Leo Tolstoy

“ Light is the life of men; light came into the world, but men prefer darkness to light, and do not go to the light. He who does wrong avoids the light that his deeds may not be seen, and so deprives himself of life. ”

“ After this Jesus began to explain to the people what the Kingdom of God is, and he taught it them by parables.
He said: The Father—who is the spirit—sows the life of understanding in the world as a husbandman sows grain in his field. He sows over the whole field without remarking which seeds fall in what place. And some seeds fall on the path and the birds come and eat it. Other seeds fall among stones and though they come up they wither, because there is no room for their roots. ”

“ Of what John says they have only understood that he fasts in the wilderness, and they say: 'There is a devil in him.' Of what I say they have understood only that I do not fast, and they say: 'He eats and drinks with tax- gatherers and sinners—he is a friend of theirs.' They are like children in the street who chatter to one another and wonder that no one listens to them. ”

“ The Kingdom of God must be understood not as you imagine—that the Kingdom of God will come for all men at a certain time and in a certain place—but thus: in the whole world there are always some people who rely on the heavenly son of man, and these become sons of the Kingdom; the others who do not rely on him perish. The Father of the spirit in man is the Father of those only who acknowledge themselves as his sons. ”

“ To everyone who has understood the meaning Of the Kingdom of God, but has not accepted it in his heart, evil comes and robs him of what was sown; this is the seed by the wayside. That which was sown on stony ground represents the man who receives the teaching readily and gladly, but has no root and only accepts it for a time, and as soon as pressure and persecution comes because of the meaning of the kingdom, he at once denies it. ”

“ Not for man's destruction, but for their good, did God implant in man this son of his, like unto Himself. He gave him that everyone should believe in him and not perish but have eternal life. He did not bring this son of his (this inner life) into the world of men to destroy it, but brought forth his son (this inner life) that the world of men should live by him.
He who commits his life to this son of man does not die, but he who does not commit his life to him destroys himself by not trusting to what is life itself. ”

“ You do not bid men keep Saturday, or tell them to observe cleanliness, or to offer sacrifices, or to fast, and you would abolish the temple, and say that God is a spirit and that the Kingdom of God is within us. ”

“ Understand that if man is conceived from heaven there must be something heavenly in him. You must be born again.
Nicodemus did not understand this, and said: How can a man, born of the flesh and grown up, return to his mother's womb and be conceived afresh? ”

“ I tell you truly: no one greater than John has ever been born. He has declared the Kingdom of God on earth and is therefore above all the others. The law and the prophets were necessary till John came, but now he has announced that the Kingdom of God is on earth, and that he who makes an effort can enter into it. ”

“ No one has ever gone up to heaven, and we have only man on earth who has come from heaven and is himself of heaven. It is this heavenly son of man that must be exalted, that all may believe in him and not perish but have heavenly life. ”