Knowing The Word in Luke 8:9-15

The Purpose of the Parables

8:9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are 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 The ones 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 ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Comments

Secrets are divine truths we could never discover for ourselves but have to be revealed by God to his people. Parables both conceal and reveal truth. Parables are a mine of information for true seekers but bring judgment on the casual and careless.

Jesus explained his parable of the sower. The seed is the word that comes from God and reveals God. The seed that fell on the path are those who never really listen to the word. Satan takes away what they hear before they ever have a chance. They are more interested in Satan than Jesus.

The seed on the rocky soil are those who happily receive the word but have no depth. When they are tempted or encounter difficult times, they fold and walk away from Jesus. Those in the thorns are people who have a potential for spiritual growth, but these people fill their lives with so many worldly things, that the gospel gets pushed to second, third, or fourth place in their lives.

The good soil represents the people who have an honest and good heart and soak in the word and bear fruit in their lives. If we take in the word of God like the good soil, we will bear fruit.

Application

Do you know people who represent each of these four soils? Do you think Jesus was accurate in his descriptions? Make a list of people you know who represent these types of soils (or lack of soil).

Prayer

Take some time to pray for the people on your list, especially those who are not in the good soil category.