The Synoptic Gospels
Outline the nature of the Kingdom of God as preached by Jesus, using examples from the parables in the Synoptic Gospels.
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Sanders and Davies (1989) make clear that ‘The Synoptic Gospels’; The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke are so similar to each other that, they view Jesus with the same eye (syn-optic), this draws a distinction between them and to the different view of Jesus presented in the Fourth Gospel (John). However, there are also many significant differences between the three Synoptic Gospels. The most important part of the synoptic gospels is Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ primary mission to his people was to offer them the possibility of eschatological salvation, which, for the most part, he expressed by the terms ‘Kingdom of God’ and ‘Kingdom of Heaven.’ A significant amount of Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God is contained in the Parables attributed to Matthew, Mark and Luke, which use metaphors and similes to describe the nature of the Kingdom of God.
A parable is drawn from the familiar, from the common life. Jesus lived among the common people. He observed his environment; the birds of the air, the flowers in the meadow, the children in the market place, the women in their houses and the farmers in the field. So he was able to speak to the people in a language which they understood. He drew their attention to what was happening in nature and in their everyday life and told them that the Kingdom of God was like that.
Some parables can be interpreted as having the same or similar meaning. The Parable of The Sower, The Parable of the Leaven, The Parable of the Mustard Seed and The Parable of the Farmer who Sews all bear the same message as to the nature of the Kingdom of God. The first three parables are found in all the synoptic gospels, whereas the parable of the Farmer who Sews can only be found in Mark.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed can be seen within Mark 4:30-32; Matthew 13:31-32 and
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Sanders and Davies (1989) make clear that ‘The Synoptic Gospels’; The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke are so similar to each other that, they view Jesus with the same eye (syn-optic), this draws a distinction between them and to the different view of Jesus presented in the Fourth Gospel (John). However, there are also many significant differences between the three Synoptic Gospels. The most important part of the synoptic gospels is Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ primary mission to his people was to offer them the possibility of eschatological salvation, which, for the most part, he expressed by the terms ‘Kingdom of God’ and ‘Kingdom of Heaven.’ A significant amount of Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God is contained in the Parables attributed to Matthew, Mark and Luke, which use metaphors and similes to describe the nature of the Kingdom of God.
A parable is drawn from the familiar, from the common life. Jesus lived among the common people. He observed his environment; the birds of the air, the flowers in the meadow, the children in the market place, the women in their houses and the farmers in the field. So he was able to speak to the people in a language which they understood. He drew their attention to what was happening in nature and in their everyday life and told them that the Kingdom of God was like that.
Some parables can be interpreted as having the same or similar meaning. The Parable of The Sower, The Parable of the Leaven, The Parable of the Mustard Seed and The Parable of the Farmer who Sews all bear the same message as to the nature of the Kingdom of God. The first three parables are found in all the synoptic gospels, whereas the parable of the Farmer who Sews can only be found in Mark.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed can be seen within Mark 4:30-32; Matthew 13:31-32 and