The Parable of the Sower – Part 1

“The Parable of the Sower has NOTHING
to do with Evangelism”
“Therefore consider carefully how you listen…” Luke 8:18a

This series of posts are my thoughts after studying the Gospel of Luke in August and have continued to guide me as I study the rest of the Scriptures. So challenge them, criticize them, and ask questions about them! I would love to hear if what was revealed to me in this passage resonates with you as well or if you think that I am completely off my rocker!

I was really challenged recently by the parable of the Sower from Luke 8. I would encourage you read Luke 8:1-21 as one passage disregarding the headings and breaks in your Bible.

Growing up in a family that went to church every Sunday, I always thought of the Parable of the Sower just in terms of salvation. We as Christians were to be tossing out the seed (witnessing on street corners and with our friends). Then, maybe one fourth of the people that heard the gospel would actually become followers of Christ because they were good soil. I’m pretty sure that it was always explained to me generally the same way by pastors and teachers with not too much variety in the teaching – it was about the salvation of the lost and some people are good soil, but really most people aren’t.

But as I studied the Gospel of Luke, this parable hit me like a ton of bricks – it didn’t really seem to be at all that much about salvation and it seemed that the stories following the parable really amplified the point of the parable to a deafening roar in my heart as I applied it to my own life.

So, let’s get started. Here’s the parable of the Sower from the Gospel of Luke.
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Luke 8 (starting in verse 4)

⁴While 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 of the air ate it up. ⁶Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸Still 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, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
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Don’t you wish that Jesus would just sometimes explain himself? He’s always talking in these parables with hidden meanings and we’re always left to wonder what he’s meaning!

Oh, wait – in this one he actually explains it for us… I’ll just shut up now and let Jesus continue his story as requested by the disciples…
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⁹His disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰He said, "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.'

¹¹"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. ¹²Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. ¹⁵But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
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So Jesus explains himself here – he talks in parables so that some of those listening wouldn’t truly understand what he was speaking about but Jesus said that he had revealed the secrets of the kingdom of God to the disciples (and to us since we get to watch from our present day thanks to the writing of Luke!).

Today, we’ll just start where Jesus starts his explanation – the seed. And what does the Parable of the Sower teach us about the seed? Luke 8:11 – The seed is the word of God. So we see that the seed is the word of God being tossed out on different types of soil.

Now, this part I recognize because it sounds very much like the teachings I heard in Sunday School and from the pulpit – We, as good Christians, are to throw out the seed of the word of God on the soils of people’s hearts – right?

Wait…who’s throwing out seed?

Using Jesus’ explanation in Luke 8:11-15, God is the farmer that sowing the seed. This passage and this parable doesn’t talk about the Christian tossing out seed but rather God himself tossing it out.

In fact, according to this parable, it seems that we have little to do with the sowing of this seed of the word of God. It is God’s job according to Jesus. Well, that sure seems different than a Christian standing on a street corner witnessing to the lost about the gospel…According to Luke 8, it is God that is out there sowing, not us.

Thoughts that impacted me:

1. The Parable of the Sower is NOT about evangelism.
2. The Seed is the Word of God.
3. The Sower is God, NOT us.

Agree? Disagree? Did I miss an important part of the text? There is a lot more posts coming in the new few weeks... Please leave me a comment and I’ll be happy to respond to your thoughts and questions.

A lot more on the parable of the Sower is coming in the next few posts. Look for Part 2 coming on Wednesday, January 6.