Matthew 11:12–13: “‘From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared.’”

This is part of Jesus’ comments about John, after messengers from John came to ask Jesus, “Are You the one to come or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2–3). Jesus has been saying some things, and now, in verse 12, He tells you that things have changed, even though it does not seem obvious that anything has.

Because remember, John's question was, “Are You the one to come or shall we look for another?” In a way, I see it as John was expecting more “fireworks” than what they were seeing. There seems not to have been a radical change since Jesus came on the scene, probably in John’s opinion.

So Jesus is helping the people see into what is not easily seen. “From the days of John the Baptist…”—from that day, everything changed. It is like decades, centuries of the children of Abraham being in Egypt; but then a day came, and things changed, when God said, “I have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7–8). Things changed. But of course, for a while it looked like nothing had changed. Moses would go to Pharaoh; Pharaoh would say no. It just seemed like things were going on “normally.”

But with the hindsight of history, you see that things had changed. Christianity is now a global phenomenon. Look at that: things changed. But that change began then; it was not immediately obvious.

Because if someone says, “Are You the one to come or shall we look for another?” you might begin to cast doubt. The disciples following Jesus might start to doubt: “Look at powerful John; look at what he is saying about Jesus. Should we even take Jesus seriously?” Jesus is saying: you should take Him seriously. Things changed.

When you plant a seed, it is not immediately obvious that anything has changed, but it has. You will soon see the plant sprouting up—but not in the next millisecond. Things have changed, but it is not immediately obvious in how people are expecting or judging things.

“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,” Jesus says—talking about the fact that something is happening that you cannot see. The divine activity has ramped up. The opposition has ramped up—for and against.

Then verse 13: “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared.”

He is telling you that this is now the fulfillment of what you have written in the law and in the prophets. This is the fulfillment. See the law as a prophecy: the temple prophesying about Jesus; the lamb prophesying about Jesus. Those are the shadows, and Jesus is the substance (Colossians 2:17; Hebrews 10:1).

“They prophesied”—meaning, they pointed ahead. Those things have now manifested, and it began from the time of John. That is Jesus taking them on a teaching journey. No one else can say this: something shifted at that time. Something has shifted, something has moved, but they cannot observe it physically.

Some people want to say that the world would just have gone on, and even if Christ had not come, things would still be the same. “It does not really matter.” No. Christ is the fulcrum of history. There is a “before Him” and “after Him,” and that is how history is divided.

He has already told them, “What did you go into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? … A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet… a messenger ahead of My face” (Matthew 11:7–10; quoting Malachi 3:1). Telling you: whatever you are reading here is serious stuff. There is no “graduating” from it. Do not lay hold of another book and say, “Maybe that book will make me more advanced than Scripture.” No. This is the advanced.

He is the One to come. He is the Savior. He is the One you pin your hope on. There is no leaving Him. There is no advancing beyond Him. There is no one better than Him. He is God in the flesh.

God bless you. See you later.