Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-02-11
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.

Christ entered upon His public min
istry in Galilee after the Imprisonment
Of John the Baptis: by Herod. An Ell
fort had been made during the Mas
ter's Judean ministry to stir up jealousy
between our Lord and His herald with
out success The slogan OF the Bapt,hi
was adopted by Jesus. who tied up HI:
ministry to that of HIS forerunner and
attracted many OF the followers oi
John to Himself. when He opened ills
Gaiilcan campaign. preaching thf
gospel of God and saying, The tune Is
fulfilled. and the kingdom OF God Is nj
hand: repent We. and believe IN Inc COS
pei" Both the Baptist and the Christ
had appealed to the peoples hope foi
a Messiah and linked their ministry
with that of the prophets by their en-
phasis upon the fact the Rngdom Oh
God is at hand"
Jesus had breathed into the ancient
aspirations Of His countrymen and tht
teachings OF John new meaning. tina
had resulted In the falling away 81
many disciples when the opposition 81
the nations religious and political
leaders made clear the fact that Inc
Lord was not seeking temporal king
dom, but n spiritual realm, unlimited Is
TO time, country or race. The people
who had ''marvelcd at His words OF
charm" and been profoundly impressed
''bv the authority Of His teachings
we're commencing TO desert Him. They
had responded To the straighftofWafd
simple and plain messages OF the LORD
for they evidently had come from HIS
heart and had been delivered without
any effort for effect.
II was probably Mt this period, "hen
they commenced 10 realize the fact that
Jesus demanded change In their NE
through repentance and faith for thelr
entrance into spiritual kingdom. thaf
He commenced To deliver His parallels
Of the kingdom. He was master In
the Use of Illustrations and figures OF
speech that characterize the speech
OF the Orient. especially In the Near
East, but the Masters use OF the para
bles In His teachings was evidently q
surprise to His apostles. In the final
period Of Christ's ministry. which was
devoted largely 10 the training Of the
IL, our Lord apparently used more par
ables than In all the other periods of
His ministry. He expoundcd the mean
ing Of these parallels 10 Hts disciples In
secret. so that they knew their mean
ing. but the spies listening 10 catch,
contradict and condemn" were not able
To find in the parallels the basis for "a
single charge against the Master when
He spoke upon the exceedingly danger"
Gus subject Of The kingdom Of God His
use Of the parable protected the truth
which It contained from the mockers
OF sinful men who had no sympathy
with Jesus.
The Kingdom Planted.
Jesus found In agriculture that which
Grant has aptly called the groundwork
OF civilization" the illustration that
taught the truth that the difference In
mems understanding His message was
due 10 their spiritual attitude. Looking
from the boat which furnished Him
His pulpit as lie preached 10 the multi
tiide that fincked 10 hear Him, II II
quite probable that our Lord could Fec
n farmer sowing seed upon his mn
fenced farm, The hhrd.trodden path
bare of fruit running through the
f1elds along the rocky hillside. revealed
the shallow soil and It's withercd
growth: the patch filled with the cl,mph
ri thorn bushes choking out all other
life. and beyond this the fertile field
filled with bountiful crop. provided
the Master with material for a GROUP