Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/434

 420 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

Jesus recurs to biological analogies in describing the future progress of his kingdom. One can hardly with safety revert at this point to the important figure of the leaven, since its biological content could hardly have been explicitly in the mind of Jesus. But within the sphere of observable organic growth Jesus saw in the life of plants repeated analogies of the growth of that which he did but inaugurate. Now the progress of the kingdom is like that of the mustard seed; 1 now of the seed sown on soils which by their different natures condition the size of the harvest ; 2 again it is like the seed that must grow if once it be planted, since the earth itself compels it a most instructive analogy. 3 From a somewhat different point of view, the history of the kingdom in the world seemed to be like that of a field in which tares and grain grew side by side until the harvest ; 4 and, most beautiful and suggestive of all, the efficiency of the members of the new family was distinctly taught to depend upon the closeness of their union with himself, as branch with vine. 5 Such a habit of thought can hardly be said to have been fortuitous. It is too nearly akin to the conception of the new kingdom as a family to permit the interpretation that Jesus did not intend to emphasize the truth that back of any permanent social growth there must be, first of all, a sym- pathy in purpose and similarity in capacity, such as can be com- pared alone to the apprehension and the assimilation of parts of its environment by the living organism. Indeed, when once Jesus' conception of "the world" is clearly gained the analogy becomes altogether striking. The kingdom of a few men, filled with the might that comes from the experience of a newly revealed sonship of God and brotherhood with each other, is seen set down in the midst of societies full of opposite forces, yet composed of convertable men. Out from this social environ- ment the little group is to select and convert and assimilate whom it can, and what institutions it can. Through these newly acquired elements it will grow, ever more capable of fur-

1 Matt. 13:31. 3Mark4:27. 5 John 1 5 : 4 j?.


 * M ark 4 : 3 sy. * Matt. 1 3 : 24-30.