MAYSVILLE CHURCH OF CHRIST COLUMN
QUESTION: In Luke 16:16, what does the text mean in the words, “every man presseth into it”?
ANSWER: Let’s look at the text in the Authorized Version of the Bible: “The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” The NKJV says, “everyone is pressing into it.” The ASV (1901) reads, “every man entereth violently into it.” As does the RSV.
Matthew parallels this statement, “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” (Matthew 11:12-13).
When John preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, the Jews were anticipating an earthly kingdom that would overthrow the control of the Roman Empire. Then Jesus preached that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, He had to continually remind men saying, “My kingdom is not of this world,” (John 18:36). The scholarly J.W. McGarvey made this observation about Luke 16:16: “The gates of Christ’s Kingdom were not opened till Pentecost (Acts 2); but men, hearing it was about to be opened, sought to enter it prematurely, not by the gates which God would open, but by such breaches as they themselves sought to make in its walls.”
There were times when the Jews sought to make Christ their king by force (John 6:15). With that mindset the people were making every effort possible to force their way into the kingdom of God. They did not understand the nature of the kingdom that Christ said that He would build (Matthew 16:18). In the religious world of our day many choose to ignore God’s plan of salvation and invent multitudes of methods to enter the kingdom and ignore the plain teaching of God’s way of salvation. Jesus said you must hear His Gospel (John 6:45). Jesus said that man must believe that He is the Son of God (John 8:24). Jesus said that we must repent of sin (Luke 13:3-5). Jesus said you must confess Him as Lord (Matthew 10:32-33). Jesus said you must be baptized for the remission of sins (Mark 16:15-18; Matthew 28:18-20). Man must simply “Trust and Obey” for there is no other way!
A warm welcome awaits you at all the services of the Maysville church of Christ, at Main & Ash Streets. We have worship services each Sunday at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Bible classes for all ages are held Sunday at 10 a.m. and Wednesday evenings at 6 p.m. We offer a Bible Correspondence Course without any obligation to you. You can reach us by phone at 405-428-7318, by mail at P.O. Box 562 in Maysville, or by email at jessandterr@yahoo.com. Come and “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” on the Lord’s Day this Sunday.
