1.
 From the beginning God Created human
beings and instructed them to till the land
and take care of it. (Gen.2:15)
 It is through agricultural activities that
humans learned to relate to fellow beings and
nature and order the course of their life.

2.
 Jesus’ audience was composed of diversity
farmers: grape growers, wheat growers, large
scale farmers, peasant
farmers, labourers, shepherds, fowl breeders
to name a few.
 Jesus had to be relevant, then he used what
was known and familiar to his audience.

3.
 The daily activities of his audience was
farming hence for easy understanding of the
unknown – ‘the heavenly Kingdom’ – Jesus
used agricultural images to enhance their
understanding.

4.
 In teaching there is need of using concrete
examples and the best was what people know
and use in their daily lives.
 Despite agriculture’s harmful impact on
environmental quality, Farming remain a
prime source of metaphors for the correct
relationship between humans and the natural
world.

5.
 Religion is based on faith, there is no better
and concrete example of living by faith other
than a farmer’s experience.
 A farmer sow seeds in faith, wait for the rains
in faith, build burns in faith that he harvest.

6.
 A farmer is a good example of having these
qualities; he is the one who exercises
patience and tolerance. A farmer patiently
wait for the rains, germination and harvest.
 A farmer exercises tolerance and cannot
easily give up, e.g. The parable of the weeds
(Matt. 13: 24 -30)

7.
 Jesus had to constantly remind humanity of
their responsibility and ability.
 Also to highlight the limitations in human
beings and to conscientise them of the need
for divine intervention.

8.
 Jesus had to use what was familiar and known to
help his audience to understand better the
Kingdom of Heaven.
 His audience were surrounded with agricultural
images of which he took advantage of to easily
deliver his message.
 Concrete and memorable images are those which
people use on everyday basis.
 Humans are attached to agriculture from the
beginning.

9.
 If it were in today’s world that Jesus
physically lived and happens to be in America
he could use concrete examples of
technology, sports and music to name a few.
 THE END – THANK YOU.