“Everyone forces his way into it”
The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the gospel of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. (Luke 16:16 BSB)
What it sounds like today
Baffling in any translation: is the violence good or bad?
The cultural key
One of the Gospels' genuine cruxes. The verb biazetai can be read two opposite ways: middle voice, 'the kingdom has been forcefully advancing' (bursting in with power since John); or passive, 'the kingdom is suffering violence' from violent men who assault it (John, who announced it, sits in Herod's dungeon as Jesus speaks, and will be beheaded). Scholars remain split; both readings fit the context of John's imprisonment. Luke's form of the same crux tilts positive: the kingdom is preached and 'everyone forces his way in,' urgent crowds pressing through the door, where Matthew's wording can be read as the kingdom suffering violence from attackers. Two performances of one enigmatic saying, and scholars still argue over both.
Recovered meaning
Either 'the kingdom is breaking in with unstoppable force' or 'the kingdom is under violent assault', and it may be a deliberate double edge: wherever it advances, violent men lay hands on it. A model case for honest uncertainty.