{Suffereth violence} (iazetai). This verb occurs only
here and in  Lu 16:16  in the N.T. It seems to be middle in Luke
and Deissmann (_Bible Studies_, p. 258) quotes an inscription
"where iazomai is without doubt reflexive and absolute" as in
 Lu 16:16 . But there are numerous papyri examples where it is
passive (Moulton and Milligan, _Vocabulary_, etc.) so that "there
seems little that promises decisive help for the difficult Logion
of  Mt 11:12  Lu 16:16 ." So then in  Mt 11:12  the form can be
either middle or passive and either makes sense, though a
different sense. The passive idea is that the kingdom is forced,
is stormed, is taken by men of violence like "men of violence
take it by force" (iastai harpazousin aut(886e)) or seize it like
a conquered city. The middle voice may mean "experiences
violence" or "forces its way" like a rushing mighty wind (so Zahn
holds). These difficult words of Jesus mean that the preaching of
John "had led to a violent and impetuous thronging to gather
round Jesus and his disciples" (Hort, _Judaistic Christianity_,
p. 26).