Luke 8:4-15 - Hearing Isn't Believing
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
Research suggests that the average person hears between 20,000 and 30,000 words every single day! That is a ton of communication that people hear daily. With all of this communication coming our way, how do we sort out what is most important? And even more pressing, how do we discern what is true?
Today we are going to see four groups of people who hear the same truth - specifically the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The truth that sets man free from the curse of sin and death. The truth that we are all sinners and need a Savior - namely Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins and rose three days later and now is at the right hand of the Father. And the truth that one must repent - or turn away from one’s sins - and place their faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be saved.
Yet, for three out of the four groups we will see today, the truth that they hear isn’t what they believe.
Let’s jump into our Scripture as we learn more about the fact that hearing isn’t necessarily believing.
I am going to read the first half of today’s Scripture which contains Christ’s parable as we begin today’s important study regarding the Gospel:
And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Prayer
Today’s sermon is going to be a little different in organization than normal. Because there is the parable and then an explanation of that parable, we will be jumping around these verses quite a bit. Our first point for today is…
I. Christ Confirms His Word to Those Who are True Believers (4, 8b-10)
I. Christ Confirms His Word to Those Who are True Believers (4, 8b-10)
And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,
We have seen great crowds gathering around Christ throughout the book of Luke. Here again we see people from many towns seeking to hear Him preach and see Him perform miracles. Matthew and Mark in their parallel accounts give us a little more detail regarding the setting. They inform us that Christ is on a boat on the shore of the sea while teaching the crowd that had gathered.
We will get into the parable itself in a moment, but there is an important teaching in today’s passage that is often overlooked. We see that Christ confirms His word to those who are true believers. See this fleshed out in verses 8b-10:
Luke 8:8b–10 (ESV)
...As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “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.’
He who has ears let him hear. This is a metaphor for those who are being drawn by God and are able to understand what Christ is speaking as well as those who humble themselves and submit to the words that are spoken. As the title of the sermon asserts - hearing isn’t believing. It takes more than just hearing.
The disciples seem to be just about as confused as the crowd about what the parable that Jesus teaches really means. And they ask him point blank - what does this mean? In verse 10 Jesus lets them know that the secrets of the kingdom of God are for those who are His. Those who are not His hear these parables and do not see the truths in them and do not understand the things of God.
Jesus then cites Isaiah 6:9-10. The parallel account of Matthew (Matthew 13:14-15) gives a more complete citation of Isaiah, but Luke hits the high points regarding those who are able to see but yet do not truly see and those who are able to hear yet do not understand.
What Jesus is saying in this section is that the things of God are spiritually discerned.
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
From here on out the ministry of Jesus will include teaching through parables more often than not. Those who are His will understand the words that He speaks. Those who are not His will not understand.
That is how the Word of God is even to this day. Those who refuse to submit to the Lord do not understand the Word of God. That is why there are many false teachers and preachers who can quote Bible verses and even teach in some seminaries that are not actually believers! They may know the words of the Bible but they do not know Christ and thus do not rightly understand the Word of God.
This is an important understanding my friends.
Do you know the words of the Bible but do not know the Word made flesh - namely Jesus Christ?
I pray that you do know Christ as your personal Savior. I pray that you have not only heard but that you have believed in Him for salvation.
As we get into the parable for today, Jesus is about to give us some strong teaching on what true salvation looks like. He teaches us that…
Scripture References: Isaiah 6:9-10, Matthew 13:14-15, 1 Corinthians 2:14
II. Christ Cultivates His Word in Those Who are True Believers (5-8a, 11-15)
II. Christ Cultivates His Word in Those Who are True Believers (5-8a, 11-15)
The word cultivate means to loosen or dig soil around a growing plant as well as improving and preparing land in order that crops may grow well.
In the rest our sermon today we will see the difference between false converts and true believers. We will see three examples of hearts that refuse to follow Christ and thus are not saved. We will then come our final example of a heart that Christ cultivates and grows His Word and Gospel in which produces abundant fruit.
Before getting into the four types of soil, we see first…
IIa. The Seed and the Sower (5a,11)
IIa. The Seed and the Sower (5a,11)
Luke 8:5a (ESV)
“A sower went out to sow his seed.
Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
We are introduced to a sower who went out to sow his seed in verse 5. The sower mentioned here is Jesus initially but then all those who share the Gospel afterward including the Apostles and even us today. But what is the seed?
Jesus explains in verse 11 that this seed is the word of God. Note that we use the phrase ‘Word of God’ to describe the Scriptures and we do this rightfully so. However, this reference refers to the message in the Word of God which is the Gospel. We see many times in the Scriptures that the word of God was preached - meaning the Gospel. Consider Acts 8:4:
Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
and Mark 2:2.
Mark 2:2b (ESV)
...And he was preaching the word to them.
Now that we understand that the sower is anyone who shares the Gospel and the seed is the Gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ, let’s dive into the four soils. The first place the seed is scattered is:
Scripture References: Acts 8:4, Mark 2:2
1) The Seed Along the Path - The Hard Soil (5b,12)
1) The Seed Along the Path - The Hard Soil (5b,12)
Luke 8:5b (ESV)
...And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
This first seed that was scattered by the sower fell along the path. If you consider paths during this time, most paths were tightly packed soil. They were well hardened from countless people walking them and animals trudging along the path. It was just about impossible to penetrate this dense soil.
Jesus says that the seed was trampled underfoot and eaten by birds and goes on to explain in verse 12 that this refers to those who hear the Gospel but have it taken from them by the devil. They do not believe and are not saved. They have sin-hardened hearts and refuse to submit to the Lord.
These aren’t false converts. There is no hint of being converted altogether.
They are of their father the devil as seen in John 8:44.
These people can be known as the non-responders. They are spiritually dead and there is no response.
As an ER doctor, I have some people that are brought in by EMS without any real hope of being revived from a medical standpoint. In the same way, apart from the miraculous work of God, these people are hard-hearted and the Gospel is flatly rejected. They are spiritually flat-lined on the heart monitor.
Asystole is their spiritual condition.
Next we come to:
Scripture References: John 8:44
2) The Seed on the Rocky Soil (6,13)
2) The Seed on the Rocky Soil (6,13)
And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.
The sower moves on in our parable and spreads some seed upon the rocky soil. It withered away because it had no moisture. Jesus goes on to explain this in verse 13 further by showing that there was no root in the Gospel. They may have received the initial word with joy but it was superficial. When the time of testing comes, they quickly fall away showing that they were never saved to begin with.
This our first group of false converts.
These are people who make a profession of faith but it doesn’t last long. They seem joyous initially and ready to go all in, but as soon as the rubber meets the road, they quickly desert the faith.
These people have no deep-seated convictions. They have no true commitment to Christ. These are persons who give a head nod to the Gospel but their heart is far from Jesus. See Matthew 15:8
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
There is no better illustration regarding this soil than my yard! Where our house sits there used to lie 30 more feet of mountain. The guy who developed the land a couple of decades ago told me that huge equipment was used to dig into the mountain and that all of the dirt and rock was pushed over the hill. Now, despite some topsoil that we added, we pretty much have a very rocky soiled yard. Because of this, all that seems to grow are weeds and crabgrass. I have tried to plant grass plenty of times. I have even limed the yard and put down fertilizer. The grass will start to grow for a time, and I am filled with joy! But as soon as the sun starts beating down upon our rocky soiled yard, the moisture is zapped and my grass withers and dies - along with my hope of ever having real grass in my yard!
Isn’t it interesting how clover, and dandelions, and weeds, and crabgrass can grow just about anywhere? In the same way, false teaching can take root in the shallowest of hearts. Yet the Word of God must be planted in good soil in order to see true growth and real fruit.
The faith of true believers isn’t crushed by trials and doesn’t wither with the sun-like heat of affliction. In fact, trials and tribulations should strengthen the faith of true believers. James 1:2-4 states:
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
As we see here, the trials of this life should actually lead to a stronger faith and more perseverance in Christians. True believers don’t fall away on account of suffering. Their suffering pushes them into the arms of Jesus even further.
I was reading a devotional book by Voice of the Martyrs called, When Faith is Forbidden, written by Todd Nettleton. I came to an account that shows how trials push us closer to Christ. There was a Chinese woman who opened up her home for an ‘illegal church’ to meet. You see, in Communist China you have to register your church, and they tell you how often you can meet, what you can teach, and who can teach. The authorities arrested her and put her in prison for some time. Todd was able to eventually get an interview with her and asked her how it was in prison.
Her answer - “It was wonderful.” Todd thought she must have misunderstood the question. Obviously there was a translator involved, and Todd assumed that the translator must have messed up the question. When the translator repeated the question and was adamant that she understood it, she repeated her answer - “It was wonderful.”
When expounding upon this answer, she told him that she had never felt Christ so intimately than when she was in prison. She was able to share the Gospel with others and see others come to Christ as well. So the experience, to her, was wonderful. She didn’t dwell on the meager rations or the awful living conditions. She dwelt on her relationship with Christ.
That is quite a convicting account isn’t it brothers and sisters? I pray that our adversity and trials drive us further into the arms of Christ Jesus as well. I pray that we are all true believers and have a deep root planted in Christ and can withstand the trials and tribulations that will inevitably come our way (John 16:33).
Next we come to our 3rd soil type:
Scripture References: Matthew 15:8, James 1:2-4, John 16:33
3) The Seed Among the Thorns - The Crowded Soil (7,14)
3) The Seed Among the Thorns - The Crowded Soil (7,14)
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.
Now we come to our most difficult to discern of the soil types. We have seen the seed that fell along the path and the rocky soils. These are clearly unbelievers and those who are not truly saved. But in verse 7 we see that the seed started to grow but was choked by the thorns.
In verse 14, Jesus describes this group of people as being choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life and their fruit does not mature. In other words, they do not bear fruit. We see money being one of these earthly pleasures in 1 Timothy 6:10 that leads many to reject God.
The Greek word for choked is apopnigō (ah-pope-in-ee-go) which means to choke, drown, or suffocate. In other words it means to die. This is not a stunted growth. This is a killing of the plant. It is a plant that never bears fruit. It may have lasted a little longer than the seed among the rocky soil, but it still never bloomed. Whereas the rocky soil did not grow because of trials and adversity, the crowded soil does not grow and mature because of pleasures. It is clear that these are not true believers.
Unfortunately, I have heard many preachers describe this group as carnal Christians - which is an oxymoron of sorts. One cannot be carnal and yet Christian when looking at the Bible. We obviously continue to sin as believers, but we should be fighting against sin and repenting regularly if we are children of God.
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
As believers who are born again and filled with the Holy Spirit, we are disciplined by our Heavenly Father when we sin and drawn and driven to repentance (Hebrews 12:7-11). He continues to sanctify us and make us more like Jesus.
We are told that this seed does not produce a plant that brings forth fruit in Luke 8:14.
Let’s take a look at an important Scripture that tells us what happens to those who do not bear fruit - namely those who are not true believers:
John 15:2,6 (ESV)
(2) Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit… (6) If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Here we see that some take a little longer to bear fruit. Jesus prunes them and they eventually begin to grow fruit. But the first half of verse 2 and verse 6 also mentions those who bear no fruit - they are thrown into the fire and burned - in essence they are cast into Hell.
True believers abide in Christ. They find their strength and nourishment from Him. They are adopted as sons and daughters.
It can be very difficult to discern those who are slow growing Christians, and those who are not true believers. Even John had people that looked legit and played the part, but it became obvious later that they were not actual believers - see 1 John 2:19:
They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.
Here again we see that true believers persevere. If they were true believers, they would have continued in the faith. Since they were not, they did not.
Some understand this group as people who were saved and then are no longer saved. They may say that they backslid and lost their salvation. Yet the Scripture clearly teaches against such an understanding. We have quoted many of these Scriptures in the past, but I have included many in your handout for your own personal study. Know and understand that the Bible clearly teaches that true believers persevere. Those who are truly saved are never lost to Christ.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
… among many others.
There are many more verses regarding this truth as well. But it is clear that those who are truly saved persevere until the end.
Sadly, the soil described by Jesus in this third group - the crowded soil as Warren Wiersbe so calls it - has the same outcome as the second. Whereas the trials of life prevented fruit and growth of the seed in the rocky soil, the seed in the crowded soil represents one who does not truly repent and weed out the things that hinder the harvest. There is no fruit produced in either of these plants and thus they are thrown into the fire as we saw above in John 15:6. They are not true abiding branches in Christ.
And finally we see…
Scripture References: 1 Timothy 6:10, 1 John 3:9, Hebrews 12:7-11
Verses on Perseverance of the Saints: John 10:28, 1 John 2:19, Philippians 1:6, Romans 11:29, 1 Corinthians 1:8, Romans 11:29, Ephesians 1:4-5, 13-14; John 8:31, 1 Peter 1:5, Ephesians 4:30, Jude 1:24, 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, 2 Timothy 4:18, John 6:39, Romans 8:37-38, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 6:37, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5
4) The Seed in the Good Soil (8a,15)
4) The Seed in the Good Soil (8a,15)
Luke 8:8a (ESV)
And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.”
As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Lastly, we are introduced to the seed in the good soil. This seed grows and yields fruit a hundredfold. Matthew in his parallel account (Matthew 13:8) lets us know that some seed produces 100 fold, 60 fold and 30 fold. We see here that some believers may produce more fruit than others, but all believers produce some fruit. Jesus goes on in verse 15 to state that this is those who have heard the word, held fast to it with an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience - those are the ones who are truly saved.
As we have already mentioned in John 15:5, Jesus taught that those who abide in Him will bear good fruit.
The translation of the final word of verse 15 is not the best word for this. The NKJV, KJV, and ESV all translate hypomonē (who-pon-mo-nay) as patience. This is one of the correct translations for this word. However, in context, the NASB is probably more correct by translating it as perseverance. This word can also mean steadfastness. In its context we see the perseverance of the saints overtly discussed. Those who are true believers in Christ persevere until the end all the while producing fruit along the way.
Scripture References: Matthew 13:8, John 15:5
Conclusion:
Brothers and sisters, we have had a whirlwind of teaching from Jesus in this parable. There is much more than meets the eye at first glance.
We have seen the four soils - the hardened and packed soil along the path, the rocky soil, the crowded soil with thorns and weeds, and the good soil.
As we come to a close, I pray that you truly evaluate yourself as I ask this difficult question.
Which soil are you?
Which of these soils most looks like your life. All of you have now heard the word of God preached. We started off the message with the Gospel message of salvation through Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins. How have you responded to that? Have you responded with a hardened heart? Have you responded with a temporary joy and went back to your old life? Have you allowed the Gospel to be crowded out of your life and not produced any fruit in keepig with repentance? Or are you bearing good fruit for Christ?
This is not a works-based message. We do not work for salvation. Jesus paid it all. But if we are saved, He should be working in and through us to produce much fruit.
I pray that if you need to fully give your life to Christ today in repentance today - to be truly saved - that you do so right now. He will cultivate the soil of your heart and ready it for the seed to grow and produce fruit. Only humble yourself before Him, repent, which means to turn away, from your sins. Ask Christ to cultivate the soil of your heart and to grow the Word in it.
Our God is faithful to save.
Prayer