Expert: Fr. Michael - 6/23/2011

Question
I was reading about St. John of the Ladder and came across this scripture in Matt 11:12 which says And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. What does this scripture mean?

Answer
This is a disputed passage, and even a perusal of the original Greek and the Latin Vulgate does not completely resolve the issue, but these give a better perspective than the English vernacular rendition, which is misleading in its use of "violence" and "force."

The meaning appears to be that the Christ (the kingdom of heaven) has come and is pressed upon by those would follow Him, even forcing their way beyond His message (in other words, they want to make Him an earthly king).