really don't understand. This is one of them. The 'violence' that he mentions of Yochanan being imprisoned is
not 'on point‘. Yochanan wasn't imprisoned for preaching the coming Kingdom but for rebuking Herod for his
adultery (Matt 14:3-4; Mark 6:17-18; Luke 3:19-20). That there was 'violence' or tension between Y‘shua and
the Pharisees, etc., who prevented Jews from following the Messiah is evident to anyone who reads the
Accounts of His Life here in Israel two thousand years ago (Matt 23:13). But how this fits into understanding
what Y‘shua is saying about the Kingdom leaves much to be desired.
France goes on to state that the term 'men of violence' 'is an unusual word, which always conveys a bad
sense. This makes RSV mg. very unlikely, as it assumes a good sense for the cognate verb (the similar
saying of Luke 16:16 has the same verb in the sense of 'coming violently' but with 'men', not 'the kingdom of
heaven, as subject). Here the verb is probably to be read as passive, not middle: it refers to violence inflicted
on the kingdom of heaven, which Jesus condemns (take by force, harpazo, normally means 'plunder or
'seize')‘. (Ibid. p. 195. Hah-pad-zoo-sin is the word that is translated 'seize' in the NA Interlinear; harpazo is
the verb it comes from).
As we'll see here and later on, the term doesn't always convey 'a bad sense‘. Luke 16:16 speaks of people
'forcing' their way into the Kingdom without presenting the word for 'force' in a negative light: ―The Law and
the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been
preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it‖. (NAS) As some will say, the use of 'force' would be more
'inner resolve' or 'determination' to enter the Kingdom. Again, not a negative concept, but is it what Y‘shua is
speaking of?
Robert H. Mounce offers some more insight into the Greek and tells us that, 'The interpretation of verse 12
has been discussed at length. One's approach turns on whether biazetai is passive ('has suffered violence')
or middle ('has been coming violently'). Because the noun biastai (forceful men)' by-aides-zeh-tie, 'that
occurs in the parallel clause is used in a negative sense (the cognate verb biao means 'to defraud, cheat, or
overpower'), it is better to take biazetai as passive and translate 'has been enduring violent assault'
(Weymouth). Jesus is saying that ever since the days of John the Baptist the kingdom of heaven has been
under assault by violent men who are trying to overcome it by force. These men are sometimes identified as
Zealots who want to force the kingdom's arrival. More likely they are like Herod, who imprisoned John, and
the Jewish antagonists of the gospel‘. (Robert H. Mounce, W. Ward Gasque, New Testament Editor, New
International Biblical Commentary: Matthew (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995), p. 104.)
One might begin to agree with these assessments out of a lack of a viable alternative. But even within the
scholarly community, there are critics of this understanding. The Theological Dictionary well states, 'In view
of Mk. 10:17 ff.; Mt. 5:3 ff.; 7:21, and also the present chapter (27-29), it is hardly conceivable that He should
have spoken of men deliberately and successfully seeking to wrest the kingdom to themselves‘. (Gerhard
Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich, Editors, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, Translator and Editor, Theological Dictionary of
the New Testament, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999), p. 610.)
It goes on to state concerning the Zealot theory that, 'The difficulty here is that Mt. is concerned with the
prophets, the Law, the Baptist, Jesus and the bah-sil-lee-ah (Kingdom). 'It is thus hard to see the point of a
special reference to an irrelevant subject when we naturally expect an important insight on the situation
depicted. In any case the Zealot movement had already been started before the appearance of John‘. (Ibid.
p. 611.)
It's good to know that there were others that frown at what the commentators presented. There is a 'special
reference' and 'important insight' here, once the Greek is translated into Hebrew. It will be seen that both
interpretations or meanings given to the sentence fall far short of what Y‘shua speaks of.
Mounce basically parallels the theme of France with a slight variation. The problem with their interpretations
is that they just don't seem to fit the context that Y‘shua is using it in. In other words, the topic shifts from
Yochanan and the Kingdom to what is happening to the Kingdom; and from either some men who 'want it
their way' (the Zealots), or wicked men who don't want it at all (Herod, etc.).
David Stern adds to this natural understanding by stating that not only was it a physical assault but a spiritual
one (demons), as well. But this only supersaturates an already bloated teaching. Stern writes, ―The Greek is
difficult. As rendered, it means that violent ones (demons and their human vehicles) are trying to keep God
from carrying out his plan through Yeshua, e.g., through Herod's having put Yochanan in prison (v. 2). An
alternative understanding, '...the Kingdom of Heaven has been advancing forcefully; and forceful people are
seizing hold of it‘, seems inconsistent with v. 25-30‖. (Dr. David H. Stern, Jewish New Covenant Commentary
(Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Covenant Publications, 1992), p. 43.)