Luke 8:1-21: “Parable Of The Sower / Admonishment
Concerning The Light / Jesus’ Mother And Brothers Pay Him A Visit”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 24-50 of chapter 7.
1.1.1. Jesus first began to commend John the Baptist to the multitude gathered
to Him.
1.1.2. Then, Jesus challenged the people about whether they responded to John
and his ministry or not. How a person
responded to John’s ministry was an accurate indicator of the state of his
heart and desire to serve the Lord.
1.1.3. Next, Jesus accepted an invitation to come to the house of a Pharisee
name Simon for a meal. During the meal a
woman who was described as a sinner anointed Jesus feet with perfume and her
tears and wiped His feet with her hair.
1.2.
In our study today, we are
going to look at verses 1 through 21 of chapter 8.
1.2.1. Jesus teaches the Parable Of The Sower.
1.2.2. There is a challenge given by Jesus that one does not light a lamp and
put it under a bushel. Rather, a lamp is
to be placed in such a position so that it can shed light for all to see.
1.2.3. Jesus’ mother and brothers come to visit Jesus.
1.2.4. There is a consistent theme that runs throughout each of the stories we
will look at and that is the importance of heeding the word of God when you
hear it.
2. VS 8:1-3 - “1 Soon afterwards, He began going
around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the
2.1.
We are introduced here to
the entourage that Jesus had gathered to travel around with Him. From this group we see that there are some
women who had been greatly impacted by Jesus, and who out of their gratitude
supported Him financially.
2.2.
It was not unusual in Jesus’
day for people, including women, to support a rabbi who had been influential in
their life.
2.3.
The women who were following
Jesus had all been cured of various diseases by Jesus, or had demons cast out
of them by Jesus.
2.4.
We see here from this group
that an influential woman was with Jesus, Joanna the wife of Chuza, one of
Herod’s stewards. This reveals the fact
that Jesus was now affecting a wide group of individuals and gaining momentum
in support among the people in
2.5.
Notice also that we are
first introduced to Mary Magdalene here.
Her name indicates that she was from the area of Magdala. It states that Jesus had previously cast
seven demons out of her. She will go on
to be one of Jesus’ greatest supporters and even follow Him to Calvary’s hill
and be a witness of His crucifixion (Matt. 27:56), then she will be the first
to appear at the tomb after His resurrection (Mark 16:9).
2.6.
It states here that Jesus
was proclaiming and preaching ‘the
3. VS 8:4-15 - “4 When a large crowd was coming
together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by
way of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he
sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds
of the air ate it up. 6 “Other seed fell on rocky soil, and
as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 “Other
seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it
out. 8 “Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and
produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call
out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 His disciples began
questioning Him as to what this parable meant. 10 And He said,
“To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to
the rest it is in parables, so 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 beside the road are those who have heard;
then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they
will not believe and be saved. 13 “Those on the rocky soil are those
who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root;
they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 “The
seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and
as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures
of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 “But the seed
in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest
and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” - Jesus teaches the multitude
the “Parable Of The Sower”
3.1.
This story is interesting
because it reveals not only Jesus’ use of parables in His teaching but also Jesus’
own declaration of why He used the vehicle of parables for His teaching.
3.2.
This parable has been called
“The Parable Of The Sower,” however perhaps it should be called “The
Parable Of The Soils” because it teaches less about sowing and more about
the response of the soils to the seed that is sown.
3.3.
Jesus declares the reason
why He used the vehicle of parables in His teaching in verse 10 as he responded
to His disciples questions about the meaning of this parable. Jesus response reveals that the parables have
a two-fold usage:
3.3.1. For those who are willing to hear and heed the word of God, i.e. Jesus’
disciples, the parables were a means for Him to teach them ‘the mysteries of
the
3.3.1.1. The word ‘parable’ means “something called along-side.” A parable is a familiar story taken from real
life that people could relate to, and it contained details that parallel the
reception and response to truth that people can have.
3.3.1.2. Every one of Jesus’ parables had to be explained by Him to His
disciples before they could understand the spiritual lesson that Jesus was
teaching through the parable. Jesus’
disciples were always slow to understand His teachings, purposes, and
motivations.
3.3.2. For those who are unwilling to heed the word of God, Jesus informs us that
His use of parables in His teaching is so that ‘seeing they may not see, and
hearing they may not understand.’
3.3.2.1. Jesus’ parables have been called “judgments” because they divide
people revealing whether or not they truly are God’s people or not. Those who are willing to hear and to heed
God’s will come to understand Jesus’ parables.
Those who are unwilling to heed the will of God in their life cannot by
their own intellect understand the spiritual meaning of the parables.
3.4.
This “Parable Of The Sower” is
meant to teach the various responses to the word of God that people will have
after hearing it, seeing it, or reading it.
The response in question is not the momentary responses that people
might have throughout their life to various scriptures in the word of God, but
rather the overall response that a person will make to either eventually reject
God’s word and thus God’s will for his life, or to hear and apply God’s word
and thus become one of God’s children and inherit eternal life with the Lord.
3.5.
Also note in this parable
that the reason why people do or do not heed God’s word and come to salvation
has nothing to do with the sower nor the seed sown. It is the sole product of the nature of the
soil of their heart. This is an
encouragement to us as Christians because sometimes we may blame ourselves for
the lack of response of others to the gospel.
3.6.
DNA is the genetic
information structure that is contained within every living cell and contains
all of the information about the structure of the organism that the cell makes
up. In agriculture, there has been a
huge effort by many in recent years to employ genetic engineering to produce
better crops.
The first
genetically altered products were
introduced forty years ago and since then there has been much research
done. Scientists first discovered that
there was the potential for altering the DNA in a cell using radiation, various
chemicals, etc. during gene transfer when the cell’s DNA was being copied into
a new cell.
Since then
scientists studied the DNA sequencing in cells’ DNA and have discovered and
been able to alter the genes within the DNA of plants that affect hundreds of
their various characteristics. For instance,
with some plants they have increased the depth of roots the plant produces so
the plant can be successfully grown in hotter desert areas. They have produced plants that are less
affected by various insecticides. They
have produced plants that produce less of a scent that would be attractive to
insects. They have been able to affect
the size of seeds and crops. There is
even a new genetically altered orange cauliflower that is due to hit
supermarkets soon.
Genetically
altered foods are making a huge impact in our world. An article I read from 1999 stated that a third of the U.S. corn crop, and half of all
American soybeans, were planted with genetically altered seeds, making for a
huge potential impact in the Midwest, where such crops are grown.
Some people
today have major reservations about altering the DNA of any living thing
because this is playing God or because they fear that great devastation could
be caused by creatures that have been genetically altered. However, many studying various aspects of the
field of genetic engineering see this science as having the potential to cure
all of our ills and produce an ideal world that is free of hunger, disease, and
poverty.
Well, the
pre-requisites to growing a plant are light, oxygen, moisture, a suitable
temperature range, and healthy soil. I
have said all of this about genetic engineering just to make the case that
within the seed for any plant there is found all of the information needed to
create that plant. Primarily what any
seed needs in order for it to sprout, grow and transform into a full size plant
is a healthy soil where it can pull out all of the nutrients it needs. In the same way, the word of God is a seed
and it contains all of the information necessary to cause to sprout in someone
saving faith in Christ, and even cause any person to grow up into a healthy and
well equipped Christian. All that is
necessary for this to happen in any person’s life is that their heart be the
right kind of soil to allow for the proper and healthy growth of the seed (word
of God).
3.7.
In this “Parable Of The
Sower” there are three soils which do not yield a crop, though two of the three
show potential for a period of time.
There is only one soil which yields a crop. The three responses to the word of God are:
3.7.1. The seed that fell ‘beside the road’ :
3.7.1.1. In Jesus’ day, to sow a field a person might to pick up a bag of seed
with an opening on one end and throw it over his shoulder. Then, as he walked he would grab the seed out
of the bag and throw it into the rows where he was intending to grow the
crop. However, some seed would
inadvertently fall out of the sack onto the ground at the wrong places, plus
the wind might blow some seed around. In
this way, some seed would land alongside the road beside the field where the
crop was to be grown. This is the seed ‘beside
the road.’
3.7.1.2. Seed sown alongside of the road would be trampled on by people walking
by, this fact plus the fact that it was beside the road would cause it to not
be optimal for growing due to lack of proper nutrients. Also, birds like seed and they will eat any
seed that is not hidden under the topsoil.
3.7.1.3. In the same way, the vast majority of people will hear the word of
God. However, because their hearts are
not in the place to properly receive the word and heed it that word is snatched
right out of their hearts and minds by Satan’s minions (symbolized by birds, a
metaphor that always has an evil connotation in the scripture) before they even
understand or are able to ponder it.
3.7.1.3.1.
Fortunately, the Lord is
very patient and longsuffering with people, giving them a long time to choose
to repent and receive Him into their life.
Thank the Lord for the fact that people who once were a non-productive
soil for God’s word sometimes later become good soil for God’s word. For twenty years after I had gotten saved I
witnessed to my grandfather, however it was just four days before he died of
cancer when he prayed with me to receive Christ. At that time I asked him why he hadn’t
believed in Christ sooner, especially after I had shared with him the truths of
the gospel so many times over so many years, and he told me, “I never
thought about it.” The word of God
beside the way had time after time before that day been snatched right away
from him.
3.7.2. The seed that fell on ‘rocky soil’ :
3.7.2.1. Sometimes seed that is sown for planting lands upon soil that is very
shallow and sitting upon bedrock. Seeds
will sprout up in this soil and begin to grow for a period of time however the
plants begin to become unhealthy at a certain point in time and then eventually
die off, leaving no lasting fruit. The
soil in this case just does not have the nutrients nor the environment for
healthy roots to grow deep down into the earth.
3.7.2.1.1.
Have you ever been in rocky mountainous
terrain and noticed a tree growing out of a rock? I have seen this before. The seeds for these trees sprouted up in a
crack in the rock. These trees will
sprout up and grow for a period of time, however their growth soon becomes
stunted, and they will eventually die.
Plus, just a moderate wind will cause that tree to fall down. This is all caused because the tree does not
have a sufficient enough depth of soil for it to grow in a healthy manner. In the same way, if people do not have the correct
depth of soil in their hearts and lives to begin to respond obediently to God’s
word and thus start bearing fruit they eventually will just fall completely
away from Christ and no longer even believe in or try to follow Him. The problem isn’t in the sower nor the seed
it is in the condition of their heart, its non-receptivity to God and His word.
3.7.2.2. Jesus says here that after initially believing that during times of ‘temptation’
that the person on the rocky soil will fall away. In Matt. 13:21, in Matthew’s account of this
parable, he records that for that soil it is ‘when affliction or persecution arises because of the
word, immediately he falls away.’ The person believes in
Christ for a short while, however when he realizes that believing in Christ is
going to cost him something, for instance he might suffer persecution because
of his faith, his true nature is revealed and he ends up falling completely
away from Christ.
3.7.2.3. I have seen it time and again that shortly after coming to have faith
in Christ for salvation that a person experiences some sort of persecution as a
result of his faith. I have come to
believe that the Lord arranges these tests to see if a person who has come to
know Christ is truly willing to stand for Him regardless of the consequences. Just as Jesus taught in this parable, many of
those who encounter this initial persecution fall away as a result of it.
3.7.3. The seed that fell ‘among the thorns’ :
3.7.3.1. Weeds are a constant problem when growing crops. It is ironic, but worthless weeds grow so
much faster than any other crop.
However, it is not possible when planting seeds to make sure that you
have killed or gotten rid of every seed of a weed. You have to allow your crop to grow up for
awhile alongside the weeds growing alongside of it in order to determine which
shoots are actually weeds and which are the crop you intend to grow.
3.7.3.2. Jesus tells us that those of this soil believe for a while also. However, He says that they fall away when
they are ‘choked with
worries and riches and pleasures of this life.’ It is love of this life and the things of
this life that causes the spiritual demise in this person’s life.
3.7.3.3. The scriptures warn us against the deceitfulness of riches, and it
tells us not to desire to become rich.
The following story illustrates the deceitfulness of riches and how
there is such a huge temptation for people to live for the things of this
world, “Robert Herbert Thompson owns
180 newspapers, 290 other companies, and an estimated $300 million. Someone asked him, “How much would you give
for the New York Times?” Like a
flash he answered, “I think I’d mortgage my soul.” Listen to the sad echo from the rocky caverns
of this lonely soul: “I’m not close to anybody except for business. … I just
don’t have a lot of personal friends.””
3.7.3.4. Tragically, many people who once made a commitment to follow Christ as
their Lord and Savior have ended up falling away from the faith because of the
desire to get rich, become powerful, have the dream career, get the big
promotion at work to make the big bucks, etc.
Many have fallen away because they fell in love with a non-believer and
the influence of that person killed their faith. Yet when these people die not a single one of
them is going to be able to take a dime nor any of the things of this life with
them. However, they will have to stand
before the judgment seat of Christ and be condemned for eternity because they
rejected God’s only begotten Son.
3.7.4. The seed that fell on ‘the good ground’ :
3.7.4.1. This is the only soil that produced any kind of lasting crop or
fruit. This soil had the nutrients
necessary for the life that came from the seed to sprout and begin to grow.
3.7.4.2. In Matthew’s account of this parable, Matt. 13:23, brings out the
varied fruitfulness of the man whose soil is good ground with some bringing
forth fruit 30, 60, and 100 fold.
However, Luke only mentions that this person brought forth a good crop
or fruit because of the soil of his heart.
3.7.4.3. Jesus tells us here that concerning the word of God that this man
would, ‘hold it fast,
and bear fruit with perseverance’. Patience and perseverance is
the opposite of falling away from the faith and thus is the very thing that is
needed in order for a person to continue to bear fruit for the Lord.
4. VS 8:16-18 - “16 “Now no one after lighting a lamp
covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a
lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. 17 “For
nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that
will not be known and come to light. 18 “So take care how you
listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does
not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”” - Jesus admonishes the people
that a lamp that is lit is not to be covered up with a bushel
4.1.
This teaching is
particularly interesting because in Luke’s version of it there is not really
much of an explanation or interpretation of how to apply this truth to
oneself. In other passages recorded in
the gospels Jesus speaks more specifically about how that His disciples are to
be light bearers in this world. For
instance, in Matt. 5:14-16 Jesus taught this to His disciples (and thus it
applies to us His church), “14 “You
are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor
does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the
lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 “Let
your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
4.2.
After Jesus’ teaching here
in Luke of the Parable of the Sower, Jesus seems to now just be indicating what
is the proper place for the light of truth to take in the world and in our
lives. The person who has for the soil
of his heart the good soil, to the Lord he is a chandlestick and thus he is to
be a light bearer of that truth that he has received and bear fruit unto God
. Each of us as Christians then are to
consider that more than anything our lives are to be beacons of God’s light
(what else is a candlestick good for?), in the doctrinal truths we embrace, the
witness of our lips for Christ, as well as in how in our lives the fruit of our
good works bears witness to that truth in Christ that we embrace.
4.3.
Jesus gives a warning in the
midst of this teaching as well however, for He says that nothing that is hidden
in our lives will remain so, for it will ‘become evident,’ ‘come to
light,’ and ‘be known.’ This
speaks to the fact first of all that the word of God is a revealer of men’s
hearts. The act of believing the truth
from God’s word which we as Christians do is not a mere intellectual assent
that we make, rather it is something that exposes our deepest thoughts and motivations
for what they are. God’s word reveals us
to ourselves.
4.4.
People often do not come to
Christ because they do not want to have the sin in their lives revealed since
they love their sin too much. However,
Jesus says that hiding that sin in one’s life is a futile task anyway because
one day that sin shall be exposed and made known. This is a reference to the judgment seat of
Christ that people will face as well as the revelation of truth that people may
eventually experience if later in their lives they do finally come to
repentance and saving belief in Christ.
There is no escape, every person’s sin is going to be exposed and dealt
with eventually. However, if you let
your sin be exposed now you have the opportunity to also have it forgiven and
inherit eternal life through Christ.
4.5.
Jesus tells His disciples to
take care how they listen to the word of God.
He tells them that the one who has shall be given more. In other words, understanding heeding and
obeying God’s word will always lead to understanding even more of the
word. However, if you don’t heed and
obey God’s word even that amount of light you have will be taken away from you.
5. VS 8:19-21 - “19 And His mother and brothers came
to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. 20 And
it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside,
wishing to see You.” 21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother
and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”” - Jesus’ mother and brothers come
to Jesus but are unable to get to Him because of the crowd, and when Jesus is
told they are here He tells everyone that His mother and brothers are those who
hear the word of God and do it
5.1.
In these verses, we are not
told by Luke what the motivation of Jesus’ mother and brothers is for coming to
see Him. However, in the other gospel
accounts of this incident (particularly Mark’s) it appears that they came
because they were concerned about Jesus.
They knew that Jesus was becoming a matter of national interest and
intrigue, not to mention controversy.
Not really understanding what Jesus was doing or why they probably were
attempting to tell Him to be careful about the things that He said because He
could get Himself killed going along the path that He was going. Maybe they were trying to get Jesus to come
home, mellow out a bit, and live a normal life.
5.2.
Jesus was not showing
disrespect here for His mother and brothers by saying that those of His family
were those who obeyed the word of God.
Rather, He was just trying to show to all the importance of obeying the
word of God.
5.3.
This story reveals also that
we as people must never let even our family come between us and the Lord and
fulfilling His will in our life.
5.4.
Those who elevate Mary to a
position of sinlessness have a hard time with this verse because Mary and
Jesus’ brothers are really put on the same level as everyone else. Like every other person they have no special
position in God’s kingdom because of physical relationship with Jesus. Rather, like everyone else they can respond
to Jesus in repentance and by committing themselves to living a repentant
lifestyle seeking the Lord and His will for their life. We know from the New Testament that at this
point in time that Jesus’ brothers did not believe in Him.
6. CONCLUSIONS:
6.1.
There are four responses to
the word of God:
6.1.1. Beside the road.
6.1.2. The rocky ground.
6.1.3. Among the thorns.
6.1.4. The good soil that brings for fruit that lasts.
6.2.
As we consider this study and
Jesus’ Parable of the Sower which reveals the four responses people have to the
word of God, Jesus’ admonishment to not put a bushel over the lamp that you
have lighted, and Jesus telling His disciples that His mother and brothers are
those who hear the word of God and do it, we need to remember the importance of
heeding God’s word when we have heard it, read it, or listened to it.
6.3.
Each of us is being called
to be a light bearer of the truth that we have heard and learned. The Lord holds each of us accountable to do
more than give intellectual assent to the truth, we need to apply the truth to
our life and obey every word of God.
6.4.
Don’t let anything, even
close family relationships, hinder you from heeding God’s word, from doing the
will of God in your life.