The Gospel Of Luke

Chapter 8

(V1-3) This is often thought to be the second tour of Jesus through the region of Galilee (the first being described in Luke 4. Jesus probably went to the same cities and villages more than once in His itinerant preaching work. On this second tour, the twelve were with Him. When He started the first tour of Galilee, the twelve disciples had not yet been formally chosen.

along with some women: Luke specifically mentioned these women who followed Jesus, because this was unusual. Jesus had a different attitude towards women than the religious leaders and teachers of that day. The rabbis generally refused to teach women and  assigned them a very inferior place.

NOTE – It’s interesting to note that in the four Gospels, all of Jesus’ enemies were men.

One of these women was Mary Magdalene. This Mary had been demon possessed until Jesus freed her. Many also assume that she was given over to immorality, but this is never said by the Biblical text.

Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s manager: It is an amazing thing to find Mary Magdalene, with the dark past, and Joanna, the lady of the court, in the one company.

NOTE – Mary and Joanna were among the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection.

(V4-8) Jesus taught large groups at one sitting. He certainly didn’t despise teaching smaller groups or even individuals, but on many occasions taught large groups. He drew crowds from every city.

Matthew 13:1-3 and Mark 4:1-2 tell us that this crowd was so large that Jesus taught this from a boat. The crowd pressed in on the shore, and Jesus could use the boat as an effective pulpit.

He spoke by a parable: The idea behind the word parable is to throw alongside of. It is a story thrown alongside the truth intended to teach. Parables have been called earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.

A farmer went out to plant his seed – Jesus spoke according to the agricultural customs of His day. In those days, seed was scattered first and then it was ploughed into the ground. For the most part, you didn’t know the quality of the precise piece of ground until after the sowing.

As he sowed, some seed fell by the footpath… some fell on rocks… some fell among thorns… others fell on fertile soil: In this parable the seed fell on four different types of soil. Though this is commonly called the parable of the sower, it could be better called the parable of the soils. The difference is never the seed, but on the kind of soil it lands on.

The wayside was the path where people walked, and nothing could grow because the ground was too hard.

On rock was where the soil was thin, lying upon a stony shelf. On this ground the seed sprang up quickly because of the warmth of the soil, but the seed was unable to take root because of the rocky shelf.

Among thorns described soil that is fertile – perhaps too fertile, because thorns grow there as well as grain. The thorns choked out the good grain and did not make a productive crop.

Good ground described soil that was both fertile and weed-free. A good, productive crop grew in the good ground. The crop may be a hundredfold increase to what was sown.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear: This was a not a call for all to listen. Rather, it was a call for those who were spiritually sensitive to take special note. This was especially true in light of the next few verses, in which Jesus explained the purpose of parables.

(V9-10) As Jesus used them, parables were more like puzzles or riddles than illustrations. Only those who had the right “key” could understand them. The disciples, who wanted the things of God, were You are permitted to understand the secretsof the Kingdom of God.– they could be spoken to plainly. But often, others were taught in parables.

So why did Jesus have secret messages isn’t the Bible open for all  ?

He did this through love. If He told a simple truth that everyone could understand then some still said ” We don’t care” and carried on with their lives, the punishment would be much worse for them.  But by hiding the truth in a parable only those who were actively seeking would find the truth and they would grow closer to Jesus through it. 

(V11) The seed is God’s word- Jesus said the word of God (we could say both spoken and written) is like a seed. A seed has enormous power in itself for the generation of life and usefulness, if it is received (planted) in the right conditions.

(V12) 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.

As the birds devoured the seed on the footpath so some receive the word with hardened hearts and Satan quickly takes away the sown word. The word has no effect because it never penetrates and is quickly taken away.

(V13) 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.

As seed falling on the thin soil on top of the rocky places quickly springs up and then quickly withers and dies, so some respond to the word with immediate enthusiasm yet soon wither away.

(V14) 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.

As seed falling among thorns would grow the stalks of grain among the thorns yet soon be choked out , so some respond to the word and grow for a while, but are choked and stopped in their spiritual growth by competition from unspiritual things.

(V15) 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.

This soil represented those who received the word, and it brought forth fruit in their soil, and in generous proportions.

(V16-17) So now you have the key to parables you can work this one out for yourselves

It’s to show that when you have found the light of God you shouldn’t hide it but you have to share it with others.

(V18) It’s good to hear the word of God; it’s much better to take note to how you hear. In this, Jesus warned His listeners to actively prepare the soil of their heart and mind, to judge themselves as hearers at least as much as they judge the preacher/ teacher. When we hear the word of God, and receive it with gladness, more will be given to us from God’s spiritual riches.

Sometimes what people think they have spiritually, they only seem to have. The Pharisees were like this; so was the church at Laodicea. The Laodiceans said about  themselves, “We are rich, wealthy, and need nothing” but they didn’t know that they were actually miserable and poor.

(V19-21) NOTE – Jesus plainly had many brothers and sisters. The Roman Catholic idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary  called aei parthenos, ‘ever virgin.’ can  be traced to the second century A.D and directly contradicts the plain meaning of the Bible.

We might have expected that Jesus’ family would have special privileges before Him; it almost surprises us that they do not.

Jesus indicated that His closest family is made up of those who hear and obey God’s word. We draw close to Jesus by hearing His word and doing it. In doing so, we gain a closer relationship with Him than even a normally understood family relationship.

(V22-23) “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” With these words, Jesus made a promise to His disciples. He didn’t say, “Let all go and drown in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.” He promised His disciples that they would cross over to the other side of the lake.

NOTE – The Lake of Galilee is 13 miles long at its longest, and 8 miles wide at its widest. At this particular part it was about 5 miles across. The Sea is well known for its sudden, violent storms. The severity of this storm is evident in the fact that the disciples (many of which were experienced fishermen on this very sea) were terrified.

(V24-25) The disciples didn’t take comfort from the sleeping Jesus and suppose that if He were at rest, all would be fine.

” he rebuked ”  Note that the text doesn’t just say He calmed the wind but actually rebuked it leading many scholars to believe that this was not a natural storm but Satan “prince of the power of the air”  who, having got the author and all the preachers of the Gospel together in a small vessel, thought by drowning it, to defeat the purposes of God, and thus to prevent salvation for the world.

“Where is your faith?” Jesus did not say, “Wow, what a storm.” Instead, He asked, Where is your faith? The storm couldn’t disturb Jesus, but the unbelief of His disciples could.

(V26-29) The region of the Gerasenes, this was on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, in the Gentile area of the Decapolis, which is where there are 10 cities. This is just to show that Jesus happily went into non- Jewish areas to preach and teach.

This is the most detailed description of a demon possessed man we have in the Bible. It is the classic profile of demonic possession.

• The man wore no clothes and did not lived more like a wild animal than a human being.
• The man lived among the decaying and dead, contrary to Jewish law and human instinct.
• The man had supernatural strength.
• The man was tormented and self-destructive (cutting himself with stones, Mark 5:5).
• The man was uncontrollable  (neither could anyone tame him, Mark 5:4).

“a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet him” Jesus didn’t go actively looking to fight daemons as His main propose was to teach and preach.

“Why are you interfering with me…. I beg you, don’t torture me!” This was the demonic spirits within the possessed man, not the man himself. The demon did not want to leave the body he inhabited.

“I beg you, don’t torture me” This was an ironic statement, because the man was constantly tormented by the demons.

“Jesus, Son of the Most High God”  Daemons are fallen angels so of course would instantly recognise Jesus for who He was. 

(V30-33) In the background of all this was the ancient superstition that you had spiritual power over another if you knew or said their exact name. This is why the unclean spirits addressed Jesus with this full title: Jesus, Son of the Most High God.

And he said, “Legion”: Jesus probably asked the name of the demon so that we would know the full extent of the problem, knowing that the man was filled with many demons not only one. We note that Legion is not a name; it was evasive, a threat, and attempt to intimidate.

NOTE – A Roman legion usually consisted of six thousand men. This does not mean that the man was inhabited with six thousand demons, but that he had many.

The demons inhabiting this man did not want to be imprisoned in the abyss, which is the bottomless pit described in Revelation 9:11.

the demons begged him to let them enter into the pigs – The idea that demons may inhabit the bodies of animals seems strange, but the idea is also shown in Genesis 3.

the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned. The destructive nature of demonic spirits was shown by their effect on the swine. They were like their leader, Satan whose desire is to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. This helps explain why Jesus allowed the demons to enter the pigs – because He wanted everyone to know what the real intention of these demons was. They wanted to destroy the man just as they destroyed the pigs. Because men are made in the image of God, they could not have their way as easily with the man, but their intention was just the same: to completely destroy him.

(V34-37) They didn’t seem to mind having this demon-possessed, tormented man in their midst, but they did mind having Jesus around. Part of their fear was found in the fact that their superstitions had been shattered, and they didn’t know what to make of it all. According to their superstitions, the demons should have had the upper hand over Jesus – but they didn’t at all. They had a hard time accepting this.

When people are more afraid of what Jesus will do in their lives than what Satan does in at the moment, they often push Jesus away – and He may leave when asked to.

(V38-39) This man didn’t only want what Jesus could do for him; the true change in his heart was shown by that he wanted Jesus Himself. The man’s desire to follow Jesus was good, but Jesus did not allow it. Jesus knew that he had a more important ministry with his own family and community.

Sometimes we have a hard time understanding the ways of God.

The people of the city made an evil request (asked Him to depart from them) and Jesus answered their prayer. The man from whom the demons departedmade a godly request: that he might be with Him, and Jesus said “no” to that prayer. Of course, this was because this man could be a light among the people of these Gentiles cities in a way that Jesus and the disciples could not.

This was a great message to tell, and a message that every follower of Jesus should be able to preach. His story showed the value of one life to Jesus, because this was the only reason why Jesus came to this side of the Sea of Galilee. His story also showed that with Jesus, no one is beyond hope, because if this man could be changed than anyone can.

(V40-42) The ruler of the synagogue was somewhat like a modern pastor. He managed both the spiritual and the business affairs of the synagogue. Everybody in Capernaum knew Jarius; but no one knew that he believed in Christ until his little daughter was at the point of death. Then he confessed it.

As Jesus went with him- Jesus did not demand that Jarius show the same faith as the centurion did. Jesus responded to the faith that Jarius showed and went with him,  he was surrounded by the crowds.

NOTE – The ancient Greek word here translated surrounded means, almost suffocated Him-so great was the crowds pushing to see Him. The same Greek root word is used to describe the choking of the seed of the word from the earlier parable of the seed.

(V43-44) This woman was in a desperate condition. Her bleeding made her ceremonially and socially unclean, and this would be quite a burden to live under for 12 years.

NOTE – According to the Jewish ideas of the time, if this woman touched anyone, she imparted her uncleanness to them, an uncleanness that would not allow them to take part in any aspect of worship.

Because this woman’s condition she was ceremonially unclean and would be condemned for touching Jesus never mind being in this pressing crowd, she wanted to do this secretly. She did not openly ask Jesus to be healed. The woman approached Jesus with a degree of superstition, thinking there was power in the fringe of His garment. Yet there was also an element of faith because there is no evidence that Jesus had ever healed that way before.

(V45-48) This question made no sense to the disciples. Luke told us that the crowds were almost crushing Him , and Jesus seemed annoyed that someone touched Him. There were people all about who pressed in on Jesus and who made some kind of contact with Him.

Peter and the disciples didn’t understand the difference between casual contact with Jesus and reaching out to touch Him in faith.

 We can imagine someone who because of the press of the crowd bumped up against Jesus. When the woman’s miracle was revealed, they might say, “I bumped into Jesus, I touched Him – yet I was not healed.” But there is a huge difference between bumping into Jesus here and there and reaching out to touch Him in faith. You can come to church week after week and “bump into” Jesus. That isn’t the same as reaching out to touch Him in faith.

When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden- The woman had to come forward, because Jesus knew who she was. He called her forward and it embarrassed her; but Jesus’ purpose was not to embarrass her, but to bless her. Jesus did it so that she would know she was healed. It is true that she felt she was healed immediately, but this woman was like any other person. Soon she would begin to doubt and fear that she really was healed. She would wonder when the bleeding would return. But Jesus told her “Your faith has made you well.” Jesus called her forward so she would absolutely know that she was healed.

Poor Jarius! During all this, his daughter sits ill at home, her life slipping away. It must have tortured him to see Jesus take time out to minister to this woman while his daughter suffered. God is never slow, but He often seems slow to the sufferer.

(V49-50) Your daughter is dead: We can imagine how Jarius’ heart sank when he heard this. He must have thought, “I knew this took too long. I knew Jesus shouldn’t waste His time on this silly woman. Now the situation is beyond repair.”

(V51-56) Peter, John, James – Often these three are considered the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples. Perhaps the case was that Jesus knew that He had to keep a special eye on these three.

These professional mourners could easily turn from grief to laughter as it wasn’t real to them.   

“My child, get up!” Again we see Jesus talks to the dead as though they were alive Romans 4:17

Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat – Perhaps did this not only for the good of the girl, but also for her mother – to give her something to do, to ease the shock of the moment.

In all this we see how the work of Jesus is different, yet the same among each individual. If Jesus can touch each need this personally, He can touch our needs the same way.

• Jarius had twelve years of sunshine that were about to be extinguished. The woman had twelve years of agony that seemed hopeless to heal.
• Jarius was an important man, the ruler of the synagogue. The woman was a nobody. We don’t even know her name.
• Jarius was probably wealthy, because he was an important man. The woman was poor because she spent all her money on doctors.
• Jarius came publicly. The woman came secretly.
• Jarius’ daughter was healed secretly. The woman was healed publicly.                               AMEN

PARABLE OF SOWER FOR SUNDAY

What is a Parable ?

A parable is, literally, something “cast alongside” something else. Jesus’ parables were stories that were “cast alongside” a truth in order to illustrate that truth. Like when I am in the car with the kids and we were driving next to a railway line, so we could race the train as it was running parallel with the road. Parables have been called earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.

Now a parable isn’t exactly an illustration. A good teacher can use illustration by stating a truth, and then illustrating the truth with a story.  Like Our own Pastor Michael  when speaking of how even the little jobs in church are important, then telling the story about his sore arm and how it was a tiny muscle that he had damaged and how it had affected his entire body. And then explaining how even the smallest job in the church affects the whole church. 

( Hint, hint we are looking for volunteers for the Easter egg hunt) 

The parables themselves have double advantage for us as a story is always easier to remember, and this is why nearly everyone can tell you at least one parable from the Bible. From the “The lost sheep, The house built on sand, The Good Samaritan etc”

But when Jesus used parables, He didn’t start by stating a truth. Instead, Jesus used His parables like a locked door and If you don’t understand the key to the parable, you don’t understand it at all. We can imagine what different people in Jesus audience might have thought when He taught this parable with no explanation.

Most of the audience being farmers and helpers would have thought “He’s telling me that I have to be more careful in the way I sowed my seed. I guess I have wasted an awful lot”

But none of them could understand the spiritual meaning until Jesus gave the key to them, to unlock the door and see the Heavenly message.

Now Jesus didn’t start off His ministry using Parables to teach. If we look at the gospel of Matthew as its probably the best for the time-line of Jesus ministry. He doesn’t  start to teach in this way until chapter 13. So before this Jesus has done perhaps His greatest sermon with the Beatitudes or the sermon on the mount, all of which is done in a clear easy way that doesn’t require a “spiritual key” to unlock and understand.

So why did Jesus change His style of teachings ? Even Mark says in chapter 4  “He did not say anything to them without using a parable.”

Well His audience had changed. During His sermon on the mound all who listened were happy to hear His teachings and so they were taught in a simple to understand way that all could understand without further explanations needed. But when the religious leaders, the Pharisees started to say that all he was teaching was blasphemous and that Jesus was possessed. That He wasn’t the promised Messiah, many in the audience started to doubt Him.

You have to understand there was no TV in these days so when Jesus came to town it was big show and hundreds if not thousands came to see what He was going to do, Perhaps He might heal a cripple, or cast out a demon or if they got real lucky they might get a free lunch out of it. But not all believed that He was indeed the Messiah and it was for this group that Jesus had to teach in parables.     

Jesus explained to his disciples why in verse 12 by quoting from Isaiah:6

                       When they see what I do, they will learn nothing.
                       When they hear what I say they will not understand.
                       Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven.

See God is a loving God, full of mercy, grace, unending forgiveness  and patience.

The last thing He ever wants is to see any of His children condemned to an eternity in Hell. This also helps explains why He has to harden certain people’s hearts. It’s done with love and mercy.  God doesn’t want to see anyone earn extra punishment in Hell. So as the saying goes

“…You can’t unlearn something, even if you want to. You know what you know.”

To try to explain it better imagine you are a brand new Christian, never read your Bible or even listened to sermon, you just got saved by a chance encounter with someone on the street and you there and then give your life to the Lord. Fantastic so happy for you. But you came from a broken home never were taught right from wrong and your “Job” is a shoplifter !!

Now you continue to shoplift none the wiser that its wrong to do so, until you learn that stealing is a sin. Then as “you can’t unlearn something” you have a big decision do you continue to shoplift even though you know it’s a sin and as such accept that your are earning more punishment in Hell.  

And this is where Jesus love comes in, He knew some of the people in His audience would never accept or believe that He was the Messiah and as such would never believe in what he was teaching. Jesus explained that His parables were not illustrations making difficult things clear to all who heard. They were a way of presenting God’s message so those who were spiritually seeking could understand, but the others would merely hear a story without heaping up additional punishments for rejecting God’s Word.

The Parable Mark 4

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain.Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant.

I love that bit just think of the disciples shouting “Amen brother! Preach it !”

And then when they get back home saying ” What was all that about ? “

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Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables?

In all Jesus told 46 Parables in the Bible. But none of them could understand the spiritual meaning until Jesus explained the key to them: The seed is the word of God and if you miss the key, you miss the whole parable.  Because of this, how blessed we who do understand the parables of Jesus. Not only do we gain the benefit of the spiritual truths, but it shows that we display a heart for the Holy Spirit.

The seed that fell on the wayside represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.

Now this wasn’t a modern tarmac or paving slabs pathway, but an area that people had walked upon so often that the ground had became brick hard.

Some people are like the ground on the pathway, life has beaten them hard and they won’t allow any room for the word of God in their hearts so it never penetrates and the birds represented by the devil who with perfect timing knows when to come and distract you from hearing Gods word. This tells us that Satan is at work during the sermon.

Satan seems to believe in the power of God’s word more than some church goer do, he knows that when it is taught or preached, he needs to be busy against it. Satan knows if a heart does stay in contact with the word of God, there is a good chance that repentance and faith will come next and this is why he has to “come at once and take it away”

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The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

It was a common saying in Israel that when God created the world, he took all the rocks and placed them in Israel. In a lot of Israel there are large rock beds just slightly under the soil so you can only dig down about a foot or so then you hit this solid rock face. Even today they have recently discovered just of shore one of the world’s largest natural gas pockets and are now drilling through the rock bed to access it.    

Some people are like the ground that is rocky but covered with a thin layer of topsoil. They receive the seed of the word with genuine enthusiasm and at the start a real love for the Lord.  But since they don’t have deep roots, and by deep roots I mean that as long as they are in church with their Christian family they are great, but as they don’t read and study the bible by themselves and are only relying on Michael feeding them one or two times a week, as soon as problems, trials come when they are alone they have no roots in faith so slowly die to the Lord. 

The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.

In the Holy Land in Jesus’ day, the farmers has the same problems we have to face today in our own gardens, weeds! The only difference they had was the weeds that grow in Israel are large bushes that are covered with thorns.  (The very same thorn bushes that Hosea grew to keep his wife from wandering away)  Now the main problem with them isn’t the thorns,  but the speed at which they grow as they grow they steal all the goodness from the soil and literally choke out the slower growing wheat.  

This soil represented fertile ground for the word; but the soil was too fertile, because it also grew all sorts of other things that choked out the word of God. Namely, it grew worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things. Now life’s worries, get rich quick schemes and general ” I deserve better” attitude can all grow like a weed and if left unchecked can lead to falling from a Christian way of life as we chase a dream of bigger is better. 

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And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

This seed represented those who received the word, and it brought forth fruit, and in generous amounts. Obviously, this is the desired outcome, for both the farmer and the preacher. As Jesus was saying what the harvest could be 30, 60 or even 100 time as much this would have seemed an incredible return as the norm in biblical times was about 3 times with a bumper crop being about 6 times. This is just to show that we can never out give God and if we remain faithful we will get more blessings than we could ever imagine. 

Now when I first started to look at this parable for the Sunday school, I fell into the trap of knowing it too well. I thought it was obvious. It’s clearly a parable to teach the disciples then and now day for preachers and evangelists that the word is the same and no matter what you do some people will be foot paths and won’t care, some will be rocky and come to faith only to drop off pretty quickly. Others will start on the Christian way but drop off as real life gets in the way but occasionally someone will have life changing faith and become a true believer. So I should feel too bad about it as I know I’m saved, as I am in the “good soil ” and that’s that.

But as I studied and read it again and again I realised that we are all the soils, I don’t  think there is a person in the church today that hasn’t sat and listened to Michaels sermon one Sunday only when they get home and get asked what was it about today and realise that I can’t actually remember what the sermon was about. Or again sat during a sermon whilst thinking about how I need to apologise to my wife about a fight we had earlier, or how I was worried about paying my rent that week as I was skint etc.  But when I am properly focused on God and really try to listen to the sermon how much I can learn and what a feeling of blessings I get, 30 60 or even 100 time better than when I arrived that morning.

Always remember that God is in charge of the plough so no matter how hard your soil is or how big that rock that’s stopping you is God can move it to plough your heart ready to hear His word.

AMEN