Purpose of Luke 8:1-15: To help us rightly approach God’s Word so that we can bear a rich crop. We are not focusing on the four categories as much as seeking to understand our own responses towards God’s Word and have a heart described to rightly receive God’s Word even as the good soil received the seed.
B) A Picture of the Kingdom of God (Luke 8:4-8)
8:4 And when a great multitude were 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 “And other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 “And other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it, and choked it out. 8 “And 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.”
Gardening 101 & Spiritual Insights
I actually like gardening. One of the reason I started gardening was to better understand this world that God made. It fascinates me. I wonder how God can make a nice red tomato from a small seed, dirt, water and sun. I am amazed. Every leaf, root hold amazing lessons for us. The more we learn true science, the more we are unable to explain the presence of its design. This is true with nature as well as the spiritual world. There are special and not easily understood principles in operation behind the scene. So, as Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
In this parable Jesus spoke about sowing or planting seed in a field. They did not have little packages of seed like I secure for my tiny plot in a city yard, but a sack of seed for a big field. I have so few seeds, that I try to make sure every last one is in the right spot. (My wife sometimes disagrees with me, and we have pleasant discussions where to put our few seeds!)
These first verses only describe the places where the seed went when it is sown and how it grew. Jesus points out four places, (1) beside the road, (2) on rocky soil (3) among thorns and (4) on good soil. Then Jesus calls out to pay attention to these things. Jesus is restating how important these truths can help us in key aspects of our lives, despite their simplicity.
Summary (Luke 8:4-8)
Before going on to the explanation, let’s make a few conclusions. Similar to Matthew 13, Jesus here (see verse 9) only offers an explanation to those who ask.
There are several observations.
(1) The seed goes out everywhere equally.
(2) The seed does not equally grow
(3) The farmer wants all the seed to grow and produce a crop a hundred times as great.
It is this potential that has the farmer out there working under the heat of day. Instead of eating the grain, the seed, he plants it in hope of reaping so much more. So let us now move on to the explanation where the spiritual insights begin to be revealed.
With this introduction, we are wondering what was Jesus saying that could bring about such transformation, or why is it that such people–great numbers of people, were following and listening to Jesus? Luke accurately passes to us one of Jesus’ parables to clarify the nature of the kingdom of God, the Parable of the Sower.
Next => C) An Explanation of the Kingdom of God (Luke 8:9-15)
Luke 8:1-3 Intro | 8:4-8 Insights | 8:4-8 Gardening | 8:9-10 | 8:9-15 Explanation | Fatherlessness | Good crop
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