enemies are gathered against Jerusalem, and will be cut down like the corn at harvest, while his people will enjoy security and prosperity in Zion. There is little difficulty in accommodating the implied eschatological note in Mark’s parable, as God’s kingdom reaches its ultimate fruition; but the negative imagery of Joel’s harvest fits less naturally, when the seed in Mark’s story has represented the growth of God’s kingdom, not of opposition to it. This may be an example of echoing scriptural terminology