Luke
8:1-18
The mission of the Messiah, 1:5-9:50
5. The words of Messiah, 8:1-56
i] Sowing the seed
SynopsisIn the passage before us, Luke records the parable of the sower, more rightly called the parable of the soils. Luke also records Jesus' explanation of the parable and three independent sayings which reinforce its message.
Teaching
In the messianic age of the kingdom, members must hear God's Word with faith, holding it fast, persevering with it. So, be good soils - take care how you hear the Word of God. It is all too easy to approach the Word of God distracted, or worse, uninterested.
Issues
i] Context: See 1:5-25. Chapters 8 and 9 are often viewed as the conclusion of Jesus' Galilean mission (4:14-9:50), during which he travels around the countryside prior to his journey to Jerusalem. Jesus is certainly on the move, but Luke is really not into recording the life of Jesus the tourist. In the six episodes of this Lukan sandwich, The dawning of the kingdom in the words of Messiah, 8:1-56, Luke's focus is on the authoritative word of the messiah. As Ellis puts it, "the new creation, like the old, comes into being by a word. Jesus speaks to the wind, the demons, the dead - and they obey!" This powerful word carries with it the promise that "the kingdom will deliver men from death and evil and even restore to nature its intended order." Yet, to access the promised blessings of the kingdom it is necessary to hear in faith, for only by this means can a person enter the kingdom. For most, the response is fear and amazement leading to unbelief, but some discover that "faith is the response through which the benefits of the kingdom are given."
Taking central place in these six episodes is the parable of the sower / seeds / soils. Luke has told us that Jesus is proclaiming the important news of [the coming of] the kingdom of God. As a crowd gathers, he communicates a "parable" to them, ie., Luke relates this parable as an example of Jesus' preaching to those who are responding to the gospel. In the following episodes, Luke continues with the theme introduced in the parable of the sower / soils, namely "responsive hearing", Danker - "the importance of hearing the word of God aright", Marshall. This "responsive hearing", or as Luke puts it hearing and doing / putting into practice (just "doing" in Mk.) entails responding to the word of God in faith, so Marshall.
ii] Background: The parables of Jesus.
As C.H. Dodd in The Parables of the Kingdom says of parables, they are concrete pictures which express an abstraction. Teaching parables illustrate the abstraction, while kingdom parables encapsulate the abstraction, usually unexplained. So, it is possible to classify the parables used by Jesus into two main groups:
Teaching parables: These parables can be short pithy little illustrations, all the way up to extended allegories. Although rejected by some modern commentators (eg., Jeremias, reacting to a history of allegorical interpretations of the parable of the Sower, esp. the three levels of harvest = three orders of believers) Jesus does at times employ allegory. In this teaching form, various elements in the story are given meaning and together serve to teach a particular truth. Their interpretation must comply with the interpretation that Jesus supplies, and not be used as a platform for space-exploration!!
Kingdom parables - a gospel presentation in riddle form. Dodd makes the point that Jesus' kingdom parables proclaim the arrival of the kingdom of God; "Jesus is asserting that the time has come when the blessings of the reign of God are available to all men." Kingdom parables are a "picture of crises, bringing out the urgent necessity of immediate action." Jeremias in Parables also calls kingdom parables "crisis parables" The kingdom has burst in upon us and its affects are here and now, demanding of us an immediate response. Dodd's realized eschatology has a powerful ring of truth to it, although we must never forget that the kingdom is also inaugurated - both now and not yet. The kingdom is indeed now, although its authentic presence is diluted by powers of darkness which seek to confuse. Confuse they may, but the coming day of judgement will sort all things out. So, Kingdom parables are all about eschatological-expectation.
Luke, like Matthew, will sometimes introduce a kingdom parable with a formula saying, eg., "the kingdom of heaven is oJmoia, ("like", may be compared with the situation where ....)", "To what will I compare the kingdom of God? It is oJmoia ....." On other occasions, Luke leaves us to determine for ourselves whether we are dealing with a kingdom parable, or a teaching parable, and the intended sense is not always obvious. Kingdom parables may be complex in the telling, but usually make a single point - the kingdom of God is at hand, ie., they serve to proclaim the gospel. Of Jesus' parables, only a few kingdom parables function allegorically where one element in the story corresponds to another element in the interpretation of the story. None-the-less, kingdom parables are generally not allegories. Primarily, kingdom parables encapsulate the abstraction that the kingdom of God is at hand / upon us, which fact is described by the situation revealed in the parable.
iii] Structure: The parable of the sower / soils:
Summary of Jesus' ministry of proclamation, v1-3;
The parable of the soils, v4-8;
Jesus explains why he uses kingdom parables / riddles, v9-10;
Explanation of the parable of the soils, v11-15;
Sayings, v16-18:
Truth will out, v16-17:
"no one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar ....."
"there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed ......"
Take care how you hear, v18:
"to the one who has, more will be given, but ....."
iv] Interpretation:
In the Parable of the Sower / Seeds / Soils, Luke reminds us that although the kingdom of God breaks into our world through the preaching of the gospel, the preached word does not automatically guarantee membership. In fact, membership of the kingdom of God depends on a right-hearing of the word of God and a holding fast to it, a persevering in it. So, in v1-3 Luke records the preaching mission of Jesus and his disciples. Then, as those who respond to the gospel gather together, he relates the teaching parable of the sower / soils, v4-8. The message is simple enough: be good soils - take care how you hear the Word of God. What follows is an explanation as to why Jesus so often preaches the gospel in kingdom parables / riddles, v9-10. Given that the teaching parable of the sower / soils makes the point that hearing and doing / acting on God's word is vitally important, why then does Jesus preach the gospel in riddles? The answer relates to divine judgment upon a people dull of hearing - those who reject a clear word of grace can only expect riddles in return. Jesus follows up with an explanation of the parable itself, v11-15. Luke concludes this episode with a set of independent sayings of Jesus concerning the Word of God, and the necessity to "take heed how you hear", v16-18.
The Parable of the Four Soils: The intended teaching of the parable of the sower / soils is a matter of some debate:
• "That the preaching of the word of God will, with patience, produce a harvest of hearers", Evans, "an extravagant fruitfulness", Nolland, so also Jeremias (a triumphant eschatological harvest), Fitzmyer, Bovon;
• "The parable is concerned with the way in which men hear the Word of God", Marshall, and "the variety of responses" to it, Bock, with a focus on "the quality of one's hearing", Green, so also Stein, Johnson. The parable of the sower unlocks the mystery of the coming kingdom. The word of God / the gospel is proclaimed; some see, but some remain blind to the message.;
• Given the space allocated to the first three soils, the parable concerns rejection and judgment of unbelief within the frame of remnant theology, so Ellis.
Luke nails the point he wants to draw from the parable by the inclusion of the sayings in v16-18 - what is hidden will be revealed, so take care how you hear. The parable asks the question of those who respond to the gospel, in which soil do you find imaged your own engagement with the renewal set off by Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God? For Luke, the parable calls for the right-hearing of the word of God / the gospel. "Take care how you hear", hold tightly to the word and persevere in it, ie., hear in faith. "Hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance", v15. So, the message of the parable is simple: Take care, be good soil, otherwise you will be left with riddles - seeing you will not see; hearing you will not hear.
As for the classification of the parable of the sower, it has all the hallmarks of a kingdom parable, a gospel riddle, but without the introductory formula, cf., v4, 8. When it comes to Jesus' explanation of the parable, he treats it as if a teaching parable, an illustrative allegory instructive of truth. The parable simply illustrates the different responses we can expect from people confronted by the gospel / "word of God." In that sense, we are prompted to be good soil - hear aright.
Why does Jesus sometimes preach in parabolic riddles? - the saying v10. When it comes to the preaching of the gospel, Jesus did initially proclaim the coming kingdom clearly - "the good news of the kingdom", 4:43. As rejection set in, Jesus' preaching became more parabolic. He still preached "the good news of the kingdom", but it was in the form of a gospel riddle, a marsal - kingdom parables. A people who fail to rightly hear a clear word from God will inevitably be given an unclear word, a riddle, a sign of judgment on a people who ignore divine revelation. Still, we should note that Luke emphasises the fact that the seeker, confronted by the riddle, can still come to Jesus and be "given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God" - God still reveals his mysteries to those who respect him, Ps.25:14, Prov.3:32.
As for the parable of the sower / soils, although it is a teaching parable (the gospel prompts a variety of responses - be good soil), and not a kingdom parable (the gospel - the kingdom of God is at hand - in the form of a riddle), it does, like kingdom parables, present as somewhat of a riddle. Yet, does Luke view it as a riddle - a sifting device separating the seeker from the self-righteous? Is the crowd left with agricultural advice, or theological advice?
Luke virtually turns v10 into a parenthetical comment - an observation about Jesus' preaching method in general, rather than a specific comment about the parable of the sower; he has the disciples ask "what", not "why"; he makes no mention of Jesus moving off to speak to the disciples privately, as noted in Mark; he drastically edits Jesus' reasoning down to one sentence; and he downplays the issue of the secretive nature of kingdom mysteries (singular in Mark = gospel??).
Yet, the parable ends with the enigmatic saying "He who has ears to hear, let him hear", as if drawing out the seeker with the warning that there is more to this story than meets the eye. It is the disciples who ask for the meaning of the parable, v9, and it is not unreasonable to assume that they are the recipients of Jesus' explanation. An argument from silence is a weak one, but if the parable is not a riddle, we would expect an introduction like: "The reception of the word of God / gospel / kingdom of God may be compared to the situation where a farmer sets out to sow his seed. ......." Maybe an introduction similar to this is assumed. Either way, sifting is evident in the presentation of the sower / soils, drawing out the seeker and confusing the self-righteous, such that Jesus' comment in v10 is contextually appropriate.
Take heed how you hear! The conjoined sayings in v16-18. Luke, as with Mark, adds three independent conjoined sayings to the parable of the sower / soils and its explanation which serve to reinforce the point being made by the parable. Luke uses the sayings elsewhere, 11:33, 12:2, and 19:26, which sayings seem to share their source with Matthew. The first saying, in the form of a proverb, "a piece of general wisdom", Evans, is exegeted by the second, both making the point that all will be manifested - truth will out. This is obviously so of God's revealed truth, the gospel. The third saying summarises and applies the whole teaching unit: take heed how you hear, or in the terms of the parable of the sower be good soil. "Hearing aright will lead to receiving more from God, but failure to hear will mean losing what one already has", Bock - an abundant harvest, or nothing.
v] Synoptics:
See 3:1-20. All three synoptic gospels record the parable of the sower / soils, Mk.4:1-20, Matt.13:1-23. Luke is sequentially closer to Mark, given that Matthew's arrangement of his received tradition is more thematic / theological. Unlike both Matthew and Mark, Luke uses the parable on it's own, rather than within a collection of parables. This serves to highlight its leading position in the concluding part of Jesus' Galilean ministry, 8:1-9:50. Text wise, Luke is closer to Mark and so the majority of commentators think that Luke used Mark as his source, changing Mark's account to emphasise his own didactic perspective, cf., Fitzmyer, .... Yet, although Luke may have been aware of Mark's gospel, his prime source was surely the extant oral tradition of the early church which was available to all the gospel authors at this time; see D Wenham, The Interpretation of the Parable of the Sower, NTS 20. The many unaccountable differences between Luke and Mark drives Marshall to accept that oral tradition is at play.
The three sayings, 8:16-18, are given similar treatment in Mark 4:21-25 and are set within a similar context. Luke uses these sayings elsewhere, Mk.11:33-36, 12:2, and 19:26. Matthew uses the saying "whoever has, to him will be given ...." within the context of his collection of parables, Matt.13:12. Matthew, in 5:15, also uses a similar saying to Luke 8:16-17, but with a different teaching intent. Luke does not use Mark's saying "with what measure ye mete it will be measured unto you", Mk.4:24, RV.
vi] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage may be found in the linked pew-level Sermon Notes.
Text - 8:1
The right-hearing of the word of God: i] "At this point, Luke briefly summarised Jesus' ministry of proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom and ministry of healing", Stein, v1-3. Luke tells us that Jesus is now fully involved in gospel ministry, going from village to village proclaiming the news that the day of God's eternal reign is at hand. Jesus' disciples are assisting him in this ministry, and Luke makes particular note of three female disciples.
kai egeneto "-" - and it happened. Transitional; see egeneto, 1:8.
en + dat. "after [this]" - in [the sequence]. Temporal use of the preposition + the articular adverb, expressing subsequent time / afterwards.
autoV "Jesus" - [and] he. Emphatic by position.
diwdeuen (diodeuw) imperf. "travelled" - was passing through. This imperfect verb functions as the main verb of a single sentence consisting of v1-3. The imperfect is probably being used to indicate background information, or to emphasise the durative nature of the action.
kata + acc. "from" - from [town and village]. This preposition here takes a distributive sense, cf., BAGD 406; "from village to village"; "city by city, village by village", Rieu.
khrusswn (khrussw) pres. part. "proclaiming" - preaching [and announcing important news]. As with the participle "announcing, proclaiming", this participle is modal expressing the manner in which the action of the main verb "was passing through" is accomplished. As is often the case, the verb euaggelizomai is translated as "to preach good news". The verb simply means "to communicate an important message", which of course, in the case of the gospel, is only "good news" to those who accept it.
tou qeou (oV) "[the kingdom] of God" - [the kingdom] of god. The genitive is adjectival, possessive, although verbal, subjective, is a possible classification where "kingdom" takes the verbal sense, "reign"; see tou qeou, 4:43. The phrase, "the kingdom of God" serves as the direct object of the participle "announcing". The gospel message concerns the kingdom of God "at hand", about to be realised / inaugurated. The "at hand" virtually means "upon you", ie., the moment is now for the establishment of God's promised eternal reign, a reign which brings with it both blessing and cursing. So, now is the time to repent.
sun + dat. "with" - [and the twelve were] with [him]. Expressing association.
v2
gunaikeV (gunh aikoV) "[some] women" - [and certain] women. The NIV takes this nominative phrase, along with "the twelve", as the combined subject of an assumed verb to-be. Luke makes a point of recording Jesus' ministry to women, a ministry which was radically different to that of the male orientated rabbis of the time.
h\san teqerapeumenai (qerapeuw) perf. pas. part. "had been cured" - [who] were having been healed. A periphrastic pluperfect construction, possibly emphasising durative aspect, they were healed / released and remained healthy; "had been cured of evil spirits and illnesses", Barclay.
apo + gen. "of" - from [evil spirits and diseases]. Expressing separation; "away from."
hJ kaloumenh (kalew) pres. pas. part. "called [Magdalene]" - [mary] the one being called [magdalene]. The participle is adjectival, attributive, limiting "Mary", "who was called Magdalene" = "Mary from /of Magdala". The "of Magdala" serves to identify her, given that there are a number of Marys referred to in the gospels. The location of the village of Magdala is unknown. Mary is given a prominent position in the gospel tradition and according to John, was the first person to meet with Jesus after his resurrection.
daimonia eJpta "seven demons" - [from whom] seven demons [had gone out]. The "seven" indicates "the severity of the possession", Fitzmyer.
v3
The extended nominal phrase "Mary, who ........, Joanna ......, Susanna, and many others" continues. It stands in apposition to "certain women", v2.
Iwanna "Joanna" - [and] joanna. The wife of the manager over the household of Herod Antipas. Obviously, she is a person of means, and so is able to financially support Jesus' missionary team.
Couza (aV a) gen. "of Chuza" - the [wife] of chuza. The genitive is adjectival, relational. He is unknown.
epitropou (oV) gen. "the manager" - the steward. Genitive standing in apposition to "Chuza", as NIV. The sense of "steward" is unclear, but it probably means that Chuza was the administrator of Herod's estate.
Hrwdou (oV) gen. "of Herod's household" - of herod. Obviously, as NIV, "Herod's household manager", ESV. The genitive is adjectival, idiomatic / of subordination; "the manager over Herod's household."
Sousanna "Susanna" - [and] susanna, [and many others]. The only reference of her in the NT, but obviously known to Luke.
autoiV dat. pro. "them" - [who were serving = providing for] them. Dative of direct object after the verb "to serve" / interest, advantage; "were providing for them." The verb "were serving = providing" is imperfect, possibly indicating ongoing / durative action; "they kept on supplying them with food and other necessities of life", Wuest. "Supporting them", HCSB.
ek + gen. "out of" - from. Expressing source / origin.
twn uJparcontwn (uJparcw) pres. part. "means" - the things being possessed [to them]. The participle serves as a substantive. The following dative pronoun autaiV, "to them", responds to the verbal origin of the participle "having at one's disposal = that which one possess to use as they see fit", so best classified as possessive, so Culy and Thompson. "Who used their private means to provide for the needs of Jesus and his comrades", Barclay.
v4
ii] The parable of the soils, v4-8. Take care, be good soil. Quite a few people have responded to Jesus' gospel preaching and have now joined together to hear more of what Jesus has to say. So, Jesus tells them a story. The story concerns a Palestinian farmer who, following the usual practice of the time, clears his allotment, tills the soil, sows the seed and awaits the harvest. Only the seed that falls on the good soil bears a fruitful harvest, the rest is lost, trampled on, dried out, or choked by weeds.
de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.
suniontoV (suneimu) gen. pres. part. "while [a large crowd] was gathering" - [a large crowd] gathering together, coming together. The genitive participle and its genitive subject "large crowd" forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal, as NIV. "One day, when a large crowd was gathering", Rieu.
kai "and" - and. Zerwick suggests that the conjunction here is epexegetic, further explaining the gathering that was taking place.
twn gen. "-" - the [ones according to city]. The article serves as a nominalizer, turning the prepositional phrase, "according to city", into a substantive, "people according to city" = "town after town", Moffatt, as NIV, ie., the preposition kata is distributive, as in v1. "A big crowd was gathering and people were coming out to him, as they did from every town", Rieu.
epiporeuomenwn (epiporeuomai) gen. pres. part. "were coming" - going to, making a way to, journeying to [toward him]. The genitive participle and its genitive subject, "the one's according to city", forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal. The gathering is the consequence of Jesus mission recorded in v1. Jesus has preached the gospel, town after town, and now those who have responded have come out to a central place (unidentified) for further instruction.
dia + gen. "-" - [he spoke] through / by means of [a parable]. Instrumental, expressing means; "by way of a parable." Luke changes Mark's "he was teaching them many things with / in parables" to indicate that only one parable is in mind, namely the sower. The sower may be a representative example, "he spoke such a parable as this to them", Fitzmyer, or the particular parable for this particular occasion. "Luke concentrated his readers' attention on this particular parable and the need to pay attention to how they heard Jesus' teachings", Stein. "he addressed them in a parable", Moffatt.
v5
oJ speirwn (speirw) pres. part. "a farmer" - the one sowing. The participle serves as a substantive. Jesus is not suggesting that he is the one necessarily sowing - the word of God is sown by whoever, even by God.
tou speirai (speirw) gen. aor. inf. "to sow" - [went out] to sow [the seed of him]. The genitive articular infinitive forms a purpose clause, "in order to sow." Note the literary device of alliteration; oJ speirwn tou speirai ton sporon - "A sower goes out to sow the seed."
en tw/ speirein (speirw) dat. pres. inf. "as he was scattering" - [and] in the sowing. This preposition with the dative articular infinitive forms a temporal clause, as NIV; "Now while he was engaged in the task of sowing", Cassirer.
o} men "some" - some. The usual men ....... de used for an adversative comparative construction is reflected in this series of contrasting clauses introduced by o} men "some" ...., v5, kai e{teron "some [fell on rock]", v6, ..... kai e{teron "other [seed fell among thorns]", v7, ..... kai e{teron "still other [seed fell on good soil]", v8.
para + acc. "along [the path]" - [fell] beside [the way]. Spatial. Obviously of seed sown on a pathway where it is trampled and exposed. The normal Palestinian practice was to clear a fallow block, sow the seed and then plough. The exposed seed falls in an unploughed area.
tou ouranou (oV) "[the birds ate it up]" - [and it was trampled on and the birds] of heaven [devoured it]. The genitive is ablative, expressing source / origin; "wild birds devour it."
v6
epi + acc. "on" - [and others fell down] upon. Spatial; "upon".
thn petran "rock / rocky ground" - the rock. Mark's "rocky places" implies shallow soil. Luke may be expressing the same idea. As he explains with dia, "because", the land is devoid of moisture - a thin layer of soil on a rock base.
fuen (fuw) aor. pas. part. "when it came up" - [and] having grown, come up. The participle is adverbial, temporal, as NIV.
dia to + inf. "because it did [not] have" - [it dried up, withered] because [not to have moisture]. This construction serves to introduce a causal clause, as NIV.
v7
en + dat. "among" - [and others fell] in. Local, expressing space / place.
twn akanqwn (a) gen. "thorns" - [the middle] of thorns. The genitive is adjectival, partitive.
sumfueisai (sumfuw) aor. pas. part. "which grew up" - [and] having grown up with the thorns, [the thorns chocked it]. The participle is adverbial, probably temporal; "as / when the thorn bushes grew up, they choked the sprouting seed."
v8
thn ghn thn agaqhn "the good soil" - [and the others fell into] the good soil. Accusative direct object of the verb "to fall." The articles are generic, cf., Canon of Apollonius, "fell on / into good soil." The good soil is the soil that receives the seed and in which it flourishes. So, the point of the parable is, be good soil! = Don't be a person who ignores the gospel or, having responded to the gospel, then loses interest, or allows the cares of the world to choke their faith, but rather persevere in faith.
fuen (fuw) aor. pas. part. "[it] came up" - [and] having grown up [it produced fruit]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "it made / produced"; "grew and yielded", ESV. Both Culy and Thompson classify it as adverbial, temporal,
ekatontaplasiona acc. adj. "a hundred times more than was sown" - hundredfold. Although somewhat awkward, best viewed as an attributive adjective limiting "fruit, crop", but the clause may well be elliptical; "When it came up it brought forth fruit, and the yield was a hundredfold", Cassirer. The hundredfold is not so substantial that it demands an eschatological interpretation, but does indicate the fertility of the ground. Luke may have dropped the thirty / sixty of Matthew and Mark for the sake of brevity, but the fertility of the good ground is central to the point he is making in this passage.
legwn (legw) pres. part. "when he said [this]" - saying [these things he was calling out]. The participle is adverbial, probably temporal, as NIV. The imperfect verb "was calling out" is possibly inceptive; "he began to speak out in a loud voice."
oJ ecwn (ecw) pres. part. "he who has [ears]" - the one having. The participle serves as a substantive.
akouein (akouw) pres. inf. "to hear" - [ears] to hear. The infinitive is usually treated here as adverbial, final, expressing purpose, "to hear", as NIV, "in order to hear", but possibly epexegetic, "ears that hear."
akouetw (akouw) pres. imp. "let him hear" - let hear. This command emphasises the need to take careful note of the teaching encapsulated in the parable and to respond accordingly. "Are you listening to this? Really listening?", Peterson.
v9
iii] Jesus explains why he tends to preach in parables / riddles, v9-10. Luke records a general comment on Jesus' use of parables, in particular, those in the form of a riddle. In the early part of Jesus' ministry, the evidence is that he spoke openly of the coming kingdom, but as the response to his preaching hardened, he began to speak in riddles as a sign of judgment upon a people with dull hearing. This is particularly evident in Jesus' gospel preaching. Parables about mustard seeds growing into trees, serve only to announce the realisation / inauguration of the kingdom for those with ears to hear.
The sense of the disciples' question (v9) in Mark is unclear. In Matthew, the disciples ask Jesus why he speaks in parables, presumably kingdom parables, but here in Luke the disciples ask tivV, "what", tivV auth eih hJ parabolh, "what this parable is = means?" - presumably the parable of the sower / soils. So, in Luke we are best to take v10 as a parenthetical comment where Jesus explains why he so often speaks in riddles. Then, in v11, Jesus goes on to answer the disciples' question, explaining what the parable of the sower / seeds / soils means.
de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative.
ephrwtwn (ephrwtaw) imperf. "asked" - [the disciples of him] were asking [him]. The use of a durative imperfect is rather unexpected here. Culy suggests that its use indicates that Luke intends us to read v9-10 as background information.
tivV "what" - what. Interrogative pronoun used with the optative verb to-be to introduce an indirect question
ei[h (eimi) opt. "meant" - [this parable] might be = means? The optative is used to express a wish. The meaning of the parable is surely the intention of the question.
v10
It is unclear whether the disciples ask for the meaning of the parable for themselves, or on behalf of the crowd. In Mark's account it would be the first option, but Luke may well be opting for the wider audience. Note Luke's generalised toiV ... loipoiV "to others / the ones remaining", as compared with Mark's "to those who are outside". So, Luke's perspective is that the truth of Jesus' riddles is not hidden from those who seek to solve it, although it does require right hearing, a holding fast / faith. "To / for the others / the rest", God's revelation remains a riddle and thus their life is devoid of eternal hope. So, the mystery of the coming kingdom, in and through Jesus, is "given to you" who seek it, but for the rest, they are left with parables / riddles as a sign of judgment, that seeing, they may not see.
gnwnai (ginwskw) aor. inf. "the knowledge" - [and he said] to know. The infinitive serves as the subject of the verb dedotai, "has been granted." You ... have received the privilege of knowing the secrets of the kingdom of God", Barclay.
ta musthria (on) "the secrets" - the mysteries. The accusative direct object of the infinitive "to know." A "mystery" is a divine truth, once hidden, now revealed.
thV basileiaV (a) "of the kingdom" - of the kingdom [of god]. The genitive is adverbial, expressing reference / respect; "the hidden truths concerning the kingdom of God". For the genitive "of God", see tou qeou, 4:43.
uJmin "to you" - [has been given, granted] to you. Dative of indirect object. Is that "to you disciples" or the wider "to you seekers in the crowd"? See above,
toiV loipoiV dat. adj. "to others I speak" - [but/and] to / for the others, rest, the ones remaining [i speak]. Following the NIV, the adjective serves as a substantive, dative of indirect object of the assumed verb "I speak." This ellipsis here is handled in numerous ways, usually reflecting whether the following hina clause is taken either as expressing purpose, or result. Given the statement that "knowledge (dedontai perf. pas.) has been given (theological passive??) to you", it is possible that "parables have been given to others." Yet, the point does seem obvious enough; those who don't seek answers to riddles are just left with riddles. "The mysteries of the kingdom of God have been revealed to seekers, but the rest are left with riddles." "While the rest have to be spoken to by way of parables", Cassirer.
en + dat. "in [parables]" - in = by [parables]. Here instrumental, expressing means, "with / by parables"; "by way of parables", Cassirer - "like a riddle", Jeremias.
iJna + subj. "so that" - that. This construction usually forms a purpose clause, but sometimes it is used for a consecutive clause expressing result. Commentators are divided: eg., a final clause = Fitzmyer, Bock, Evans; consecutive clause = Danker, Stein, Moule (cf. Matt.13:13, oJti, "because"). The construction may well be recitative, introducing a dependent statement, direct quote, "so that the Scripture is fulfilled which says that .....", Marshall, Nolland. Whatever the syntax, the clause, alluding to Isaiah 6:9-10, refers to the last days when many will be left with riddles instead of truth. "That the scriptures might be fulfilled of this generation in that they think they see, but don't see the truth; in that they think they hear, but don't understand the truth."
bleponteV (blepw) pres. part. "though seeing" - seeing [they may not see, and hearing they may not understand]. As with akouonteV, "hearing", the participle is adverbial, concessive; "although they see, they may not see", Barclay.
v11
iv] An explanation of the parable of the sower / soils, v11-15. The parable of the sower / soils, without any clues to its intended meaning, remains a riddle. So, Jesus, treating it as a simple allegory, sets out to explain its meaning. The seed is the Word of God (divine revelation, the gospel in particular), and as sown-seed produces different results depending on the soil it is sown in, so the Word of God produces different results depending on a person's frame of mind. For the uninterested person, the Word makes no impact whatsoever. For the flighty person, or the distracted person, the Word makes an impact, but it is short lived. The Word only bears fruit in the person who grabs hold of it and keeps on wrestling with it; en uJpomonh/, "by enduring, persevering." No wonder Jesus ended the parable by asking "Are you listening to this, really listening?" So, Jesus makes the point that the gospel only flourishes with right-hearing, a hearing that holds fast, that perseveres in faith.
de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the discourse; for us, introducing a new paragraph.
estin (eimi) "[this] is the meaning of" - [this] is [the parable]. "Meaning", NIV, paraphrases the verb to-be, with auJth, "this", taking a predicative position, "the parable means this", Marshall, NET.
tou qeou (oV) gen. "[the word] of God" - [the seed is the word] of god. The genitive is unresolved: adjectival, possessive, "God's word"; ablative, source / origin, "the word from God"; verbal, subjective, "the word declared by God."
v12
de "-" - but/and. Transitional, used here and following to indicate the literary segments of the parable.
oiJ "those [along the path]" - the ones [beside the way]. The article serves as a nominalizer turning the prepositional phrase "beside the way" into a substantive, nominative subject of the verb to-be. The preposition para is Spatial; "by, alongside, near", but sometimes "on", so "along" as NIV. Still, the land beside the pathway is not ploughed and it may be this hard uncultivated land that is in mind, so "beside the path / road." As Culy notes the verb pesonteV, "sown", is implied.
eisin (eimi) pres. "are" - are. "Mean / signify / represent", as above.
oiJ akousanteV (akouw) aor. part. "the ones who hear" - the ones having heard. The participle functions as a substantive, predicate nominative.
ei\ta adv. "then" - then, next [comes the devil and takes away the word]. Temporal adverb introducing a temporal clause.
apo + gen. "from" - from [the heart of them]. Expressing separation; "away from." Evil / "the devil" sees that "there is no attraction to the message or reflection on it", Bock.
iJna mh + subj. "so that [they may] not" - that not. Forming a final clause expressing purpose; "Satan takes the seed way in order that they may not believe and be saved." The clause, not found in Mark, may be Luke's reference to Isaiah 6:10. "For fear they might believe and find salvation", Fitzmyer.
pisteusanteV (pisteuw) aor. part. "believe" - having believed, [they may be saved]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "they may be saved." The aorist is punctiliar here, whereas in v13 pisteuousin is a present, durative. When it comes to the Word, some don't get past first base, others get into the Word a bit, but in the end it is only those who "hold fast" who "endure".
v13
oiJ "Those" - [but/and] the ones [upon the rock are = represent]. The article as for oiJ v12. The verb to-be is assumed; "[now] the ones / those upon the rock are / represent ......"
oi} pro. "the ones who" - the ones = those who. The pronoun serves as a substantive, most likely serving as the nominative subject of the verb "to receive", but see Thompson for his view.
meta + gen. "with" - [receive the word] with [joy]. Here adverbial, expressing manner.
o{tan + subj. "when" - when [they hear]. Introducing an indefinite temporal clause, "whenever", although here more definite, "when", as NIV.
kai "but" - and [these do not have a root]. Here epexegetic; "an additional classification", Culy. So, the relative clause introduce by ouJtoi further explains the relative clause introduced by oi}.
oi} pro. "They" - the ones who = these. Serving as a substantive, subject of the verb "to believe", and standing in apposition to "the ones who receive the word with joy."
proV kairon "[believe] for awhile" - [who] for a time [believe]. Temporal. As noted above "believe" is a durative present.
en + dat. "in" - [and = but] in [a time]. Temporal use of the preposition.
peirasmou (oV) " of testing" - of testing, temptation [they fall away]. The genitive is adjectival, attributive, idiomatic / temporal, "in a time when they are tested." The warning concerns the danger of "a shallow faith that cannot survive the pressure of persecution", Bock; "when they are involved in any situation which puts their faith to the test, they quit", Barclay.
v14
to .... peson (piptw) aor. part. "the seed that fell" - the one having fallen. The articular participle sandwich serves as a substantive, best classified as a pendent nominative, so Zerwick. It functions as a topic headline; "And as for what fell among the thorns", ESV.
eiV + acc. "among [thorns]" - into [the thorns]. Spatial, indicating the direction of the action and arrival at.
eisin (eimi) pres. "stands for" - [these] are. Again "these represent."
oiJ akousanteV (akouw) aor. part. "those who hear" - the ones having heard. The participle serves as a substantive, predicate nominative.
poreuomenoi (poreuomai) pres. part. "as they go" - [and] going, journeying. The participle is adverbial, temporal, as NIV; "As they go about their lives", Peterson.
sumpnigontai (sumpnignw) pres. "they are choked" - they are choked. Here Jesus warns those who would be his disciples of the danger of having their faith-response to the gospel crowded out by the busyness of life; "like people who .... become completely taken over by problems, wanting to look good to others, driven to have more and more things, and the so-called good life", Junkins.
upo + gen. "by" - [and] by. Here expressing agency; "by", as NIV.
tou biou (oV) gen. "life's" - [anxieties and riches and pleasures] of life. The genitive may be adjectival, possessive, as NIV, "the pleasures that belong to life", or possibly ablative, source / origin, "the pleasures sourced from life." Although tou biou stands with hJdonwn, "pleasure", it is likely limiting all three nouns, "worries, riches and pleasures."
ou telesforousin (telesforew) pres. "they do not mature" - [and] they do not produce mature fruit. Suffocated by "the charms of life", Johnson; "there is a start in faith but no perseverance", Stein.
v15
to "but" - [but/and] the one [in the good ground, land, soil]. Technically, the article serves as a nominalizer turning the prepositional phrase "into the good ground" into a substantive. Yet, it seems likely that the construction is aligning with v14, with the participle peson assumed; "Now the one having fallen into the good soil." So again, a pendent nominative as a topic headline; "As for that in the good soil", ESV.
en + dat. "in" - in [the good soil]. Local, expressing space / place.
eisin (eimi) "stands for" - are. "[These] represent".
oi{tineV pro. "those" - the ones = those who. The pronoun serves as a substantive, subject of the verbs "to hold, retain" and "to bear fruit."
en kardia/ kalh/ kai agaqh/ "with a noble and good heart" - in a noble, generous, honest and good heart. The preposition en is either instrumental, "with / by", or modal, expressing manner, "with". We have here Hebrew and Greek qualities descriptive of a person with integrity and thus of a person who is responsive to the Word of God as good soil is responsive to seed. It is very unlikely that this integrity is ethical, even though in common use ethical goodness is in mind. This is surely the integrity of self-awareness, an openness which honestly faces the full weight of the Word of God. The responsiveness of such integrity entails "hearing / listening / paying attention" to the Word, "holding closely / retaining / protecting" the Word, and "persevering / bearing up under pressure" in the Word, thus producing fruit. In simple terms, hearing with faith.
akousanteV (akouw) aor. part. "hear" - having heard [the word]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to retain", as NIV, but possibly adverbial, temporal, "they are those who, when they hear the word, hold it fast ..."
en uJpomonh/ (h) "by persevering" - [hold, retain and bear fruit] in patience, persistence. The preposition en is adverbial, modal, expressing manner; "with patience", "patiently", although possibly instrumental; "they yield a crop through their persistence", Fitzmyer, ie., they persevere. Expressing "clinging to God's hope in the midst of religious pressure and worldly distraction", Bock.
v16
v] Sayings, v16-18: Luke now records three independent sayings of Jesus. The first two make the point that truth will out. Of course, this is obviously true of divine revelation; the gospel cannot be muzzled. The third saying, v18, provides the punch line. Although God's Word is manifest in his world, a disciple still has to be careful in what frame of mind they listen. If we hear with faith, then everything is ours, if we just listen, then everything is lost. Beware! Only good soil is productive.
de "-" - but/and. Transitional, indicating the next unit of teaching - a new paragraph.
aJyaV (aJptw) aor. part. "lights [a lamp]" - [no one] having touched = lit [a lamp covers it]. The participle is adverbial, temporal, "no one, after lighting a lamp, covers it."
skeuei (oV) dat. "in a clay jar" - in a vessel. The NIV treats the dative as local, expressing space / place, but it could also be instrumental, "covers it with a bowl", Rieu.
uJpakatw + gen. "under" - [or places it] under, beneath [a bed]. Local, expressing space / place.
alla "instead" - but. Strong adversative standing in a counterpoint construction, "no one ......, but ....."
epi + gen. "on [a stand]" - [places it] upon [a lampstand]. Spatial; "upon, on."
iJna + subj. "so that" - that. Here provably adverbial, final, introducing a purpose clause, "in order that", but result, "with the result that" or hypothetical result "so that", as NIV, is just as likely. The saying is often interpreted as if an exhortation to evangelistic enterprise - the disciple, having been enlightened, is bound to shine both ethically and evangelistically, so Stein, Nolland ("those who make the right response to the word of God ..... shine as revealing lights as they live out the content of the word they have heard"). Believers are naturally inclined to ethical imperatives, but the saying is more properly a theological proposition, namely, divine truth will out.
oiJ eisporeuomenoi (eisporeuomai) pres. part. "those who come in" - the ones entering [may see the = its light]. The participle serves as a substantive, nominative subject of the verb "to see."
v17
The introductory gar, "for", probably serves as a stitching device, given that this verse is likely to be an independent saying of Jesus. None-the-less, the saying complements v16. The saying is reinforcing the point that truth will out and this is certainly so when it comes to divine revelation. Our responsibility, when it comes to the Word of God, is to hear it right and respond accordingly in faith, cf. v18.
faneron adj. "disclosed" - [there is not anything which will not become] evident, plain, known. Predicate adjective; "made manifest", ESV.
ou mh gnwsqh/ (ginwskw) aor. pas. subj. "will not be known" - [nor is there anything secret, hidden which] no no = by no means may be made known. Along with elqh/ "may come [to light]", a subjunctive of emphatic negation. "There is ..... nothing kept secret which will not become known and be brought to light", Cassirer.
faneron adj,. "the open" - [and may come into] known, plain = light. Here the adjective serves as a substantive.
v18
Here, in a nutshell, is the teaching of v1-18, "hear aright" = be good soil. The good soil produces the bountiful harvest; the bad soils produce nothing, even the sown seed is lost. A hearing of God's Word with faith produces an eternal harvest; a superficial hearing without faith loses life itself. Anyone who strives to rest on Jesus' words, even though troubled by questions and doubts, will begin to experience the life-changing realities of a relationship with God, while the person who makes the right noises but really isn't bothered by it all, will lose even what they think they have.
oun "therefore" - therefore. Inferential, drawing a logical conclusion.
pwV "[consider carefully] how you listen]" - [see] how [you hear, listen]. This particle is used here to introduce an object clause / dependent statement, expressing something about what is said, rather than what is said, "How you hear" is certainly more understandable than Mark's "what you hear". "Be careful in what frame of mind you listen [to God's word]", Rieu.
gar "-" - for. Introducing a causal clause explaining why a disciple should be careful how they hear the word; "for to the man who already has, more will be given, kai but ....", Barclay.
o}V an + subj. "whoever [has]" - whosoever. This construction introduces an indefinite relative clause which in this context is somewhat conditional; "whoever, as the case may be, has, then it will be given to him."
autw/ dat. pro. "[will be given more]" - [it will be given] to him. Dative of indirect object.
kai "even [what they think they have]" - [and whoever does not have] and = even [what he seems to have]. Ascensive, "even", as NIV
ap (apo) + gen. "from [them]" - [will be taken] from [him]. Expressing separation; "away from."
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