8:4 This verse sets the context for the parable. Jesus is immensely popular, and people are traveling to see him from various cities. We have seen the growing opposition from the Pharisees and scribes, but now it becomes clear that not all is well with the crowds, either. Many are attracted to Jesus, but relatively few are truly becoming disciples. Jesus tells the parable of four kinds of ground to explain the situation. Not all parables are the same, but here we have an allegorical parable in which various elements of the parable are explained by Jesus. This is not to say that every element of the parable should be read allegorically; Jesus’ interpretation functions as our control for interpreting the parable.

8:5–8 Jesus describes a scene from everyday life: a sower goes out and casts his seed in various places (cf. 2 Esd. 8:41; 9:31–33). Most agree that the actions of the sower depicted here represent what farmers would actually do in Israel. Some of the seed falls on the path, where it is trampled and birds come to consume it. Other seed falls on rocky ground (cf. Sir. 40:15). Bock notes that “this is not a field with many rocks, but a base of rock under the soil.”103 The seed springs up but withers and dies from lack of moisture. Still other seed falls among thorns (cf. Jer. 4:3), and the plants grow up along with the thorns, but eventually the thorns overwhelm the good plants. Finally, some seed falls in good soil and yields a hundredfold. This is an ordinary illustration, but Jesus summons those listening to discern what he is teaching them, to listen with spiritual perception.

8:9–10 The disciples ask Jesus about the meaning of the parable. Hearing the story itself does not communicate to them the meaning of the parable. They are told that “the secrets,” the mysteries (Gk. mysteria), of the kingdom have “been given” to them. The passive verb “has been given” (dedotai) indicates that God is the one who has revealed the mysteries of the kingdom to his disciples. The disciples know “the secrets of the kingdom” because of God’s sovereign will, his gracious decision (cf. comment on 10:23–24). “Mysteries” does not refer to matters that are intellectually baffling or beyond human conception. Instead the term refers to something that was previously hidden but is now revealed. The parable of the four kinds of ground relays truths about the kingdom hidden from the world and revealed only to Jesus’ disciples. The outsiders are not given the explanation, which opens up the meaning of the parable. Luke draws on Isaiah 6:9, in which the Lord commissions Isaiah to say, “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.” Parables are told so that the people may see without grasping what they see; they may hear without comprehending what they hear. God judicially hardens those who have resisted the truth about the kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. The location of this account in the Gospel is significant, for the statement on hardening comes after the Pharisees and the people have heard Jesus’ message many times (cf. Luke 11:52; 19:42).

8:11–12 Jesus then proceeds to explain the parable. In the past, scholars have insisted that any one parable has only one point, but such a rule is too inflexible and does not account for how the parables actually work. Each parable functions in its own context and has its own meaning. Nor can we say, as some have, that no parable has an allegorical meaning, for it is clear here that this parable is explicated allegorically. We see the allegorical meaning of the parable from the outset in that the seed sown is identified as God’s Word (cf. 1 Pet. 1:23). The seed represents the message of the kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. Some of the seed falls on the path, which represents those who hear the Word, but the Word does not nestle into the soil to grow at all. Instead the Devil comes and removes the Word from the hearers’ lives instantly; they do not pay attention to the message but reject it outright (cf. 1 Cor. 1:21). They will not be saved on the last day because they have failed to believe—we see here that faith saves (cf. Luke 7:50), that those who put their trust in the message of the kingdom are saved from God’s wrath.

8:13–14 The seed that falls on rocky ground is compared to those who respond to the message with eagerness and excitement. They do not reject the message immediately but embrace it and rejoice in it. But their faith never takes root in their lives, and thus their faith is temporary and shallow. When testing and difficulties come, when hard times strike, they fall away; the message they once received with joy is now rejected (cf. 1 Tim. 4:1). Such people are not saved on the last day, since faith must persist and remain until the end in order to obtain final salvation.104

The seed that falls on thorny ground is compared to those who also hear and respond to the Word so that there is growth in their lives. But thorns are growing at the same time, which stand for the worries, riches, and pleasures of this world (cf. Luke 6:24; 12:22; 21:34). Concern for such matters becomes predominant as life continues, and slowly but surely the good plants are crowded out and choked away. No room is left for the good crop to grow, and thus no fruit is borne, which shows again that those who do not bear fruit are unsaved.

8:15 The seed sown in good soil represents those who have good and true hearts. They hear the Word of the kingdom and hold fast to it and do not let it go (cf. Acts 11:23; 13:43; 14:22). They persevere and bear fruit until the end; their faith is genuine, as shown by their persistence and the fruit that develops in their lives.

So, what has the parable taught us about the kingdom? What is the mystery? We see that many in Israel reject the message of the kingdom. We must not get overly precise about the number who respond positively from the four kinds of soil, but the negative response from three kinds of soil suggests that most will not receive the Word of the kingdom. The kingdom is not coming as Israel expected, and it is not as if it is received with open arms. Another way to put this is that good and evil sit side by side during the present evil age. Those who reject the kingdom are not destroyed immediately, and those who respond to the kingdom are not vindicated right away, either. Many in Israel expected the kingdom to come with apocalyptic power and to destroy enemies; the now-and-not-yet character of the kingdom was a mystery unanticipated from reading the OT.