might take it, as by violence. The kingdom of heaven was indeed the inheritance both of Jews and Gentiles; but the Jews esteemed all those who knew not the law accursed. However, they neglected to accept the gracious terms of the Gospel, while the publicans and sinners, complying with these terms, entered into that inheritance which the Jews thought they had no legal claim to. Hence they are styled the violent, because he who is obliged to make use of violence to secure any thing cannot be supposed to have a legal claim to that thing. By referring to a parallel place, Luke 7:29 the meaning of the present verses will more evidently appear: And all the people who heard him [that is to say, John], says our Lord, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with his baptism. The meaning is, that whileJohn executed his ministry, the people, particularly the publicans, justified God, by receiving his baptism; or, to express the matter differently, by believing on John, they declared the Son of God's righteousness, and vindicated the divine wisdom in sending him. Hence we see the reason why faith is so absolutely required, and so highly commanded in the Scripture; for, can there be a more sacred duty than to attribute to God the glory of his righteousness, by believing what he has revealed; or a more heinous blasphemy than to rob him of his veracity, by rejecting the doctrine which comes from him? The sense we have given of this verse of St. Luke is confirmed by the passage before us, where our Lord expresses himself somewhat differently, but to the same purpose: the general import whereof is, "The tax-gatherers, soldiers, harlots, and others of the same stamp, persons of the most abandoned characters, whom ye look upon as having no right to become members of the Messiah's kingdom, enter into it; and this you think a violence done to the kingdom of heaven; but in reality it is not so, because the law and the prophets, the dispensation which makes a distinction between men, was virtually set aside at the coming of John, in whose ministry the kingdom of heaven began,—that dispensation which admits all persons equally to the enjoyment of its privileges upon their repentance and faith: for, if ye will believe it, he is the Messiah's forerunner, whom Malachi predicted under the name of Elijah." Dr. Heylin, upon the 13th verse, observes, that to prophesy, in Scripture language, is (frequently) the same as to preach; and the sense is, "The prophets and the law were your guides and instructors till John came; now God gives you another Master in me, and John is that Elias who was to prepare the way before me;" or, in other words, "Repentance, such as John taught and practised, is the necessary preparation for that kingdom of God which I came to establish in the hearts of men." St. Austin observes upon this verse, "God hath so ordained, that it is in every man's power to be happy: the kingdom of heaven suffers violence; to desire, to resolve, to endeavour, to strive, is to be qualified; and no man ever failed in his attempt who was willing to take it by force." See the Reflections.