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“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12).
This might seem like a hard verse to understand, but let me use an illustration. Over forty years ago I was in a foreign country, and I wanted to get on a bus in a large city. Quite a few people wanted to get on, and I tried to be polite, letting others get on first. You can probably guess what happened! The bus started to move, and I was left standing on the sidewalk. When the next bus came, I pushed and shoved along with everybody else, and I got on. The only way to get on the bus was to force your way in.
That is the way it is today with coming to the Lord Jesus, and it has been that way ever since John the Baptist announced the coming of the Lord Jesus. This world did not want Him, and most of the leaders of the Jews did not listen to John the Baptist. They did not listen to the Lord Jesus either, and those that wanted to come to Him had to overcome the resistance of those leaders. Using the same illustration as I used, they had to “push and shove” their way to the Lord Jesus, against all the opposition of the Jewish leaders.
Even today the Lord Jesus is not wanted, and if you wish to follow Him, you will have to overcome the opposition of this world. You will have to force your way in, but it is well worth the effort!
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