Amy C Walters

The Parable of the Sower | Luke 8:4-15

In one of Jesus’ famous parables, the Parable of the Sower (or Soils), the disciples request an explanation. Jesus first tells them about why he speaks in parables, which ties in with the meaning of this parable. In this post, we look at four prophecies that can help us understand the why of parables.

We’ve come to one of Jesus’ most famous parables, the Parable of the Sower. And while we are really familiar with it and probably have heard it often, there’s still a part right in the middle that can be confusing. 

Jesus has told the parable to the large crowd that has gathered. And then his disciples ask, “What does this mean?” Before explaining the meaning, Jesus explains a bit about why he tells parables. The reason for the parable and the meaning of this parable go hand in hand.

Jesus tells them, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to others, I speak in parables, so that though seeing they may not see, though hearing they may not understand.” 

What?! Is Jesus intentionally obscuring the message, so that some people won’t understand? And what is this about the “secrets of the kingdom of God?” Why are they secrets? Why aren’t they open to just anyone? 

I think to understand this, we need to look at four different prophecies, beginning with Isaiah 6. 

When Jesus says, “though seeing they may not see, though hearing they may not understand,”  he is quoting directly from Isaiah 6:9b. In this passage, Isaiah has just seen the throne room of God. And then God says, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Isaiah raises his hand and says, “Here I am, send me.” But then God tells Isaiah that his ministry is going to be difficult, that even though people will hear what he says, they’re not going to understand it. Even though people will see him demonstrating these truths in various ways, they’re not going to understand what they mean, because their hearts are hard toward God. 

This prophecy applied to Isaiah in his day; even though he preached to everyone, only a few understood it. It also applies in the distance to Jesus, to the Messiah. It is a prophecy about the Messiah’s ministry, how he would preach to everyone about the Kingdom of God, and yet only a few would understand it. 

The other prophecy we want to look at comes from Luke 2, where Jesus is brought as a baby to the temple to be dedicated. Simeon is there. He meets Mary and Joseph. He takes Jesus into his arms and prophesies over him. And one of the things that Simeon says is that because of Jesus, “the thoughts of many hearts would be revealed.” Jesus’ ministry would bring people’s thoughts to the surface. Though they may try to hide them, Jesus would get past the veneer, get down deep into their hearts, and reveal what’s going on there. 

If we look at this parable, what is it talking about? What does the soil represent? The heart. “The seed that fell along the path are those who hear the word, but the devil comes and takes the word from their hearts, so they may not believe and be saved. The good soil are those with a noble and good heart.” So the parables are part of Jesus’ work of revealing those hearts. 

We also have another prophecy about Jesus’ ministry that comes in Luke 3, and this is from John the Baptist. When he’s talking about Jesus, before his ministry has even started, he says that “his winnowing fork is in his hand to bring the wheat into his barns, but the chaff will be burned with unquenchable fire.” Jesus’ work is going to separate the wheat from the chaff. It’s going to separate the followers from the fakers. 

Jesus had a large crowd following him at this time. We are told at the beginning of this story that while “a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town,” that’s when Jesus tells this parable. He’s got this huge following, but not everybody is there to really hear the message and understand what Jesus is saying. 

Pharisees are there. And what have we seen from the Pharisees in their response to Jesus so far? They have been very critical of him. They have not responded openly. In fact, they are plotting to kill him. 

We’ve also seen that there are people following Jesus who just want to see a miracle. They have heard the amazing things that this Jesus does, and they want to see more of that. They’re not necessarily interested in the message. 

But there are also disciples following Jesus, including a number of women who are supporting Jesus’ ministry (Luke 8:1-4). 

So all these people are there. And Jesus, in telling these parables, is doing this work of separating the followers from the fakers. 

How does that work? And why are there fakers to begin with? The fourth prophecy we want to look at is Jeremiah 17:9. Jeremiah says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand it?” Our hearts are liars. They lie to us, they lie to others around us. They put on a facade of what we think we should be or how we want to appear to other people. We don’t even understand it ourselves. And we can’t see one another’s hearts.

But Jesus does understand our hearts. And when he tells parables, he is separating the followers from the fakers because he is revealing the truth and the reality of what’s in the heart. You see, the parables will have an opposite effect on people. For those whose hearts are soft towards God and are sincerely seeking and wanting to understand and learn from him, they are going to understand the message. It’s going to soak in for them and produce a crop. 

But for those whose hearts are already hard towards Jesus, who have already rejected him and his message, their hearts are going to grow harder still because they’re not going to understand that parable. And it hardens them even more against him.

Our key truth for today is that the parables reveal the heart. 

Our hearts may lie to us, they may lie to other people around us. But as we listen to the parables and respond to them, God reveals what’s really inside. Jesus speaks in parables so that those who really do desire to follow him, to learn from him and be changed by him, will grow in their understanding. God will give them more understanding as they wrestle with it. 

Notice too, the disciples don’t understand the parable at first. They have to ask Jesus. And Jesus tells them the meaning of the parable. He does it willingly. He is happy to explain the parable to them. He says, “the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God have been given to you.” God gave them the knowledge that they needed. God revealed the secrets to them. 

The disciples had Jesus right there with them to speak that truth to them. And we today have the Holy Spirit in us to help us understand and to reveal it to us. 

When Jesus, in between the parable and the explanation, calls out to everyone, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” He is saying, this is something you’re gonna have to wrestle with. Take it with you. Think it over. Ask God for his revealing work in your heart.