among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Insofar as John was a prophet like others in the history of Israel he was great, but still somehow far less than even the least in the Kingdom of heaven. But John was one who had a foot in both worlds, that of the Old Covenant, and that of the New. He was the first to experience violence being turned against the Kingdom. This was true since the purpose of his coming was to prepare the way for Jesus, and it was this that put him in such a public role as to offend Herod Antipas. He stuck even to subordinate truths about righteousness and repentance, down to insisting on the unlawfulness of Herod's marriage, precisely because to be unfaithful to any truth was to be unfaithful to the one who was the Truth in person, the bridegroom he came to make known.
Let's pause for a moment to realize what a reversal is being described by Jesus in regard to John. The obvious and evident signs of John's greatness were as a prophet from the long prophetic tradition of Israel. He had such massive success calling people to repentance, a success which, we point out, was not common for the prophets, that people were afraid to say anything negative about him for fear of the crowds (see Matthew 21:23-27). This was the greatness of which Jesus said "among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist". But his Kingdom greatness was revealed by the suffering he endured for the messiah. Outside of the Kingdom, even for a prophet, John's end could only be considered a tragedy that was in some measure a failure. But in the Kingdom it could be regarded as a victory, since in the Kingdom suffering and death were no longer meaningless for lives lived for Christ. It wasn't primarily those who lived successful lives on earth that were considered great in the Kingdom. The great reversal in which the mighty were cast down and the lowly were lifted up was applicable to John the Baptist as a prime example. This reversal had been foreseen in the Old Testament. But in Jesus it finally arrived. And John was among the first to experience it.
the Kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent are taking it by force.
The commentators all say that this passage refers to the woes that would mark the world at the time of the messiah, all of the violence that would be directed against Jesus and those who followed him. And we concede this is the primary meaning. Yet we also acknowledge the long tradition of those who say that it refers to the spiritual violence necessary to enter the Kingdom. This spiritual violence is directed primarily at old sinful selves, which we put to death, in order to live more fully the new life given to us in baptism. This is what Paul described in his letter to the Romans, saying, "if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (see Romans 8:13). For this reason the Catholic tradition speaks of mortification as an important part of the spiritual life. After all, no amount of violence from others can actually prevent a follower of Jesus from entering into his Kingdom. But a lax attitude with in regard to the temptations of the flesh can do exactly that. Thus for us, as for John, the true shape of success and victory is not what we might expect. It isn't having our every desire met so much as having those desires reordered to reflect reality. The strength we need, it should be said, does not come from ourselves, even it is through us that it works.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God (see Second Timothy 1:8).
John's role was special. He was called Elijah because he prepared the way for Jesus, his Kingdom, and ultimately, the end of that period of history. The prophets had prophesied up until John, indicating, despite their differences, a common thread. He was the culmination of God's preparation of Israel to receive her messiah. Together with the rest of the passage, the "up to the time of John" implied the ending of one era and the beginning of another. The time of preparation for the Kingdom was over. The Kingdom was now truly at hand.
Although the Kingdom is among us, the challenge we are given by the Church is to prepare to welcome it in a new way this Christmas. We are rehearsing the original coming of the messiah so that we can welcome him more completely into our own hearts and lives this year. Just as Jesus divided history into BC and AD (or whatever we are to call them now) so too does he divide our individual lives. Our after should be markedly different than our before. But for this to be true and remain true it is required that we continue to pursue it, even with the sort of spiritual violence we have described.
John Michael Talbot - Prepare Ye The Way
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