LUKE
8:10-18
SEE
THE LIGHT
BE
A LIGHT
Luke
8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing
they might not understand.
Susie: Jesus
was speaking to the disciples, the ones who trusted in Him. God had granted
them the ability to understand the parables because of their trust in Jesus.
The minds of those who continue to refuse to believe that Jesus is the Son of
God are darkened to the point that they cannot understand.
Susan: Jesus
quoted an Old Testament prophecy to describe how God blinds unbelievers:
Isaiah
6:9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not;
and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Susie: Then
Jesus explained the parable to the disciples. I believe that today, it is the
Holy Spirit within those of us who believe who enables us to understand what we
could not via our intellect alone:
John
14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in
my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your
remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Luke
8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Susie: First,
let us give you a chart for the explanation to follow:
· Field
– human hearts
· Sower
– Jesus Christ
· Seed –
word/message of God
· Footpath
– hardened hearts
· Rocks/gravel
– shallow hearts
· Thorns
– worldly cares
· Good/fertile
soil – receptive hearts
Susie: The
“word of God” can refer to the entire Bible, the Gospel message of Jesus and
His apostles, or even Jesus Himself especially when capitalized (John 1). Here,
Jesus may be referring to His own preaching of the Good News of the Kingdom of
God, that the Messiah was with them and had come to redeem His people. The seed
the sower scattered represents the word of God scattered abroad both then and
now.
Luke
8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and
taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be
saved.
Susie: The
“way side” would be the foot path around the field that would be trampled down
until it was hard. A seed would not be able to penetrated below the surface and
would be easily eaten by birds.
Susan: There
are people who hear the Gospel, but it passes through their ears without
penetrating into their minds or hearts. They are calloused toward the message
because they have rejected it time and time again. It is easily stolen by the Enemy,
Satan.
Luke
8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with
joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of
temptation fall away.
Susan: Some
people approach the Lord like a “forever dater,” someone who wants to enjoy
being with a person but is commitment phobic.
Susie: The
benefits of Christianity sound great to this person, but they shy away from the
surrendering their will to the will of God. In times of trial or temptation, they
no longer want to be associated with Jesus. They may present themselves as
Christians. However, that is in name only and not in reality. They wear the
label as long as it looks good on them but rip it off as soon as that label
requires something difficult of them.
Luke
8:14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go
forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and
bring no fruit to perfection.
Susie: Concerning
the seed among the thorns, I’ve heard it preached that these of non-believers
or that they are fruitless believers. Jesus taught that you may know whether
someone is true or false by their fruit (Matthew 7:15-17). Although it is
lengthy, I wanted you to be able to read the following commentary on the same
parable in Matthew’s Gospel.
Commentary
on Matthew 13:22
Some
embrace the gospel, but gradually other interests-wealth, security, family and
the like-choke it out of first place. Christ's apostles proclaimed that Jesus
must hold first place in our lives (see 1 Cor 10:31; Col 3:17). The Bible often
warns against the dangers of wealth (as in Mt 6:24; Deut 6:10-12), and Matthew
provides some examples of would-be disciples lured away by desire for wealth
(Mt 19:21-23; 26:14-16). Even in parts of the world that include many
professing Christians, many churches are full of barely committed people who
never win a soul to Christ, rarely speak a word on his behalf and accept
Christianity as a nice addition to their lives-which are devoted to the same
basic goals as their neighbors'. Jesus' kingdom demands suggest that such
people may not believe the reality of the gospel enough to stake their lives on
it, hence may not prove true disciples of Jesus Christ (compare 3:8-10;
Marshall 1974:62-63). One reason we may have so many shallow Christians in some
churches today is that many of us have preached a shallow gospel rather than
the demands of God's kingdom, and they are (to paraphrase a lament of D. L.
Moody) our converts rather than our Lord's.
Luke
8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart,
having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Susan: These
believers not only heard the word but it rooted deeply in their hearts. Even
death will not uproot the message in their hearts, for death for the true
believer is only a change of address. They “keep it” by observing it. Not
observing as in looking, but doing it, actualizing it, by having boots on the
ground service.
Susie: Reminds
me of the admonition from James:
James
1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
selves.
Susan: They
patiently nurture the word preached to them in order to bring forth the fruit
of God in their lives.
Galatians
5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no
law.
Luke
8:16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or
putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter
in may see the light.
Susan: If you
put a candle under a bowl, not only will it not light up the room; but
eventually it will be extinguished due to lack of oxygen. You place the candle
or lamp up high to enable the light to be seen from a distance.
Susie: Our
living room does not have a light on the ceiling, and I cannot seem to get
enough light in the room with the lamps I have placed. An elevated light source
fills the room more completely. Street lights are not placed on the curb but up
on poles.
Susan: We
place our lamp on a lampstand by making Jesus our primary topic in our everyday
conversations. When He is in the forefront of our thoughts, He then becomes a
vital part of our conversations; and this leads to making Him visible through
our actions.
Susie: Jesus
tells us we are the light. Therefore,
we must “put ourselves out there” and make it known that we have trusted Jesus,
then sharing His gospel with others. As Susan said, this involves actions as
well as words.
Matthew
5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be
hid.
Philippians
2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in
the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in
the world;
Luke
8:17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither anything
hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
Susan: If
God’s purpose is to make Himself known, then as His witness, that should be my
emphasis. Jesus is the major light, and I am the minor light.
Susie: As the
moon reflects the sun, I am to reflect the Son. Truth will be manifest in due
time. People think they can hide “secret” sins, and they may succeed in “faking
it” as far as other people are concerned, but the Lord knows and sees all. He
will eventually shine a spotlight on the very things people were trying to
hide.
Romans
2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ
according to my gospel.
1
Corinthians 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come,
who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make
manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of
God.
1
Timothy 5:24-25 Some people’s sins are clearly on display before the world.
They lead the way to the final judgment. But it’s not so easy with other people
because their sins trail behind and don’t catch up to them until later. The same is true regarding good works; some
are there for all to see. Other people’s works can be inconspicuous; but at the
final judgment, they cannot remain hidden.
Susie: Bottom
line—you can’t keep a secret from God.
Luke
8:18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be
given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he
seemeth to have.
Luke
8:18 (VOICE) I hope you’re still
listening. And I hope you’re listening carefully. If you get what I’m saying,
you’ll get more. If you miss My meaning, even the understanding you think you
have will be taken from you.
Susan: Those
who hear the Gospel and respond by trusting in Jesus will be given abundant
life now and eternally live in the Light of Christ. Those who refuse to hear
and reject Jesus while here on earth will be cast into eternal darkness
separated from God’s light.
Revelation
20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose
face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to
their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell
delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire.
Ponder
this and apply it: How you respond to the Good News that Jesus
died to pay the penalty for your sin, was buried for three days, was raised
from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God is ESSENTIAL. If you
receive that message gladly, commit to Jesus by surrendering control of your
life to Him, and keep trusting Him by obeying His teaching, your reward will be
great both now and forever. If you reject the word of God and reject the
sacrifice made by His Son Jesus, you have no hope of having eternal life in His
presence. No hope of Heaven. No hope of eternal joy. Rejection of Jesus leads
to Hell. Yes, it is a real place, the real consequence of refusing to submit to
God’s authority over you as His creation. What is your status right now? Have
you surrendered your life to Jesus in response to hearing the word of God? If
not, we pray the Holy Spirit will make His message clear to you, and you will
respond by trusting Jesus. If you need to ask questions or if you respond to
Jesus because of this post, please contact us by going to our website www.preciousjewelsministries.org and
clicking on the Contact/Prayer/Donate tab to email or write a letter to us. We
would love to hear from you, pray for you, and help you find answers in the
word of God.
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