SCRIPTURE Matthew 11:11-13
“I tell you the truth, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he is! And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people are attacking it. For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.”
OBSERVATION
John was a great man, but he wasn’t born again with the indwelling of the H.S. under the New Covenant. he lived and died before the completion of Jesus’ work at the cross and the tomb. So, he didn’t know or experience the benefits of the born again life.
Jesus’ reference to violence refers to both the intense spiritual warfare attacking his ministry and John the Baptist’s. It also refers to the intense spiritual violence required on our part to follow God. The kingdom of God can never be received passively or gently.
Jesus was referring to a period of time that ended with John. all of the O.T. prophets prophesied about John’s ministry as the one who paved the way for the messiah. every other prophet announced, “The Messiah is coming.” But John had the privilege of saying, “The Messiah is here.”
APPLICATION
We must never take for granted the power, the position and the privilege of the indwelling of the spirit in our lives. An ordinary man becomes extraordinary. And we should never be surprised at the violence of the evil one against God’s people and also the violence required on our part to stay true to our Lord. While the enemy may conduct physical and emotional violence. We are called to use spiritual violence through prayer, worship, fasting, meditation and Bible study. John was the greatest of all prophets in that he would actually see the Messiah. We see the Messiah through the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives.