THE PARABLE OF THE SOILS

Passage: Luke 8:4-10

Key verse: 10a

NIV

4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(A)

9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,(B) but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
    though hearing, they may not understand.’[a](C)

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Footnotes
  1. Luke 8:10 Isaiah 6:9
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Parable of the Sower

4 (A)And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 (B)“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, (C)it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among (D)thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded (E)a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, (F)“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, (G)“To you it has been given to know (H)the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so (I)that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. The farmer sows his seed (4-8)

Jesus is like a farmer, sowing seed of the kingdom of God. Three fourths of the sown seed were unproductive. Some fell on the hard path and never had a chance to germinate; some fell on thin, rocky soil and could not mature because of the lack of moisture; some fell among the tough weeds and could not overcome them. But Jesus was not discouraged, for some seed would fall on good soil and produce a hundred times more than was sown. Those who have ears to hear are those who receive his word and hold it in their hearts until God's kingdom grows.

2. The secrets of the kingdom of God (9-10)

Jesus focused on his disciples. They didn't understand his parable. But they wanted to learn, so they asked questions. Jesus shared the secrets of the kingdom of God with those who sought truth in order to live by it. Parables hid the kingdom's secrets from those who were only curious.

Prayer: Lord, reign in my heart so that I may know the secrets of your kingdom.

One Word: Be good soil