Open, Open, Open

Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.   (KJV)

Many years ago there was a certain women's clothing store that had a nationally advertised annual sale.  Oddly enough, I do not remember the name of the store, but I do remember some details of the advertisement.  One of those details is a woman anxiously waiting outside, peering in the store with her hands flat on the glass on either side of her face.  As her fingers contracted towards each other, and then stretched back out again in a steady rhythm, she was chanting, "open, open, open..." with each movement of her hands.

There have been other large sale events that have attracted hundreds, and dare I say thousands, of people to gather outside the store before it opened. Many of those people waiting more than twenty-four hours in hopes of gaining the reward of getting one of the limited supply specials the store was offering as part of the sale.  And when those doors open: well, you've seen the results of the Black Friday sales on the evening news.  You may have even taken part in the craziness yourself.

Talk about the violent taking it by force. 

John the Baptist came to advertise the coming of the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus was the fulfillment of his preaching.  Multitudes took advantage, and like the woman pictured outside of the store, and like the multitudes of deal hungry shoppers on Black Friday, they were anxious to storm in the gates of heaven. 

"From the days of John the Baptist until now..."  This was a recent occurrence, and a limited one. In the context of the passage Jesus was giving a commendation of the ministry of John.  The result of his ministry was summed up in the above statement.

I wonder, how excited are we at the preaching of the coming kingdom of Heaven?