Isaiah 35:1-10; James 5:7-11; Matthew 11:2-15
The prophet Isaiah described the coming kingdom of God as a time in which “everlasting joy shall be upon their heads” and when we will “obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Is. 35:10). Based on that description of God’s kingdom, we might expect it to be a kingdom of peace. But Jesus painted a very different picture for us. He described God’s kingdom as coming with violence. Either Jesus is contradicting the Old Testament or we’re missing something. So, what are we missing?
What we find described in Isaiah is the end state of God’s kingdom. One day, when Jesus comes again in power and glory, the kingdom of God will be a peaceful kingdom in which we will experience and enjoy everything in today’s Old Testament reading and more. We have to wait for this. This is why our Epistle lesson calls us to “be patient … until the coming of the Lord.” We’re encouraged that “the coming of the Lord is at hand,” but we’re also reminded that until the Lord returns that we will endure suffering and need to “establish our hearts” in order to rise to the challenges that come with the kingdom here and now — the very challenges to which Jesus was referring when He said that “until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt. 11:12).The violence that Jesus was referring to is not reflected in the violent actions of people, but in the driving forces of nature. As a violent storm drives the waves the ocean and a violent wind presses against structures to the point of their collapse, those who understand the nature of the kingdom of God are driven to it. Contrary to what others have tried through the ages, the violence of God’s kingdom does not take hold of people, but “violent” (i.e., driven and desperate people) take hold of the Kingdom. Martin Luther described it this way: “Since John [the Baptist] showed the people their sins and shortcomings, which all pastors should do, they longed so for the kingdom of God and its help that they immediately and forcefully pressed toward it and seized it. God loves such guests; they who are thus hounded by their sins and transgressions are welcome to him.”
We live in the Kingdom of God now while it is in its “violent” state. It’s challenging and it’s dangerous. It brings us to the Cross and calls for the patient endurance that comes from establishing our hearts with the hope that one day all the struggling, suffering, and violence will cease and we will live in peace. That day is coming soon.
Click here to listen to the sermon "The Violence of God's Kingdom" (or right-click to download the MP3 file).
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