Use your finances wisely, He said. Invest in eternity, He said. Be faithful with “unrighteous wealth” and you’ll be entrusted with “true riches”, He said. Steward well what is Another’s and in a coming day He will give you what will forever be your own, He said. You can’t serve two masters, you can’t serve God and money, He said. (Lk 16:9-13).

And what did they do? How did the religious elite respond?

The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed Him.

(Luke 16:14a ESV)

They ridiculed Him. Jesus told them the truth about money, but because they were lovers of money, they rolled their eyes (MSG). They scoffed (NAS). They sneered (NIV). They turned up the nose making a hook of it on which to suspend Him as an object of ridicule (WNT). They had chosen a master to serve, and it wasn’t God. And so, they just weren’t prepared to even try to pick up what Jesus was laying down. Unreal!

And in doing so they let others pass by them and storm the gates of the kingdom of God.

“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.” ~ Jesus

(Luke 16:14-16 ESV)

And everyone forces his way into it. That’s what I’m chewing on, this morning.

The kingdom of God isn’t just something we are invited to receive, it’s something we are encouraged to seize. It’s not something we passively permit, it’s a reality that we passionately pursue. God’s grace opens the door, and we take it by force.

The Pharisees were happy with the Law and the Prophets. They had convinced themselves that they were the favored few because they had checked enough of the religiously righteous boxes to have earned their seat at the table. Having done that then, they moved on to more lucrative pursuits, like how to turn their piety into profit. They were satisfied with their delusional sense of having arrived and so weren’t looking for anyplace else to go. And though the Law and the Prophets also spoke of a king and kingdom to come, they really weren’t all that interested.

Oh, but for those who knew their need . . .

For the weary and the weak, for those who had failed and for those who felt worthless, for sinners who knew their need of a Savior, the good news of the kingdom of God was a call to lay hold on eternal life (1Tim. 6:19), to lay hold of the hope that had been set before them (Heb. 6:18), to lay hold of “that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of them” (Php. 3:12). It was a call to arms. A call to storm the gates of the kingdom come.

If Jesus, the Son of God, really was inviting them to “come to Me” (Mt. 11:28), then they were prepared to elbow their way to the front of the line. If Jesus was serious about His call to “abide in Me” (Jn. 15:4), then they were going to do everything in their power to — as close as they could possibly get — lean into Jesus’ bosom (Jn. 13:23 KJV).

Enter the kingdom, He said. And with gusto and fervency they responded, Let us in!

Yeah, I wanna be more like those who force their way in than like the Pharisees who say, “I’ve got enough, I’ll pass.” I really want to avoid settling for just “enough” of the kingdom and somehow being so satisfied with what’s been attained that I stop pressing on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Php. 3:12-14).

Storming the gates. Taking the kingdom by force. That’s what I want to do.

Who’s with me?

By His grace. For His glory.