The Parable of the Sower
(Matt 13:3-8; Mark 4:3-8; Luke 8:5-8)
Then He told them many things in parables, saying,
“Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he was
sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds
came and ate them up. Others fell on rocky ground,
where there wasn’t much soil, and they sprang up
quickly since the soil wasn’t deep. But when the sun
came up they were scorched, and since they had no root,
they withered. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns
came up and choked them. Still others fell on good
ground, and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and
some 30 times what was sown. Anyone who has ears
should listen!
“You, then, listen to the parable of the sower: When
anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t
understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away
what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along
the path. And the one sown on rocky ground—this is
one who hears the word and immediately receives it
with joy. Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived.
When pressure or persecution comes because of the
word, immediately he stumbles. Now the one sown
among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but
the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth
choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But the one
sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and
understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields:
some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown”(Matt
13:18-23).
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matt13:24-30)
He presented another parable to them: The
kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed
good seed in his field. But while people were sleeping, his
enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left.
When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then, the
weeds also appeared. The landowner’s slaves came to him
and said, “Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field?
Then where did the weeds come from?”
“An enemy did this!” he told them.
“So, do you want us to go and gather them up?” the
slaves asked him.
“No,” he said. “When you gather the weeds, you
might also uproot the wheat with them. Let them both
grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the
reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to
burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.”
“The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;
the field is the world; and the good seed—these are
the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of
the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the
Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the
harvesters are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are
gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end
of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels,
and they will gather from His kingdom everything
that causes sin and those guilty of lawlessness. They
will throw them into the blazing furnace where there
will be gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will
shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Anyone
who has ears should listen!” (Matt. 13:37-43)
PARABLES ABOUT THE
KINGDOM
OF GOD





Matthew:
Mark:
Luke:
John:
Total:
16 out of 16
6 out of 6
16 out of 17
No Parables
38 out of 39
PARABLES ABOUT ANYTHING
ELSE





Matthew:
Mark:
Luke:
John:
Total:
0 out of 16
0 out of 6
1 out of 17
No Parables
1 out of 39








Topic
Be Patient and Persevere
Be wary of Materialism
Love One Another
Jesus’ Public Prayers
Be Humble, Not Proud
The Kingdom of God is
Near
Nothing But The Kingdom
Matters
I Am The Way…Follow
Me!

Number of Passages
2 Passages
3 Passages
7 Passages
7 Passages
9 Passages
At Least 10 Passages

At Least 20 Passages

At Least 60 Passages






Reason
Out of Compassion

Number of Miracles
3 Miracles

To Teach About Faith

8 Miracles

To Reveal the Divinity
of Jesus

11 Miracles

No Reason Given

12 Miracles
Secular Christianity
The Words of Jesus
Focuses on man’s relationship Focuses on man’s relationship
with his fellow man
with God
Is anthropocentric: Man is the
greatest cause and his
betterment the ultimate goal
Is Christocentric: We are
redeemed and reunited with
God through Jesus
Jesus teaches us the way to a
better life
Jesus is the way to eternal life
Views the world from a
naturalistic point of view
Views the world as a
convergence of the natural
and the supernatural
Focuses on the material
Focuses on the spiritual
Emphasizes the temporal
world of man
Emphasizes the eternal
kingdom of God
Sees man’s improvement as
the ultimate good
Sees the love of God as the
ultimate good
Some Big Questions
Anthropocentric
Answer
Christocentric Answer
How do I get to heaven?
Be a good person.
Accept grace of God
through Christ.
What is the purpose of
life?
Help make the world a
better place.
Know and love God.
How should I make moral
decisions?
As reason dictates.
As God commands.
What is the greatest moral
law?
Love your neighbor as
yourself.
Love the Lord your God.
What makes one a good
Christian?
He helps his fellow
man.
He accepts Jesus Christ as
his Lord and Savior.
What is sin?
Hurting other people.
Disobeying God.
What is the difference
between Christianity and
other faiths?
All faiths are
essentially the same.
Christians believe
salvation comes through
Christ.
Jesus on Misplaced Priorities
The person who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; the person who loves son or
daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever doesn’t take up his cross and follow Me is not
worthy of Me. Anyone finding his life will lose it, and anyone losing his life because of Me will find it.
--Matthew 10:37-39
The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal
life.
--John 12:25
I came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! But I have a baptism to be
baptized with, and how it consumes Me until it is finished! Do you think that I came here to give peace
on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!
--Luke 12:49-51
From then on Jesus began to point out to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many
things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, be killed, and raised on the third day. Then Peter took
Him aside and began to rebuke Him, “Oh, no, Lord! This will never happen to You!”
But He turned and told Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me because you’re not
thinking about God’s concerns, but man’s.”
--Matthew 16:23
I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really
foolish thing that people often say about him: “I’m ready
to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept
his claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not
say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of
things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He
would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who
says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil
of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was,
and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something
worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him
and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call
him Lord and God. But let us not come with any
patronizing nonsense about his being a great human
teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend
to.
--C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Some Subjective Conclusions Based on Some Objective
Analysis
or
(My Feeble Attempt to Evangelize in the Guise of Academic Discourse)
My personal conclusions based on my research:
• Jesus believed he was the Son of God.
• Jesus believed he was the way to eternal life.
• Jesus primary mission was to inaugurate the coming
Kingdom of God---Not to provide yet another moral
code.
• Jesus taught that salvation is an unearned gift of God,
not based on human merit but on the unconditional
love of God.
God loves me because I am good.
God loves me because I am good.
God loves me because I am.
God loves me because I am good.
God loves me because I am.
God loves me because.
God loves me because I am good.
God loves me because I am.
God loves me because.
God loves me.
God loves me because I am good.
God loves me because I am.
God loves me because.
God loves me.
God loves.
God loves me because I am good.
God loves me because I am.
God loves me because.
God loves me.
God loves.
God.