Luke 8:4-15

Summary: Whenever the crowds gathered in Jesus’ ministry, he was always keenly aware that the number of genuinely committed followers was always smaller than the crowd itself. His parable about the sower and the soils helps the disciples understand why people responded to him the way they did. Some responded to his word in disinterest or rejection (like the path), others with initial enthusiasm but no longer-term commitment (like the rocky and weedy soil), and others by ‘holding it fast in an honest and good heart, and bearing fruit with patient endurance.’ (v.15) Jesus’ parable not only explains why people respond to God’s word the way we do, it also points to our tremendous dependence upon His Spirit to make fertile soil of our hearts, and the hearts of those with whom we share God’s word.