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 PARABLES ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE  Matthew:16 out of 16  Mark:6 out of 6  Luke:16 out of 17  John:No Parables  Total:38 out of 39  Matthew:0 out of 16  Mark:0 out of 6  Luke:1 out of 17  John:No Parables  Total: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  9 Passages  At Least 10 Passages  At Least 20 Passages  At Least 60 Passages

Reason  Out of Compassion  To Teach About Faith  To Reveal the Divinity of Jesus  No Reason Given Number of Miracles  3 Miracles  8 Miracles  11 Miracles  12 Miracles

Secular ChristianityThe Words of Jesus Focuses on man’s relationship with his fellow man Focuses on man’s relationship 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 materialFocuses 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 QuestionsAnthropocentric 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.

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.