Reflective Bible Study

As we continue moving through Luke’s gospel, we come to the point when Luke decides to insert one of Jesus’ most important parables. Jesus even frames this parable as being so significant that understanding it will affect how we understand all His other parables. Also, in our discussion of this parable is the challenge that not everyone will be able to understand what Jesus has shared; but with that said, Jesus does not want you or me to be excluded from those given understanding.

Let’s read this parable and then discover what Jesus wants to teach us about God within it. Our passage and parable are found in Luke’s gospel, chapter 8, and we will read from the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 4, Luke tells us that:

⁴ One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: ⁵ “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. ⁶ Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Let’s pause here for a moment, because how Jesus has just concluded this parable challenges us to listen and understand. Jesus finishes by calling out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand”.

While a skeptic might call Jesus out for excluding those without hearing in this statement, when reading the gospels, it appears as though Jesus healed people before He taught the crowds. When someone who needed healing showed up, Jesus would stop teaching to focus on healing, or at the very least, He would shift the focus of what He was teaching to include healing. Jesus loved healing people.

With this in mind, I doubt there was a deaf person in the crowd when Jesus spoke these words, even though there may have been people present who had been deaf when they woke up that morning.

This parable emphasizes a number of big ideas. First, Jesus emphasizes a farmer sowing seed. While the farmer is planting seeds in his field, it appears he isn’t overly careful about where the seeds land, since some of the seed lands on less than ideal soil. Some seed lands on a footpath and it couldn’t take root; some seed fell among rocks, but it also couldn’t grow well; and some seed fell among thorns, which allowed it to grow, but not very long.

However, from the seed that fell on good soil, the farmer gained a crop that was a hundred times what had been planted.

This is a great parable, but it can be interpreted in many different ways beyond simply being a story about a farmer with no underlying meaning attached.

Because of this, I believe the disciples wanted clarification, so they ask Jesus what this parable meant.

Continuing in verse 9, Luke tells us:

⁹ His disciples asked him [Jesus] what this parable meant. ¹⁰ He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they look, they won’t really see.
    When they hear, they won’t understand.’

¹¹ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. ¹² The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. ¹³ The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. ¹⁴ The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. ¹⁵ And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

Reading this explanation Jesus gives is powerful. Jesus first emphasizes that He teaches in parables so that there is a distinct level of obscurity in the truth He shares. This is to keep people who are uninterested in God’s truth from learning it, and to allow the Holy Spirit room to work in the lives and hearts of those who truly want to hear, understand, and apply Jesus’ teaching.

However, Jesus then shares the explanation of this parable. In this parable, the seed represents God’s word and the various places the seed lands represent different types of people that hear Gods word and what they ultimately do with what they hear.

But there is a character in this parable that is not explained. Nowhere in Jesus’ explanation do we see Him describe who the farmer represents. This lack of a detail is crucial for us to pay attention to, because if Jesus drew extra significance to this parable, as He does in Matthew and Mark, why would He have intentionally left out who the farmer represents?

This is important, because the only description we have for the farmer is that he sowed seed. Since Jesus tells us the seed represents God’s Word, the farmer is one who shares God’s Word with others. Following this understanding to its logical conclusion, Jesus fulfilled the role of the farmer when He was teaching and preaching the crowds, and the disciples fulfilled the role of the farmer when they were teaching the people following Jesus’ return to heaven.

Ultimately, the farmer is a role that we step in to when we share God’s Word with others.

What about the Holy Spirit?

In one way, the Holy Spirit could be considered the farmer, but I think the Holy Spirit plays a different, more subtle role. In this parable, I believe the Holy Spirit shows up in directing where the seed lands, and in the preparation of the soil where the seeds are able to grow the best. In this parable, similar to how Jesus shared that not everyone would be able to understand His teaching, I believe the Holy Spirit is directly involved in the growth of the seed into being ready for harvest!

In this parable, we have another subtle truth. With the Holy Spirit actively working preparing soil, we have the choice of which type of soil we will be. While we might be among the first three types of soil to begin with, when we ask for God’s help, specifically the Holy Spirit’s help, we might discover that a footpath that was too hard to take root becomes broken up enough for the seed to grow. We might also find that with the Holy Spirit’s help, what was once rocky soil has the rocks removed and nutrients added allowing us to grow. And we might also discover that what was once a thorn patch along the side of the road has had the thorns removed allowing us to grow. With the Holy Spirit’s help, we can grow into maturity regardless of what type of soil we believe ourselves to have been before meeting Jesus.

As we grow, we are able to step into the farmer’s role and begin spreading God’s word to others. In many ways, this parable describes the mission and methods of Jesus’ disciples and God’s followers. Wherever you are in your growth journey with God, be sure to ask the Holy Spirit for help moving forward!

God wants the best life for us, and I believe the best life for us in God’s mind is an eternal life in a recreated world. While God is more than willing to walk with us in this sinful world, He wants to help us grow and prepare us for the future sinless world that He desires us to be a part of!

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life. Choose to ask the Holy Spirit for help growing with God and intentionally step into the farmer role and share Jesus with others. When we share God with others, we partner with the Holy Spirit and we shouldn’t be surprised when the Holy Spirit shows up to help us spread the great news about Jesus!

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. While a pastor, speaker, author, or even a podcaster can share interesting ideas, filter everything you hear and read through the lens of the Bible to discover what God really wants for you. While the Bible might not speak to the technology of our world today, the Bible is amazingly relevant for our culture and for what we face spiritually as humans.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

When reading Matthew’s gospel, we quickly find that when he wrote his gospel, he likes focusing in on Jesus’ teaching and on some key events, and this means that at times Matthew’s gospel speeds through some events, while at other times, a great deal of focus is given to one event.

Almost in contrast to Matthew’s big focus on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which covered three chapters, our passage for this episode speeds through several loosely connected events. Usually we’d find these events split apart, but for the case of our episode and our focus on Matthew’s gospel, I thought it might be neat to pull these events together just like Matthew did.

Our passage is found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 8, and we will be reading from the New Living Translation. Starting in verse 14, Matthew tells us that:

¹⁴ When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a high fever. ¹⁵ But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him.

Let’s pause briefly here because this is the first “event” in our passage. It is fascinating in my mind that Peter’s mother-in-law focused on serving Jesus before even helping herself to food. In her mind, the best way for her to say “Thank You” to Jesus was to prepare a meal for Him. It’s also interesting that since Peter has a “mother-in-law”, this means that Peter was married, even if we don’t know anything about his wife.

Continuing on to the next event, which starts in verse 16, Matthew continues by telling us:

¹⁶ That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick. ¹⁷ This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said,

“He took our sicknesses
    and removed our diseases.”

¹⁸ When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he instructed his disciples to cross to the other side of the lake.

This marks the bounds of the second event. The big focus of Matthew’s gospel is describing how Jesus’ healing and casting out demons fulfilled God’s promise through the prophet Isaiah. While Matthew likely wanted to include more details and stories regarding those who were healed, it’s likely that not much time was given to uncovering the stories of those who came to Jesus. Also, Matthew wouldn’t have had enough space available to focus on sharing the stories of all these people.

Matthew’s big focus is letting us know that Jesus fulfilled God’s promise and prophecy regarding the Messiah through His ministry of healing and casting out demons.

As Jesus and the disciples were preparing to leave, Matthew then describes another event that is often looked at separately. Continuing in verse 19, Matthew tells us that:

¹⁹ Then one of the teachers of religious law said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

²⁰ But Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head.”

²¹ Another of his disciples said, “Lord, first let me return home and bury my father.”

²² But Jesus told him, “Follow me now. Let the spiritually dead bury their own dead.”

This marks the end of another event we usually look at separately. In this event, a couple of individuals wish to dedicate their lives to Jesus and become disciples. When reading what Matthew describes here, we don’t have any idea if the religious teacher is discouraged by Jesus’ words about not having a home, or if he decides to follow the homeless Messiah.

However, when looking at the details of the second individual, who asks to return home to bury his father, we see this person described as a disciple, which subtly indicates that he got in the boat with Jesus and did not return home. While I don’t have any idea which disciple this was, it is an interesting invitation that is worth noting early on in Jesus’ ministry. The big idea I see in this short event is that we should not expect special treatment as disciples of Jesus, and we should be placing God’s purpose and mission ahead of everything else in our lives when we follow God.

Matthew then describes a powerful event that leaves an impression on all the disciples. Continuing in verse 23, Matthew tells us:

²³ Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. ²⁴ Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

²⁷ The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”

Let’s stop reading here, now that this event is finished. This fourth event is amazing because it demonstrated Jesus’ power over the natural elements.

However, while most people look at this last event and they focus on Jesus’ command of the weather, it is amazing in my mind to see the challenge Jesus gives is a challenge related to trust in God and trust in God’s protection. While the disciples are scared of dying, Jesus is sleeping in the back of the boat. When they wake Him up to help them, Jesus challenges their lack of faith and their fear before simply challenging the weather to change.

Looking at all four of these events together, we see an interesting theme of trust in God, and that God will provide exactly what we need when we need it.

In our first event, Jesus helps Peter’s mother-in-law who then says thank you by serving Jesus. She trusted that she would be fine helping serve Jesus a meal before even getting herself something to eat.

Looking at the second event, everyone who came looking for Jesus’ help had trust in God that Jesus would be able to help them, and Jesus did not disappoint their trust.

Coming to the third event, the two individuals who came to Jesus looking to be disciples had the question of trust pushed back at them. Would they trust Jesus knowing that Jesus had no home, and would they put following Jesus ahead of the societal demands of family? That is a question we all end up facing in varying degrees when we choose to trust and follow Jesus.

And in the fourth event, we see Jesus challenging all the disciples related to trust in God and His protection when they all face the worst literal storm of their lives.

In all these events, we can see and know that trust in God is never a bad choice, and when we choose to trust God, we will never be disappointed. Yes, sometimes trusting God brings storms into our lives, but with our trust in God, He will help us move through the storm and keep us safe until the other side. Even if the storms of this life end in death, God is more than willing to keep us safe until He returns and raises us back to life.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

As I always challenge you to do, intentionally seek God first in your life and intentionally place your trust in Him. Know that trusting in God is never a bad choice and with whatever comes our way, we are better equipped to deal with life’s challenges when God is at our side than when He is not.

Also, continue praying and studying the Bible for yourself to learn and grow closer to God each and every day. Don’t take the word of any pastor, author, speaker, or podcaster for what the Bible says. Study out everything you learn with what the Bible teaches to know firsthand if it is truth or not. God has kept the Bible safe for thousands of years, and if we trust Him to keep us safe for eternity, He is more than capable of keeping His message of salvation safe for a few thousand years of sinful, human history.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or fall away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!