And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
12. Since the days of John I have no doubt that Christ speaks honorably of the majesty of the Gospel on this ground, that many sought after it with warm affection; for as God had raised up John to be the herald of the kingdom of his Son, so the Spirit infused such efficacy into his doctrine, that it entered deeply into the hearts of men and kindled that zeal.
Christ spoke well of John to silence those who might doubt him, teaching us to defend the reputation of our brothers when they cannot speak for themselves. John humbled himself to exalt Christ; now Christ exalts John before all men. Those who honor Christ shall be honored by Him.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 11:7-15
For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. These words are to be considered in connection with Mat 11:11 and are a further proof of John's being greater than any of the prophets; because all the inspired writers and prophets, who were before him, prophesied of the Messiah as to come; and either spoke of him in obscure terms, or represented him under...