Responsive Heart Series

(9) Then His disciples asked Him, "What does this parable mean?" (10) So He said, "The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that

Looking they may not see,

and hearing they may not understand.

(11) "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. (12) The seeds along the path are those who have heard. Then the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. (13) And the seeds on the rock are those who, when they hear, welcome the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and depart in a time of testing. (14) As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit. (15) But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit.

I. OBSTACLES TO GROWTH (LUKE 8:4-7, 11-14)

The fields were in long strips. People would walk on beaten paths between the fields. There were no fences. The path would be as hard as cement. The farmer would tie a sack to a donkey with holes in it. He would walk back and forth over the field. Some of the seed would spill on the road or path.

The first soil is skepticism. Jesus was speaking of the Pharisees. Notice that it is the devil that snatches away the truth before it has a chance to take root. This attitude prevents faith in Christ.

The Pharisees refused to be open to the truth about Jesus. Their attitude was they didn’t need anyone tell them about God. They knew the way to salvation. They were OK. Look at how righteous they were. They never miss a temple service, even if it rains. They memorize Scripture and tithe. They were trusting in themselves. They thought God accepted them on the basis of their works.

These people have no use for Jesus. Bill Maher, the political humorist, said, “Faith means making a virtue out of not thinking. It's nothing to brag about. And those who preach faith and enable and elevate it are our intellectual slaveholders, keeping mankind in a bondage to fantasy and nonsense that has spawned and justified so much lunacy and destruction.”

This soil represents people who will simply make no place for Jesus. I talked to a high school boy and shared the gospel. I asked if he would like to receive Christ. “No,” was his answer. I asked why. He said he was not through having his fun yet. The devil had snatched away the truth about the consequences of sin and the abundance of life that Jesus brings.

What’s our response to the skeptics, to those whose heart is hard to the Good News of Christ? Keep casting the seed. We know people we thought were too far gone to ever respond, but a seed of the gospel got through an opening and came to life. I have uncles, aunts, and my grandfather who would fit this category. They had no place for Jesus, but finally a seed brought them life. Keep telling the story. The second biggest box office movie in 2004 was The Passion of the Christ. It was about the last 12 hours of Jesus’ life. Millions, believer and unbeliever, attended this movie. You just never know when God will break through to the skeptic.