Luke 8: 1 – 15
Just Give Me The Dirt
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance. 4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear! 9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” 10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
There were two other Gospels written before Luke wrote down this event. The Apostle Matthew and the disciple Mark recorded this same Parable. So, let’s see what they say and then compare all three to gather more information.
Matthew 13:1-23, “13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Mark 4:1-20, “4 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” 9 And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” 10 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, 12 so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.’” 13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Now please remember that Matthew was probably there when our Lord gave this Parable. In addition, although Mark probably wasn’t there, his step father in the faith, Peter was there and heard our Lord Jesus. Luke wasn’t there when our Lord gave this Parable but later came and interviewed those who were. So, let’s see what all three have in common and are different.
You can almost see Luke interviewing people and writing down their thoughts regarding this Parable. He is the one who gives us a lot more information.
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.
Luke informs us that our Lord had a pretty large group following him as He went from place to place. He had not only the Apostles, and other disciples but some great ladies who out of their own substance took care of the whole group – ‘Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, 2 and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, 3 and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance.’
All three writers also list the fact that a whole bunch of people were tagging along. They followed our Lord to the Sea of Galilee where there were so many people that our Lord got into a boat to teach the people gathered on the shore.
4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable
The crowds flocked to Him from all over Israel. Our Lord was now teaching them in Parables so as to stir them into thought. You know that is one thing that we do not like to do. We get our English word to ‘think’ from the Latin word ‘Muse’. I find it very amazing that when you put the letter ‘A’ before a word it says ‘not to’. So if we put the letter ‘A’ before ‘Muse’ we get ‘Amuse’. Does this sound familiar? We spend billions of dollars on ‘amusement’ so we do not have to think.
I follow my Lord’s advice when I address people and try to get them to think. The purpose of the Parables were to get people to think about the truth in His story and ask about its significance.
Now we are going to go over 4 types of soils. Some commentators say that the soils represent the fruit in Christian lives. I do not believe that this is what this Parable is talking about. I believe that the soils our Lord Is talking about represent the individual hearts of people and whether they fully turn their lives to Him. So, lets see what He says.
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.”
A farmer in the old days would have a bag of seed and just throw handfuls all around. In this case notice where some fell - 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. In each farm there were pathways where you walked a lot. Some of the seed feel on this pathway which had become packed down. The seed would just lay there and be easy pickings for the birds.
If you ever been to Israel you will be amazed at the amount of rocks all over. The Jewish farmers have to go through great efforts to clear their land of the rocks. So, while scattering seed around the border of the farmers land then - 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. This seems to be a no brainer. If the seed fell on some rocks they also would be easy pickings for the birds. If some fell beneath the rocks then there wouldn’t be any sun nor soil in which the seed could grow.
Besides the rocks there are also a lot of weeds and brush that fights the farmers. If you are a homeowner you can relate to all the wild things that grow while the nice grass and flowers have a hard time developing – ‘7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.’
Yet due to the Lord’s Great Mercy and Grace He allows some good plant production - 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.”
Nice story so far huh? So what does all this mean. You are not alone if you do not immediately get the major points.
When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear! 9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” 10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 “Now the parable is this:
How would you feel if you went to church and your Pastor had just told you this Parable and ended before explaining what it meant. This is what happened here. The people had heard the Lord’s Parable and went their way. As you can see from all the various versions the disciples came up to the Lord and wanted to know what the Parable meant.
Much of the crowd was the first example of the seed. I am sure that you had all four examples there. I would say that it would be reasonable to say that the last seed only applied mostly to those who were part of our Lord’s traveling ministry. Remember that crowds have followed our Lord. He talks about the four types of seeds and then ends His message. I am sure many of the townsfolk left. Some hung around. Perhaps even some were still hanging around when our Lord explained what He meant with the Parable.
The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
You see this group in Evangelistic outreaches or even at ‘altar calls’. I had read some statistics that over the millions of people who responded at the Billy Graham Crusades less than 10 % are serious in their walk with the Lord. That is frightening statistics. I been at church services where the Pastor goes on and on beseeching the people to come forward. Some come forward just so the service can end. Some people come forward because the crowd applauds them. They like the limelight. So, the come forward and pray the prayer. But as you can see from our Lord that many profess His Name but do not Possess the Lord in their lives. For when the people go home there is no change. The devil has swept in and took the seed of life away from their very beings.
The next seed falls on stony ground.
13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
You have to forgive me because sometimes I can get downright mean. Some things really get under my skin. I have experienced some of my brothers who trick people into salvation. They come to different cities and for them it is a game to see which one gets the most new believers. They go up to people and complement them on their clothes or something the person has with or on them. Then they quickly change the subject to the ‘Roman Road’ and badger people to pray the sinners prayer with them. Later on in the evening they brag about how many they got ‘saved’.
I don’t know about you but being a Christian is hard. A lot of people sell you the ‘goodies’, you know, hey, your sins are forgiven and you get your ticket to Heaven.’ Yes, that is good news but what about the other side. That you life is going to be hard.
I like someone’s statement that if you want to be more Christ like then do not be surprised if people come running up to crucify you.
I believe this is what our Lord Is saying about the second group. Hey they like all the applause but when the pressure comes, ‘hey, forget about it.’
14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
If you are a Pastor then I believe that you can agree that this group of people are the ones who help you want to quit the ministry. They are the ones who think that they are believers and come to church and stir up all kinds of trouble. I love this statement regarding church discipline – ‘We minister to those we should put out of our churches and put out of our churches those who we should minister to.’
These people bear no fruit. They arrogantly think that by showing up on Sunday services that all is well. They always are offended at something or another and their points of view are what only matters.
Then we have the last group. Those who humbly say yes to the Lord with no requirements. They come just as they are – broken, hurt, and tired. These are the ones in whose hearts the seed of the Word of God springs forth to fruitful growth.
15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
So, the four types of soil represent the four types of individual’s response to the Word of God. The scary part is that 3 out of the 4 were displaying no true saving faith.
Let us all do our own inventory and ‘think’. Are we the fourth soil? For our Lord says in the book of Matthew 7 verses 13 through 14 this scary passage, “13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
If you are one who is seeking the truth today then in the privacy of your thoughts would you pray this prayer with me?
‘Dear Heavenly Father, please receive my prayer. I know that Your Son, Jesus Christ, died for my sins. I ask You because of Him to forgive me. Dear Jesus please come into my heart and be my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Thank you for Your forgiveness. Thank You for Eternal Life with You. Amen’
If you prayed this prayer, then ‘Welcome’ to the family of God. You are now His adopted son or daughter.
