In Matthew 11:12 Jesus says, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence and the violent take it by force.”
The Jews were looking for their Messiah – they were eagerly awaiting the “natural” kingdom, struggling and striving now to see Jesus Whom people claimed to be the Messiah. There were immense crowds… people would have carried Jesus off, as the original Greek meaning of “take it by force” describes. They thronged at the doors where Jesus was – they would have done anything to bring the kingdom of heaven to themselves.
Look at John 6:14-15, “When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.”
Some of them didn’t get the spiritual aspect of the kingdom of God/heaven. This story makes me think about how people flock to see rock stars. The disciples understood what Jesus was telling them about the kingdom of God, Mark 4:11 “And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables.” Jesus said he had to use parables so that the people would come to understand the truth about His kingdom.
Therefore, the response to John the Baptist’s preaching and then Jesus coming on to the scene was a violent one…with those who opposed Jesus and those who believed and followed Him.
In The Hands of the Refiner 