The parable of the soils, or the sower, is one of my favorite passages. It shows up in Matthew 13:2 – 23; Mark 4:3 – 20; and Luke 8:4 – 15. My reading project this year took me through the Luke version a few days ago.
As many times as I have read, studied, and shared this parable, I saw something that I had not seen before.
In both Mark and Luke’s account they record Jesus following the soil/sower with the lamp under a bushel parable, Mark 4:21 – 25 and Luke 8:16 – 18. There is a phrase in Luke that is repeated in both parables. Look at the middle of Luke 8:12 and the end of Luke 8:18.
In verse 12, the devil takes away the word because the ground is hard. In verse 18, the one who hides light has what he thinks he has taken away. The repetition of that idea of the word and what one has taken away is not accidental. Not accidental, that is, if we hold to what the Bible says about the Spirit inspiring every Scripture.
That association seems to indicate that hiding what we know has the same effect as the Word of God falling on hardened ground.
When I consider this, it is congruent with Christ’s commission to us is it not? We are to both share all that we know of Him with others, Matthew 18:18 – 20, and we are to be about seeking His kingdom first, Matthew 6:33.
I missed that connection here.
I was too focused on one part of the passage and missed the connection in the context. It reminds me that I need to continually look at the passages surrounding those I am studying or sharing with others.
As many times as I have read, studied, and shared this parable, I saw something that I had not seen before.
In both Mark and Luke’s account they record Jesus following the soil/sower with the lamp under a bushel parable, Mark 4:21 – 25 and Luke 8:16 – 18. There is a phrase in Luke that is repeated in both parables. Look at the middle of Luke 8:12 and the end of Luke 8:18.
- Luke 8:12 – “takes away the word from their heart”
- Luke 8:18 – “even what he 1thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”
In verse 12, the devil takes away the word because the ground is hard. In verse 18, the one who hides light has what he thinks he has taken away. The repetition of that idea of the word and what one has taken away is not accidental. Not accidental, that is, if we hold to what the Bible says about the Spirit inspiring every Scripture.
That association seems to indicate that hiding what we know has the same effect as the Word of God falling on hardened ground.
When I consider this, it is congruent with Christ’s commission to us is it not? We are to both share all that we know of Him with others, Matthew 18:18 – 20, and we are to be about seeking His kingdom first, Matthew 6:33.
I missed that connection here.
I was too focused on one part of the passage and missed the connection in the context. It reminds me that I need to continually look at the passages surrounding those I am studying or sharing with others.
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