New Page 0

Speaking of Adventure and Strange Diets….

Last week, in writing about my love for adventure and comparing that to the real adventure of serving God, I alluded to Bear Grylls and his penchant for eating really strange food (well, “food” might not be the right description). My purpose was not to ruin your lunch, but to compare the adventures of Grylls to those of the apostle Paul. As I was perusing through Scripture this morning, I came across another spiritual adventurer who likewise ate strange foods. I’m sure you can guess by now that I’m talking about John the Baptist. It takes a pretty tough dude to live on locusts, even if you do coat them with honey. I’m sure John would feel right at home in some of Bear Grylls’ adventures. Jesus himself suggested that John was no “reed shaken by the wind,” nor was he a “man dressed in soft clothing” like those who live in palaces (Mt 11.7-8). On the contrary, John was a prophet (vs.9), and prophets were powerful, assesrtive men who commonly confronted kings who didn’t mind eating prophets for lunch (I’m speaking metaphorically now). In the context of these statements about John, Jesus makes two intriguing statements, neither of which I fully comprehend, but which are worthy of our reflection. The first is in vs.11, the second is in vs.12. I’ll deal with them in reverse order.

In Mt 11.12, Jesus says of John, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.” Now, there at least two opposite ways to interpret this statement—one positive and one negative. The negative view understands Jesus as saying that John was trying to “violently force” upon Jesus his own misunderstanding of who he thought Jesus would be, and when Jesus failed to meet John’s expectations (perhaps by being too gentle and merciful), John began to doubt (cf. vs.2-3). When our own personal agenda drives our expectations of God, we likewise leave ourselves open for disappointment and doubt. John’s doubting, however, didn’t make him a wishy-washy pansy. On the contrary, Jesus says, he was as strong as any prophet, in fact more than a prophet. But even great and strong men have doubts, and that does not detract from their greatness.

The positive view of this statement, however, sees Jesus as saying that the kingdom of God calls for strong, vigorous, assertive men (metaphorically described here as “violent men”). That is, the kingdom is “suffering violence” in a good sense, as “violent” men and women (i.e., dynamic, spirited, forceful) vigorously grab hold of it. In Luke 16.16 Jesus says it another way: “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.” In other words, the kingdom of God is not for whusses (I’m not sure how to spell “whuss” in singular, let alone the plural). The point is, God’s kingdom calls for people who are willing to lay it on the line and totally trust him, who are willing to take up their cross daily and deny themselves, who are willing to suffer for the sake of Christ. But it also calls for the kind of person who is strong enough to be weak, confident enough to be dependent, and trusting enough to live with doubt—people like the apostle Paul and John the Baptist.

And that brings me back to the first intriguing statement in the passage (vs.11), which I will simply leave you to ponder in light of all that Jesus has said about John: “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”