When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable. 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” 9 Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. 10 He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’ 11“This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. 12 Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. 14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. 15 But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.
A crowd follows Jesus as he moves from town to town. Luke uses the images of a farmer sowing seeds that fall on different types of soil producing mixed results. However, the harvest is still plentiful because God is trustworthy, and His kingdom is very fruitful. The parable would not seem unusual to the crowd because when Galilean farmers sowed seed some would fall on good ground, but some would also fall on the footpath, on rocky soil, and among thorns. Jesus used a normal occurrence to explain a spiritual reality. Galilean farmers would also expect to have a ten-fold yield instead of a hundred-fold yield.
The seed is the Word of God, and the different types of soil are the various responses to hearing the Word of God. The footpath, rocky soil, and thorns represent situations where attacks by the devil can prevail. The disciples and the crowd are encouraged and given hope by the abundant yield of the ‘good soil.’ The disciples have been granted the gift of “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God (v. 10).” They must persevere, have generous and good hearts, and be faithful to the word of God so that their lives can yield abundantly for the Kingdom (v. 15).
Almighty God, grant us the grace to persevere by staying focused on and being faithful to your word. May our hearts be disposed to listen carefully to your word and hold fast to it so we can bear bountiful fruit for your Kingdom. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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