“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 infuses such efficacy into his doctrine, that it entered deeply into the hearts of men and kindled that zeal. It appears, therefore, that the Gospel, which comes forward in a manner so sudden and extraordinary, and awakens powerful emotions, must have proceeded from God. But in the second clause is added this restriction, that the ‘violent take it by force’. The greater part of men who were no more excited than if the prophets had never uttered a word about Christ, or if John had never appeared as his witness; and therefore Christ reminds them, that the violence, of which he had spoken, existing only in men of a particular class. The meaning therefore is, A vast assembly of man is now collected, as if men were rushing violently forward to seize the kingdom of God; for, aroused by the voice of one man, they come together in crowds, and receive, not only with eagerness, but with vehement impetuosity, the grace which is offered to them. Although very many are asleep, and are no more affected than if John in the wilderness were acting a play which had no reference to them, yet many flock to him with ardent zeal. The tendency of our Lord’s statement is to show, that those who pass by in a contemptuous manner, and as it were with closed eyes, the power of God, which manifestly appears both in the teacher and in the hearers, are inexcusable. Let us also learn from these words, what is the true nature and operation of faith. It leads men not only to give a cold and indifferent assent when God speaks, but to cherish warm affection towards Him, and to rush forward as it were with a violent struggle.”
-John Calvin