Luke 8:4-15

Applebury's Comments

The Parable of the Sower
Scripture

Luke 8:4-15 And when a great multitude came together, and they of every city resorted unto him, he spake by a parable: 5 The sower went forth to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it. 6 And other fell on the rock; and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And other fell amidst the thorns; and the thorns grew with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit a hundredfold. As he said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

9 And his disciples asked him what this parable might be. 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to the rest 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 And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And those on the rock are they who, when they have heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away, 14 And that which fell among the thorns, these are they that have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 And that in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Comments

he spake by a parable.Crowds gathered to hear Jesus wherever He went. This is not the first time He used parables in His teaching. But this is unusual because He used a series of parables to present the lessons about the kingdom.

A parable is a comparison or illustration. Usually it is something that happens in a natural way that permits the teacher to point to its counterpart in the spiritual realm. They were not used because they were so simple that everybody could easily understand them. In fact, the disciples of Jesus didn-'t understand the parable of the sower until He explained it to them. Many who heard didn-'t understand and didn-'t take the pains to ask the Teacher what He meant by the parables.

The emphasis in this series of parables is on the necessity of understanding the Word. Parables helped those who wanted to understand what Jesus was saying, but were of no value to those who were not concerned about His message.

The sower went forth to sow.The four types of soil represent the reaction of four types of hearers. Some who heard allowed the devil to snatch away the implanted Word. James says, Wherefore putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls (James 1:21). Others, like the seed that fell on the rocky soil, had no depth in themselves. They received the word with joy, but their convictions were not deep-rooted. Because they couldn-'t stand the trials of life, they fell away. Still others, like the ground that produced the thorns, allowed the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches to choke out the Word. But those who heard and understood were like the good soil that produced a rich harvest.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.There was more to be learned in the parables than appeared on the surface. This phrase is repeated in each of the seven letters to the churches of Asia (Revelation 2:7).

And his disciples asked him what this parable might be.Of this group of parables, Jesus explained only two: The Sower and The Tares. On the basis of His explanation of these two, the disciples were able to understand the others (Matthew 13:51-53).

All figurative language of Scripture is to be explained in the light of the plain statements. This is true of the figurative language of Revelation. John explains many of the symbols used in the book, and on the basis of his explanations many other figures of speech that are not explained are made understandable.

Since we now have the complete and final and authoritative revelation of God in the Bible (Hebrews 1:1-2), we should let the whole Bible interpret any particular passage that may not appear to be clear. The Lord intended His Word to be read and understood (Ephesians 3:4).

Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.Mysteries refer to that which was not known until the secret was told. The secrets of the kingdom are told in the Bible, and they can be understood; but it takes effort to search the Scriptures (Acts 17:11), time to meditate on their meaning (Psalms 1:2), and a sincere desire to translate them into life to really know the sacred writings that can save those who believe in Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:14-15).

The seed is the word of God.Thus makes the parable meaningful to all who really want to know God's will for man. See also James 1:18; James 1:22-25; Ephesians 6:17; Psalms 119:9-16.