Matthew 11:12
Once again, if we see the kingdom of heaven as Christ himself, and those who are in Christ, the passage makes more sense. Many have surmised that this verse means you have to take the kingdom by force. They say that the disciples were violently zealous. This is just not consistent with he facts, and does not make good sense. Others say that the sinners of the day were handling it roughly. This again seems untenable. Jesus voluntarily associated with vile sinners and converted them by droves.
So, the proper understand here seems to be that though Jesus had enjoyed many good responses to his message, it was not being well received by all. These violent ones, the Jewish leaders, would ultimately ‘take it by force’ and put him to death. There were also Zealots who wanted to see the kingdom come immediately, meaning that they wanted to be rid of Roman rule right away. These violent revolutionaries also sought to ‘take it by force’ and make Jesus a king right then. This group was not, however, allowed to succeed in their aim. The Jewish leaders, though more evil in their intentions, were allowed to take Christ in order to carry out the crucifixion.
Bible Reading: Hebrews 4:1-7:28
Scripture Memory: 1 John 2:11 “But he that hatheth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not wither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes.”
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for this wonderful day. We always enjoy celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the Light of Life to us. His rising means that we have hope. Without it, we would have nothing. With it, we are emboldened to believe that through him we have those exceeding great and precious promises that You have supplied to us. How can we ever praise You and thank You and glorify You enough? You are worthy of a lifetime of praise, Heavenly Father. You are so good and kind to us! We fail often to see just how nice You are. Please accept our sacrifice of praise as a token of our love for what You have done for us in Christ Jesus. Thank You for Jesus and his resurrection! In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Prayer Requests: Pray for a woman with cancer in her head. Pray for a man recovering from surgery. Pray for churches everywhere this morning.
Journal Entry #13090