Luke 8:9-15
The Purpose of the Parables
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.
Jesus
explains the purpose of parables. It is putting his teaching into a story where believers see the true meaning and nonbelievers hear it, but do not understand the secrets of the kingdom of God. In today’s reading, Jesus explains yesterday’s
parable which is listed below.
4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “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, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And
some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Jesus explains the meaning behind the parable.
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."
I think of birds eating the gravel on the road. The birds represent the devil. He snatches the seed away before they believe.
'6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because
it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold. As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This parable shows that some seed starts out and then is choked off. This parable shows that one can take root in faith, but then fall away. This goes against the teaching of “once
saved, always saved.” The Bible talks about being possible to be removed or erased from the Book of Life. Really... erased?? Well it is true. The Book of Revelation also warns against falling away: Rev 2:10 “Be
faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” What happens if your not faithful unto death? Well, you don’t receive the crown of life. I pray: O Lord, help me to be faithful unto death. Don’t
let me be like seed that was scattered among the thorns, but like seed scattered in good soil. Help me to not only believe, but to live my faith and to share the faith will all people. Amen.