Disciples Global Network

The  Parable of the Sower  provides the key to understanding the parables of Jesus. The story’s point is that the Kingdom of God began to invade the present age starting with the proclamation of the Gospel by the “ Son of Man .” That process commenced with his announcement of the Good News when he was in “ Galilee of the Nations .” Ever since then, the Kingdom has been advancing across the Earth though largely unnoticed by humanity and even by many of his followers.

The  Gospel of Mark  provides only a few examples of the many parables taught by Jesus (“ Apart from a parable he did not speak to the crowds ”). In them, the dominant theme is the Kingdom of God that invaded the Earth in the ministry of Jesus and continues to grow and produce fruit wherever the Gospel is preached. The “ Son of Man ” taught the Jewish people in parables, but only as they “ were able to hear ,” and this clause stresses the responsibility of the listener to hear and heed his words.

In popular usage, the English term ‘Christendom’ refers to “that part of the world in which Christianity prevails,” either because most of a nation’s citizens claim to be Christian, or because a specific church or denomination is recognized by the State as the country’s official religion. Thus, the nation becomes identified as “Christian,” it is one of the “Christian nations” as opposed to the less enlightened non-Christian peoples and cultures of the planet.

Jesus declared that “ violent men are seizing the Kingdom of God .” Was he referring to malevolent men from the outside who attempt to take control of the Kingdom through force? Are his disciples called to “forcefully seize” the promises of and from God, or was he saying that the Kingdom must advance through forceful action? Jesus was discussing the ministry of John the Baptist, and how John was received by the Jewish people.

Jesus proclaimed a new political reality, the Kingdom of God, one that bears little resemblance to the political regimes of this world . Jesus arrived in Galilee proclaiming the “ Kingdom of God ” – “ Repent, for the kingdom is at hand .” In his ministry, the reign of God was invading the Earth. However, the nature of his realm was radically different than the governments and political ideologies of the existing world order, and more than once, Jesus refused political power, especially when offered by Satan.