Luke 8:1-15
Text: Luke 8:1-15
Verses 1-3
Last week we were amazed at the grace of Jesus to forgive the worst of sinners by faith alone. The Bible also challenged us to show that it is wrong to think of someone as being beyond the forgiveness of God, or to think that Jesus is somehow wrong to give grace to sinners. Furthermore, we should not treat with contempt those whom Jesus welcomes into His fellowship. People who might look scary or be deeply involved with sin, we should share the Gospel with them too, in faith that God can and will forgive and change them when they come to Him. And when sinners come to Christ, don’t be skeptical, don’t be upset – Jesus delights to save sinners.
We see a bit more of that in these verses here – Jesus now has in His fellowship various women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Having previously demonically possessed women accompanying Jesus was not something that improved His reputation with a lot of people. Pharisees, scribes, the prevailing religious thought of the day did not have a positive opinion of women, much less women who had infirmities and demonic spirits. And yet, Jesus has chosen to heal them and allow them to accompany Him on His journey proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. And not just accompanying Him, but they also helped to support Jesus in His ministry financially.
Link: Some time in this context, when a great crowd had gathered around Jesus, He taught them a parable:
*Read Verses 4-15*
*Don’t Read – Verses 4, 8-10*
Because of how this parable is followed by its explanation, we’re going to be jumping around a bit rather than going verse by verse as we usually do.
First, because it will probably be one of the first questions that comes into the mind of many, let’s talk about what Jesus means when He says “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” and “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.”
This will be a bit difficult to explain and may not be to the liking of some. A lot of preachers, when they come across verses like these, just tend to ignore them out of fear of what others might think. But I believe that, if this is the Word of God, and we want to know Him more and honor Him more, then we probably shouldn’t just ignore inconvenient verses. I don’t think God is pleased with preachers when they choose to ignore parts of His word just because they might offend someone.
Having said that, the translation of these verses is correct, but the meaning of them is not what you might be afraid that it means. Jesus did indeed say that the secrets of the kingdom of God are in parables so that others might not see or understand. Upon first reading these verses, it can look a whole lot like Jesus is deliberately trying to keep some people from being saved. But I can say with confidence, we can rule that out because of other, clearer verses. 1 Timothy 2:4 states that God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
So how do we balance “God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” with “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.”
First, we have an example of this in the Old Testament. Look at Exodus 5:1-2. *Read*
Pharaoh has chosen to disobey God. And he essentially says, I don’t know the Lord and it really doesn’t matter anyway who the Lord is because I won’t do what God says.
After this occurs, Moses and Aaron appear before Pharaoh again and again.
We read in 7:13 “Still Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them”
In 7:22 “So Pharaoh’s heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them”
In 8:15 “when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them”
In 8:19 “But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them.”
In 8:32 “But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also”
Finally, in 9:12, we read “But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them.”
Then 10:20 the Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart again. And 10:27 the Lord hardens Pharaoh’s heart again.
What I’m getting at here, is that Pharaoh, from the beginning, had determined that he was going to reject and disobey the Lord. And Pharaoh hardened his own heart against God many times. It is only after Pharaoh has demonstrated many times his rejection of God that we read the event where God actually hardens the heart of Pharaoh himself.
The reality of Jesus’ ministry on earth is that He faced a lot of Pharaohs. There are people out there who just aren’t going to listen to Jesus no matter what. They are the kind of people Jesus talked about a few verses ago who said of John the Baptist “look! He is so strict with his diet! He has a demon!” And then said of Jesus “Look! He is a glutton and a drunkard! A friend of tax collectors and sinners!” Whatever Jesus was going to say or do, they were going to opposed. Their hearts, eyes, and ears were already shut.
To such people comes a judgment, and the judgment is the teaching of parables. Now, for those who have no desire to know Jesus, Jesus’ message will be put into parables. They will be present while Jesus performs miracles and teaches about the kingdom, they will see it, they will hear it, but the meaning will be obscured to them.
If that sounds unfair to you, it’s really not. God knows the heart, and He knows the heart of those who have rejected Him. If Jesus taught plainly and openly, these people were not going to suddenly accept the message of Jesus and be saved. I think that’s what we miss and why this verse bothers us. We think they might have accepted and believed if they heard. They weren’t going to. They weren’t going to any more than Pharaoh was – they would instead use Jesus’ message against Him, oppose Him, and expedite their plans to murder Him. And so, in judgment upon their unbelief, and so that Jesus’ hardened opponents might not be able to see or understand what Jesus is really doing, Jesus begins to teach in parables.
Verses 5, 11-12
In the Parable, Jesus talks about four different kinds of people. The first kind, in verses 5, 11-12, is the kind like Pharaoh and like many of the Pharisees and Sadducees. The Word of God doesn’t make its way into their heart. It is eerie to think about, but as Jesus taught this parable, there were people just like that listening to Jesus’ words. They saw but didn’t see, and heard but didn’t understand. Their hearts were hardened, the Word of God fell by the wayside, and Satan – the adversary – came and took it away. Unfortunately they exist still today. We’ll never, in this life, be able to tell the difference. That’s not for us to judge. Someone that you might judge as fitting into this category can shock you. Recently I heard of a 101 year old woman who decided to trust in Christ.
In fact, in all of these categories, it is not for us to judge where someone else might fall – rather, we should be evaluating ourselves. As you hear what Jesus says, ask yourself, is this me? You want to be the fourth kind of person we will talk about at the end. You don’t want to be like these other people.
Application:
Are you like one of the Pharisees and are determined in your heart to reject God? I hope you haven’t hardened it completely. I hope the Word of God can still fall on your heart. I’d warn you, if you have been hardening your heart against God, please stop, lest you become like those for whom the Word falls by the wayside, and it is snatched away, having no effect. God choosing to harden Pharaoh’s heart is real. Jesus choosing to hide the message from His opponents is real. You don’t want to position yourself against God to where this happens to you too. Don’t be like this person.
Link: There is another kind of person, who responds in a different way when they hear the Word. They might not be as bad off as the former, but you don’t want to be like this person either. We read about them in verse 6 and 13.
Verses 6, 13
This second kind of person has no root. There is an initial joy and presence of belief – for a little while. But their hearts. What are they called? They are rocks. Their belief would appear to only be a surface level belief. They haven’t evaluated things carefully. They didn’t realize the cost. Jesus and salvation and Christianity were not quite what they thought it was. When something other than gladness and joy comes, something to test their faith, they fall away – they renounce their faith.
The question that naturally comes up is, are these people saved or not?
It’s a question that is a bit difficult to answer. First, we know from Scripture that salvation is eternal. Jesus died once for all sins. A person whose sin is covered by Jesus has had all of their past, present, and future sins forgiven. So, we must conclude, that if these people are saved, then they have not lost their salvation. All of their sins have been paid for, and that cannot be undone.
The question then moves to – is this talking about a genuine saving faith or not? Although the Word here says “believe,” it would appear that it isn’t the saving kind of faith. Why do I say this? First, remember that the Bible has this to say in James 2:19 – “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder.” Demons believe in God. Of course they do. They have seen Him. And most people in America believe in God. The most recent statistics say that 80% of people believe in a god. The fact that they believe doesn’t mean that they have actually trusted in Jesus as their Savior. Second, it appears that the Word of God has not actually grown roots into them. It is only skin deep. The soil of their hearts is a solid rock and the Word hasn’t penetrated down that far. It’s not “in” them. It is only skin deep. There is a presence of some kind of belief, sure, and it brings joy. But the belief does not appear to actually be faith, because it is dropped just as soon as trials come.
Application:
I’ll ask again, does this apply to you? Is your experience of and belief in Christianity just a surface level thing? Would you fall away immediately if things moved from joy to trials? If so, you should evaluate yourself to see if you are really in the faith or not.
Link: The third kind of person is spoken of in verses 7 and 14. I imagine that this kind of person is extremely common in the wealthy and privileged land of America. We have many cares, riches, and pleasures of life.
Verses 7, 14
This third kind of person does not have the word “believe” attached to them. So it’s a little easier to say here that these are unbelievers. Now, don’t get overly alarmed. Believers can have their growth stunted by cares of the world, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t saved. Cares, riches, and pleasures are perhaps the top things in America hindering our spiritual growth. We just have a lot of stuff, and a lot of it very nice, that can distract us from Christ.
Application:
And that’s a real problem that we also need to examine ourselves over: are you letting cares, riches, and pleasures of life hinder your growth as a Christian? If so, perhaps you need to take some time learning once again the riches and pleasures that are found in Christ and how superior those are to the riches and pleasures offered by the world.
But that’s not specifically the person Jesus is speaking about here. These are those who hear the Gospel, but their reaction to it doesn’t make it to the mature and fruit bearing stage. The Word in their life doesn’t bear fruit: no being born again, receiving the Holy Spirit, moving on to good works, none of that.
These are the people who hear the Gospel preached to them, or perhaps read about it, and say “I’ll think about that.” The plant starts to grow a little bit. But as they go about their life, it isn’t long before they forget about it. They don’t feel a need for Christ or see any riches or pleasure to be found in Christ. Their mind moves on to some care they have, or delighting in some riches or pleasure that they have. They hear the word; they think about it; the plant starts to grow. But the plant is choked by cares and riches and it dies. They don’t come to actually trust in Christ. The Word heard and thought about is not embraced in faith and so does not bear fruit.
I have a suspicion that this might be the most common kind of rejection of the Gospel in America today, and is why when I was doing open air evangelism at the mall; it was only the fellow with the knife scar who chose to trust in Christ. None of the nice looking respectable people did – at least none who had not already done so. They just didn’t feel a need. Their lives were “fine” without Jesus. But again, it really isn’t for us to determine if someone else falls into this category or not. For all I know, many of those same people later did decide to trust in Christ in their own homes. It is just a suspicion I have.
Application:
Instead we should evaluate ourselves. This is a dangerous place to be and really takes a work of God to get through to you if you are here. Your life is fine. You feel no need. You’ve heard the Gospel. You hear me today. You don’t see a point to it because you have your things and you are fine. If this is you, you should pray to God to ask Him to reveal to you your need for Jesus as Savior. Maybe you have a lot of riches and pleasures in this life now, but those are nothing compared to the riches and pleasures to come for those who have trusted in Christ. And maybe you feel no particular need now, but you will one day, at the end of days, if you haven’t trusted in Christ, and by then it will be too late. If you hear these words, and then think about them a little bit, go out to eat after this sermon, and then forget about them, then this is you and I pray God helps you to realize that.
Link: The last person described is the kind of person that we want to be. They hear the Word. It takes root and holds fast in an open heart, and it bears more and more fruit.
Verses 8, 15
This is the normal and healthy Christian life. God’s Word is heard. It is believed. It is obeyed. And it bears much fruit. In Luke we read that it “yielded a hundredfold.” In Matthew it says “some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” That’s important to know, because it tells us that there are degrees of growth. Not every believer is going to be producing fruit a hundredfold. Some will only produce sixty, some thirty. Probably some will produce even less than thirty. And perhaps some will produce more than a hundred. The point is that fruit is produced, and that is the major difference between these people who hear the Word and the other people. Fruit is produced in their lives. The Word has an effect upon them.
For those by the wayside, the Word is heard, but it is totally ignored. It therefore does not produce fruit in their lives.
For those whose hearts are rocks: it is heard and received on a surface level, but doesn’t take root in the heart and so it is rejected just as soon as a trial comes.
For those whose lives are filled with pleasures and cares and riches – it is thought about, but the plant never reaches the fruit bearing stage. The Gospel considered is not the Gospel received. The Gospel received bears fruit.
But when the Word falls upon an honest and good heart, it holds fast and takes root in that heart. The person is born again and so fruit begins to be produced in their lives. They might from time to time exhibit characteristics of these other people – they might not grow much because of cares, trials might get to them, the Word might fall by the wayside of their lives some times. But they have been born again and there is some fruit to show it. This is who I want to be and I hope you do too.
Application: *Gospel Invitation* *Encouragement to Believers to Keep Growing*