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January 1931 V. 12. Taketh away the word. The hard-hearted, careless hearers of the gos pel are represented by the wayside soil. They are such as have long resisted the grace of God, have silenced the voice of conscience, and have flung away all fear of the law of God. The devil finds it an easy matter to counteract every influence for good that is brought to bear upon such. Incidentally, we learn here that Je sus believed in the personality of the dev il. V. 13. These have no root. The “rocky soil” hearers are impulsive, emotional. They hear the Word, but they quickly for get it. They are enthusiastic but shallow. They neglect the Bible and prayer. They forsake the house of God. They cannot stand in times of trial or persecution. V. 14. They are choked. This kind of hearer receives the Word, but offers it soil that is preoccupied. Worldly anx ieties crowd out concern for and choice of the things of the age to come (cf. 2 Tim. 4:10). Riches (Matthew says, “De ceitfulness of riches”) deceive men by raising false hopes, and destroy men by leading to dishonest and dangerous prac tices (cf. 1 Tim. 6:17). “Pleasures of this life” crowd out the higher joys of the Christian life. No fruit to perfection. For a time, there is growth which prom ises well; but the grain does not come to maturity. V. IS. An honest and good heart. This heart is not hardened by resistance, nor is it shallow or divided between love for God and love for the world. The Word of God is received and cherished. Bring forth fruit with patience. This is the climax. The first seed did not ger minate at all. The second sprouted and quickly withered. The third almost ma tured but did not bear fruit. The fourth represents that attitude of heart which accepts God’s will perfectly, walks in His ways confidently, endures affliction for His sake, and awaits His recompense. * * * L esson Q uestions V. 1. After what important events did the incidents of this lesson occur ? What had Jesus been doing? Why were the twelve with Him? Vs. 2, 3. What women are mentioned by name? What affliction had Mary Mag dalene had ? Did this affliction in any way necessarily indicate that she was a bad woman ? What is demon possession ? How did these women minister to Jesus? V. 4. Why did the multitudes come to Jesus? Was He as willing to teach one person as He was to address a crowd (cf. John 3:1, 2; 4:7)? What is a parable? Had Jesus used this method of teaching before (cf. Matt. 13:10) ? V. 5. Was Jesus a sower? May we be sowers of the Word? What kind of soil is first mentioned? What happened to the seed? Do the birds of heaven rep resent good or bad influences? V. 6. What was the nature of the stony ground? What caused the grain to sprout quickly? Why did it wither? V. 7. Do thorns grow rapidly without cultivation? How do \they “choke” the grain ? V. 8. What was the nature of the good ground ? How much fruit did it yield (cf. Matt. 13:8) ? Were the disciples under special obligation to “hear” ? ! Were their ehrs more open than those of the Phari sees?
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side” hearers who scorned His message. Then there was with Him frequently the impulsive mob, “stony ground” hearers who one day hailed Him as King and the next were ready to crucify Him. There were also some professed disciples, who, like the rich young ruler, were “choked” by love of money. Only a few became fruitful disciples. * sfe * H eart of the L esson I. Spreading the Good News (1-3). V. 1. Soon afterwards. That is, after the events recorded in chapter 7. Through cities and villages. Opinions differ as to the size and number of the cities and vil lages in Galilee at this time. The impor gospel is “good tidings.” It is the proc lamation of salvation through the Son of God incarnate. Compared with this, oth er good news is of secondary importance. With him the twelve. The twelve were receiving necessary training for their apos- tleship. They were able to say later: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you” (1 John 1 :3). V. 2. And certain women. Luke’s Gos pel gives special prominence to the min istry of women. Ordinarily, the oriental woman is despised and given little consid eration. Mary . . . . Magdalene. So called because she came from Magdala. There is no foundation for the tradition that she is to be identified with the sinful woman described in the preceding chapter. From whom seven demons had gone out The number seven is symbolic. It expresses the fact that she was completely controlled by demons. This does not imply that she was a sinner above others. V. 3. And Joanna. She was the wife of an officer of Herod Antipas. Some have guessed that he was the nobleman whose son Jesus had healed at Capernaum (John 4:46). Joanna was also present with the women at the tomb on the res urrection morning (Lk. 24:10). And Su sanna. This woman is mentioned only here. Ministered unto them of their sub stance. Tradition has it that some of the women who ministered to Christ were wealthy. Perhaps it was through their gifts that Christ and the apostles were able to give themselves to their ministry of evangelism. II. The Parable of the Sower (4-8). V. 4. Multitude came together. The popularity of Jesus had not yet been lost.- The assembly was so great that He was compelled to push out from shore in a boat. Every city resorted. Luke has just described His evangelistic tour through out the cities of Galilee where His miracles attracted many. He spake by. a parable. Parables are illustrations, usually in the form of narratives. The word “parable” signifies the putting of things side by side, that is, a comparison. The new method of teaching used by Jesus was for the purpose of veiling the truth from those who were willfully blind, and of revealing it to those who were receptive. V. 5. The sower went forth. This description is true to life. The people tant matter to re member is that a very thorough min istry of evangelism was conducted by the Lord and His disciples. Preach ing and bringing the good tidings. The
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lived in villages and so “went forth” to their farms. Some fell by the wayside. Because fields were usually without fences, paths were frequently made across them (cf. Matt. 12:1). Seed sown on the path% would be trodden under foot. Birds of the heaven devoured it. The great num ber of birds in the orient makes a prob lem for the farmer. In this story the birds are pictured as closely following the sower to gather up the grain. V. 6. Other fell on the rock. By this is meant shallow soil underlaid by a bed of rock. The light plow merely scratched the surface of the soil. The grain sprang up, but had no depth of soil for proper growth. It withered away. The heat of the sun upon the shallow soil caused rap id germination of the seed; but, since the roots could not go down for moisture, the young grain quickly withered. V. 7. Other fell amidst the thorns. Thorns and briers are very abundant in the tropics. The thorns grew . . . . and choked it. - The thorns robbed the grain of nourishment in the soil and of sunlight in the air, so that it never came to matur ity. V. 8. Other fell into the good ground. It was good ground because it was not hard or stony or thorny. Brought forth a hundredfold. In Matthew’s account (13:8), there is mention of degrees of fruitfulness—thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold. One hundred stalks from one seed was not unusual. He that hath ears to hear. The simple facts about the various kinds of soil and degrees of fruitfulness were readily understood. Yet there was very much behind those statements, which He challenged the disciples to discover (cf. v. 18). III. The Parable Interpreted (9-15). ■ V. 9. His disciples asked him. The disciples frequently were dull pupils, but they were eager to learn. Jesus did not always:explain His parables,,but this one He unfolded in minute detail.; ~ V. 10. Unto you it is given. Because they were willing to learn and obey, the truth was made known to them (cf. John 7 :17).' Mysteries of the kingdom of God. A “mystery” in the New Testament sense is not something concealed, but something that was once hidden and is now revealed through Christ. But to the rest in par ables. Obedient souls discover the truth, but the disobedient do not understand the parables. They are judicially, blinded (cf. John 9:39; 12:39, 40). V. 11. The seed is the word. The sow er is, first of all, Christ Himself; then, all evangelists, teachers, preachers, etc., who go forth with the message. • That message is in the fullest and highest sense the Word of God. In the parallel passage, Matthew says: “Word of the kingdom.” He describes the nature and the laws of Messiah’s kingdom.
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