Today’s episode was prompted by a question from a listener. Stephen actually asked three interrelated questions. The first was, “In Luke 8:12, Jesus describes a type of person who hears the Word and then the devil snatches it away so that they do not believe and are not saved. The implication seems to be that if the devil did not snatch it away, the person would believe and be saved. How do we make sense of this category of person given total depravity?”
Question number two was, “An extension of this question would be: why does the devil need to do any work to prevent a person from believing, if the human heart is already predisposed against the truth?”
And question number three was, “If this category of person is part of the elect, why does God allow the devil to prevent their salvation?”
I will certainly answer all of these questions, but to do so biblically and give them proper attention, I will take the long way around. That is, I will first provide an explanation of Jesus’s character and what a parable is. Then, I will exposit the text, explain what it means, and apply the Lord’s instructions. In walking you through said process, I will not only explain why I arrived at my conclusions but also detail how I came to said conclusions. Stephen asks his questions based on Christ’s words in Luke 8. There, in verses four through fifteen, Jesus is teaching in a parable. So, let’s first read the text. Luke 8:1-15 says:
Soon afterward, Jesus began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.
Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable:
“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant. And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that while seeing they may not see, and while hearing they may not understand.
“Now this is the parable: the seed is the word of God. And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they fall away. And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with perseverance. (Luke 8:1-15)
Jesus, The Greatest Teacher of All Time
The parable of Luke 8 was taught by the Lord Jesus Himself. And who is Jesus? Well, He was the greatest Teacher that ever walked the face of the earth. So much so that two thousand years ago, people would gather from far and wide to hear Him teach. Christ’s teaching style was so extraordinary that His contemporaries commented, “No man has ever taught the way He does.” Of course, they were right because no other Teacher was God in the flesh; no other Teacher was the truth incarnate. Even Christ’s enemies could not help but acknowledge His exemplary teaching; they said He spoke as one with authority. The word authority in Greek is exousia. The prefix ex- means from or out of. (Now you know where the English word exit comes from). Ousia means “being, essence, or substance.” Put more simply, ousia refers to the “stuff” that makes you who you are. Hence, ex-ousia means “out of one’s being, out of one’s essence, or out of one’s substance.” Thus, because Jesus is God, when He spoke with authority or exousia, He was speaking out of His divinity. It’s no wonder, then, that His teaching had such a profound impact because the God-Man was speaking with the full weight of His glory. This also explains why all of Christ’s teaching was effectual: He didn’t just relay information, but His divine power opened the window of the minds of men so that they understood (c.f. Luke 24:45). As Thomas Watson writes in Body of Divinity:
“Christ teaches the heart (Acts 16:14). Others may teach the ear or stimulate the mind, but Christ teaches, touches and transforms the heart. He teaches us to see into our own hearts. He teaches us to see the vanity of the creature. He teaches us to see the futility of living for right now and worshipping the golden calf. He teaches us the excellency of things unseen. Christ gives the soul a sight of glory, a prospect of eternity.
Other teachers work knowledge, Christ works grace. Other teachers can only teach what they believe; Christ teaches how to believe. As a result, when Christ teaches, He makes us to obey. Hence, He not only illuminates but animates. Just as the middle lamp in the sanctuary gave light to all others, so Christ diffuses His glorious light to all others. Others may instruct but cannot command obedience; they teach to be humble but men remain proud. Other prophets (e.g., Jeremiah 44:17) pronounced judgments against the people, but they did not listen. Christ informs the judgment, transforms the mind and then commands the will. He teaches those who are dead how to live (Lazarus)!
His grace is irresistible. Christ also teaches easily (with the lightest touch He can convert) and makes men willing to learn. And, the best news of all is that there is no pupil so “dumb” that Christ cannot teach them. In fact, the more simplistic the student, the greater of His skill is demonstrated. He opens the eyes of the blind, opens the ears of the deaf and opens the mouths of the mute (Isaiah 35:5).”
There are some who may object and say, “But I’ve never heard Jesus teach in person.” That is no obstacle for God. For even right now, Jesus’s teaching ministry continues. In the present, He continues to teach externally by His Word (Psalm 119:105) and internally by the Spirit applying His teaching to the hearts of the elect. (By the elect, I am referring to those God elected or chose for salvation. See John 15:16; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-5; II Thessalonians 2:13). Those who are not born again have not received the gift of the internal application of His Word; instead, to them, Jesus is just a great teacher and the content of His instruction—at best—are regarded merely as good lessons to follow (John 16:13, I Corinthians 2:14).
It is also important to note that in His public ministry, Jesus taught new things. He gave people a fresh, never-before-heard-of explanation of the kingdom of God. Certainly, in antiquity, other teachers told stories to make things clearer, but they were making clear things that were already known. Jesus, on the other hand, used His teachings—specifically parables—to reveal novel phenomena. Accordingly, Jesus is the final and full revelation from God. And so, after Him, nothing new was revealed. Instead, the apostles merely explained and expounded upon what Christ had taught. This helps to explain why parables are absent from the rest of the New Testament.
What is a parable?
Jesus was the greatest Teacher of all time because of His divinity. Not only this, Christ was also a master of pedagogue. And, said Master frequently taught by means of a parable. So, what is a parable? The English word parable comes from the Greek parabola. Para means “to go alongside with.” Hence, in English, we derive the words parachute, paralegal, and paraministry. Bola means to throw. Thus, the literal meaning of the Greek root of parable is “to throw alongside.” Consequently, when Jesus used a parable, He was “throwing” and illustrating “alongside” His teachings so that people would understand. Jesus made things simple by telling stories so that His message would be clear and, therefore, heighten comprehension.
It’s important to note that Jesus would often end His parables by saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This is exactly what the Lord said in Luke 8:8 after telling a parable but before explaining its meaning to His disciples. What did Christ mean by this expression? What He meant is that those who really heard the truth of what He was saying also embraced and then lived that truth. Because what they heard penetrated their hearts, God’s truth became manifest in how they thought and, therefore, how they lived. In fact, the Greek verb for obedience (hupakouó) is composed of two words: “under” and “hearing.” Hupakouó literally means “under hearing” or acting under the authority of the one who is speaking. You see, there is a superficial type of hearing that anyone with ears can demonstrate. But, as the saying goes, words can go in one ear and out the other. Some people hear but neither listen nor obey. True obedience results from “super-hearing” because the truth of what has been heard is implanted into the deep recesses of their being. The point is that when Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” there is a dual meaning. On the one hand, for those who don’t want to embrace God’s Word, a parable serves as a means of concealment so that the kingdom of God becomes more mysterious to those who stubbornly reject divine revelation. As Jesus says to His disciples in Luke 8:10:
To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that while seeing they may not see, and while hearing they may not understand.
(To build upon the idea of seeing while not seeing, I will direct your attention to John 9, where Jesus heals a blind man. In that narrative, the blind man is the one who sees, and the sighted Pharisees are the ones who are blind.)
You may be familiar with the phrase “hardening of the heart.” The same principle here applies to a hardening of the ears. That is, as a form of judgment, God makes truths about His kingdom more enigmatic to those who already don’t want to listen. That’s the bad news. The good news, on the other hand, is that for those who delight in God’s Word, a parable serves as a means of revelation so that the kingdom of God becomes clearer to those who cheerfully desire to serve their King.
Exposition of Luke 8:4-15
Allow me now to exposit Luke 8:4-15. The story itself is very simple. You have a sower, one who plants seeds. The sower scatters seeds on the ground, and the parable tells us there are four distinct outcomes for the seeds depending on where they land: beside the road, on rocky soil, amongst the thorns, or on good soil. The seed is the Word of God, and the different types of soil represent the heart condition of those who hear: either they have the Word snatched from them and fall into unbelief; they respond positively momentarily but then wither away because of a lack of roots; they hold on to idols in their heart, and thus the seed proves unfruitful; or they firmly hold on to the truth and are guaranteed to be fruitful: it’s only a question of how much. It’s important to note that in this parable, God is telling us there are only four possible responses to hearing the Word of God. Only one out of four is positive in the long run.
If the seed is the Word, then this is not just a story about farming. Jesus used an example from agriculture that His original audience could relate to. This touches back on the point that the Lord was “throwing” a relatable story to help His listeners comprehend “alongside” divine truth. Accordingly, to properly understand this parable, one must appreciate that two thousand years ago, seed was not sown in the fields the way it is now. Back then, the sower did not plow the field first. Rather, when it came time for planting, he slung a sack of seeds over his shoulder filled with the seed he was going to plant. So, as he went through the field sowing, small wind currents would carry the seed where it would. As R. C. Sproul once said:
“Sometimes the seed would fall in the middle of the field, sometimes on the edge and sometimes on parts of the field where there were hidden outcroppings of limestone. A seed that fell near thorns was planted next to something else which had already taken root. Seed that feel near rock could not penetrate deep enough to germinate. But this is the crucial point: wherever the wind carried the seed, that’s where it landed. When the sower was done sowing, that’s when he would plow the seed into the ground.”
It is also important to note that in antiquity, any farmer—this includes sowers—would recognize that seed-sowing was seasonal and thus was repeated over and over again. All farmers would also understand that every time they sowed, there would always be a different pattern of where the seed fell.
Questions Answered
I hope you now have a clear understanding of the parable of the sower. We can now proceed to answer Stephen’s questions. His first question was, “In Luke 8:12, Jesus describes a type of person who hears the Word and then the devil snatches it away so that they do not believe and are not saved. The implication seems to be that if the devil did not snatch it away, the person would believe and be saved. How do we make sense of this category of person given total depravity?”
I will speak about total depravity in my response to Stephen’s second question. First, let’s re-read Luke 8:12, where Jesus says:
And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.
Stephen asserts that Jesus seems to be implying that if the devil did not snatch the Word away, this person would believe and be saved. While this interpretation is possible, it is not demanded by the text. How do we know that? Because in this parable, God has already told us that whenever the Word is delivered, there are four possible responses: it’s not either the devil snatches it away, and you fall into unbelief, or you believe and are saved. How do we know that the person who is the victim of “Word-theft” doesn’t have many idols in their heart that will figuratively choke out the Word without Lucifer’s meddling? We don’t. I also do not believe that Jesus refers to a once-and-for-all event when He speaks of the sower spreading seeds. As mentioned, the original listening audience would have understood that a farmer would continue to sow seeds throughout the seasons, and different seeds would land in different places every time. My point is that even if a person were to have their Word snatched away right now, this does preclude them from responding positively to the Word at a later date. The endless testimonies of Christians who heard the Word in their former life yet never responded to it, only to be converted after hearing the Word at some later time, make sense of this interpretation. The apostle Paul is a classic biblical example of one who formerly rejected God’s truth and then embraced it.
Furthermore, it’s crucial for Stephen to realize that God doesn’t tell us this parable to explain how someone’s salvation is prevented. As with anything else in the Bible, we always have to discern the author’s intent to arrive at the proper conclusions. If we ask a question that the author is not answering or are confused about what the writer is trying to say, we can often arrive at unbiblical conclusions because we fill in the blanks with our own reasonings. Accordingly, if we are to derive lessons about salvation from this parable, it would be that God is sovereign in salvation and, therefore, the devil is not. (Notably, Stephen didn’t imply that Satan can choose who doesn’t get saved, but this line of thought is worth exploring.) How do we know that? It’s no mistake that Jesus told a story where those listening would have understood that the wind carried seeds to different locations and that the growth of the seeds depended on the soil in which they landed. Who is in charge of the weather? God is because God is sovereign. Who is in charge of the soil in which a seed lands? God is because God is sovereign. In fact, in His holy omniscience, God is the one who sovereignly permits the devil to snatch some seeds away. Why? Because God is sovereign. Jesus gives us a concrete example of this in the person with “hard ears,” for whom hearing the Word leads to unbelief and doubt.
The good soil is good because the Holy Spirit is the agent who prepares the soil beforehand and makes it suitable to receive the seed. As Jesus says in John 6:29:
This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.
Without God working on a person first, they would merely continue in their unbelief. In fact, this is why many theologians call this the parable of the soil as opposed to the parable of the sower. Accordingly, the devil does not have the ultimate determination of whether a person is saved or not. The Bible testifies to that fact repeatedly in its continual emphasis on the sovereignty of God: for examples, see Romans 8:29-30, 9:6-29; and Ephesians 1:3-14. And, just as the wind carried different seeds onto the good soil, the Holy Spirit acts operatively to make people born again: this simply means who gets saved gets saved because of the Lord’s sovereign choice. Again, because God is sovereign, Satan plays no determinant role. This is what Jesus says in John 3:3-8:
Jesus responded and said to [Nicodemus], “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.
There is a core idea in Bible interpretation called the analogy of faith. That’s a fancy way of saying that Scripture interprets Scripture. The principle is stated in the Westminster Confession (1.9) as follows:
“The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself: and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any Scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it must be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.
There must be a consistency in all revealed truth because it represents absolute truth in the mind of God. Therefore each passage can have only one certain and simple sense. As the infallibly inspired word of God, the Scriptures are reliable, self-consistent and carry within them all that is needed for clarity. Since all that God makes known fits with what He knows perfectly, it is always proper to assume that no contradictions or dual realities can be attached to what He speaks.”
Truly, God’s revelation to His people is the entire canon of Scripture, not just the parable of the sower. Consequently, the analogy of faith makes it plain to us that the devil cannot finally and ultimately prevent anyone’s salvation. If you are one of God’s elect, no one and nothing can ever snatch you out of your Heavenly Father’s hand. Indeed, Satan may try his best to frustrate God’s plan and God’s people, but as Martin Luther once said, even the devil is God’s devil. The point is that when you test the theory that Lucifer can successfully preclude one’s eternal destiny, that hypothesis is proven demonstrably false by the rest of Scripture.
Stephen’s second question is, “Why does the devil need to do any work to prevent a person from believing, if the human heart is already predisposed against the truth?”
Stephen referred to total depravity in his first question, and total depravity explains why people are predisposed to rebel against God’s truth without Satan’s assistance. So, what is total depravity? According to Theopedia:
“The doctrine understands the Bible to teach that, as a consequence of the Fall of man, every person born into the world is morally corrupt, enslaved to sin, and is, apart from the grace of God, utterly unable to choose to follow God or choose to turn to Christ in faith for salvation.”
For Scripture references, see Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 2:1-3; I Corinthians 2:14; Psalm 51:5; John 6:44; and Romans 3:23).
So, to answer Stephen’s question, the simple point is that because total depravity is true, the devil doesn’t need to do any work to prevent a person from believing. As a result of our fallen nature, we are predisposed toward unbelief as a function of who we are. This is why it takes an act of God to transform our innate, hardened, seed-resistant soil into the “good soil.” Yet, as a function of who the devil is, he continues to labor to try and prevent everyone from believing. Why? Because he is a murderer and a liar. He hates God, hates God’s children, and hates the church. Hate is what drives his endeavors, even if he knows fully well that his works can’t overrule God’s plan. The devil is the smartest creature ever made. So why would he continue trying to frustrate plans that can’t be frustrated? Because his mind is depraved and riddled with sin. Even the devil knows he can’t ever ultimately and finally prevent any of God’s elect from bearing fruit after hearing divine truth. He knows this beyond a shadow of a doubt, which fuels his malevolent rage all the more.
Beloved, let us never forget that the devil is also fully aware of our depraved hearts. Thus, out of malice, he pours gasoline on the fire of rebellion that already burns in our souls. Unbelief is a sin, and sinners don’t require the devil to fuel their unbelief. But Satan enjoys encouraging people in their distrust of God.
Stephen’s third and final question is, “If this category of person is part of the elect, why does God allow the devil to prevent their salvation?”
Based on what we have discussed so far, I think I have already answered this question. To reiterate, the devil cannot finally and ultimately prevent the salvation of any member of the elect. If you are counted among God’s chosen, nothing can prevent, pollute, or reverse your salvation because it is guaranteed by God Himself (c.f. John 6:37, 44). When it comes to any individual’s response to hearing the Word, what the devil is permitted to do from time to time is prevent that Word from bearing fruit.
Conclusion
So, in conclusion, we tackled three questions in this episode. We also derived several conclusions from the Scriptures which all flow from the doctrine of the sovereignty of God.
Now, how can we apply the parable of the sower in our lives? If Jesus intended this parable to open our eyes and reveal the kingdom to us, how does this change how we think and how we live? Well, when you read the parable, it is important to recognize that God was explaining it to His disciples for a reason. After all, if an unregenerate person heard this parable, they would carry on with whatever they were doing without a second thought. Yet, for those who take God’s instructions seriously, we must ask ourselves a question: Are we in a state of grace or not? Are we bearing fruit? Is there evidence of the good seed planted within our souls? Luke 8:4-15 is an earnest call for self-examination as the apostle Paul told people to “work out their own salvation” with “fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). The point, beloved, is that we need to search our hearts to make our calling and election sure. That surety is evidenced by fruit, which are the products of faith.
Today’s post was prompted by a question from a listener, so I invite all those reading this to submit your Bible questions to info@wcsk.org. You never know: your question may be the subject of the next blog post. The one thing I would ask you to be mindful of is to ask a direct and specific question that requires an earnest examination of and exposition of the Scriptures. Many people write to WCSK and ask general questions that don’t require exposition at all; they simply require a concordance or a good Bible-searching tool. Thus, I would direct everyone’s attention to OpenBible, where you search to see what the Bible has to say about certain topics. For example, if you want to know what the Bible says about the Sabbath, the second coming, or God’s sovereignty, just type the term in the search box, and it will give you a host of Scriptures relevant to your search. Hope that helps.
Dr. C. H. E. Sadaphal