Amy C Walters

The Parable of the Sower | Luke 8:1-15

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7tMGKr9PR1AEIXkaWMeM3l?si=c95149d0a2c14632

The Parable of the Sower (or the Soils) has a lot of different elements to it so it can be easy to lose track of the main point. But Jesus’ repetition of the word “hear,” both in this story and the next two, reveals that we shouldn’t hear and move on, but hear and hold on. 

This story has a lot of different things going on. There’s the soil, there’s the crowds that have come to listen, there’s the two versions of the parable where Jesus tells it and then explains it, there’s the purpose behind parables in general. So it can be easy to get pulled in a lot of different directions when looking at this story. Some of that is intentional: Jesus means for us to ponder all of these different aspects. But there is a word that is repeated multiple times throughout this story, revealing the main purpose. That word is “hear.” 

After Jesus has told the parable to the crowds, we’re told that he calls out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” It’s used twice in one sentence. Jesus cries it out at the end of the parable. 

Think about if you were in the crowd listening to this, and suddenly Jesus raises his voice for this particular statement. It would really get your attention. It would stop you in your tracks. And that’s the point. This is an invitation to listen and wrestle with what Jesus is saying. 

When Jesus goes on to explain this parable to his disciples, the word “hear” appears over and over again. And it becomes clear quickly that there are different types of hearing involved. 

In the first type of soil, the path, we’re told that those are the people “who hear God’s word, but the devil comes and takes it from their hearts so they may not believe and be saved.” This hearing does not go beneath the surface. It bounces off the person’s heart and makes no impact on them whatsoever. 

What about the second type of soil? The rocky soil are those who “receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a little while, but in the time of testing, they fall away.” These people only listen to what they want to hear. When the news is good, they accept it with joy and they’re excited about it, and they seem to produce a crop immediately. But when the news is not what they want to hear, when it’s testing and temptation and difficulty, they turn away. 

The third soil produces thorns with the plants. Jesus explains that those are people “who hear God’s word, and as they go on their way, they are choked by life’s worries and wealth and pleasures, and they do not mature.” These people hear the word of God, but they also listen to other things as well. They listen to their worries and their fears, and they’re choked by those anxieties. 

They also listen to the call of wealth. Look what you can get. Just look at the comfortable life that you can have if you just pursue wealth.

And they’re listening to pleasures, the things that make them happy, or at least what they think will make them happy. Those other voices distract them and pull them away from the Word of God. That kind of hearing doesn’t lead to a mature crop.

So what kind of hearing produces a good crop? What kind of hearing is Jesus talking about in this parable?

We see it in the good soil. We’re told that the good soil is a heart that is noble and good. And that noble and good heart hears God’s Word, and then goes a step further. It retains God’s Word and by persevering produces a crop. There’s retention, there’s hearing, and there’s keeping. They don’t just hear and move on, they hear and hold on.

Think about this, too. The parables are told as memorable stories. They’re easy to take with you and continue to think about as you go on.

The parables are also relatable. They relate to the daily lives of those who originally heard it, so that they could hold on to it. The parables are designed to hold on to and keep thinking about as you go. That’s what we’re meant to do with God’s Word: to hold on to it. 

If we were to keep reading in Luke 8:16-18, there’s a paragraph about lighting a lamp for it to shine. And verse 18 says, “Take care then how you hear.” Again, the focus is on the quality of the hearing. Hearing that leads to a crop is careful. It retains, it perseveres. It doesn’t treat God’s Word flippantly, like it could be thrown away, but it holds on to it, considers it, and uses it carefully. 

If we kept reading even further in Luke 8:19-21, there’s this strange little story of Jesus’ mother and brothers coming to see him. There’s a huge crowd around Jesus, so his family can’t get to him. And people tell him, “Your mother and brothers are here.” But Jesus makes this odd statement: “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” 

Jesus is not rejecting his family. The context shows us that he is continuing the lesson that hearing that leads to a crop is hearing that puts that word into practice. 

It’s easy to read this parable and to think, well, I just need to do better. If I’m not producing a good crop, then I just need to try harder and do more good things. But actually, the application is to put into practice what we have heard. It’s to take what we’re hearing and to keep thinking about it over and over again, to keep it in our hearts, to bring it into our minds, and to put it into practice in our life. Not to hear and move on, but to hear and hold on. 

Our key truth for today is that Kingdom citizens hold fast to God’s Word.

That’s what Jesus is saying when he calls out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” Hey, crowd that’s come here, are you being changed by what you’re hearing? Or are you just listening so that you could get to the miracles next? Are you just listening to judge and to reject? Or are you hearing to be changed and transformed?