4 When a great multitude came together, and people from every city were coming to Jesus, he spoke by a parable. 5 “The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it. 6 Other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 Other fell amid the thorns, and the thorns grew with it, and choked it. 8 Other fell into the good ground, and grew, and produced one hundred times as much fruit.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

9 Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”

10 He said, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of God’s Kingdom, but to the rest in parables; that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the road are those who hear, then the devil comes, and takes away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rock are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; but these have no root, who believe for a while, then fall away in time of temptation. 14 That which fell among the thorns, these are those who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 That in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and produces fruit with patience.”

Luke 8:4-15 - World English Bible

After the mention of the female leadership in Luke 8:1-3, Jesus addressed the crowd with the parable of the Sower and the Seed. In this familiar story, the farmer tossed seed indiscriminately over the road, on the rocks, among thorn plants and on fertile soil. I've noted before this parable captured the people's attention because of its absurdity. No farmer in the time of Jesus would waste precious seed in this matter; tenant workers gave the vast majority of the crop to the owner (usually a Gentile), set aside enough for his family, then saved the little that was left for the following year's planting; any hope of producing a yield more than two or three times the size of the planting was a pipe-dream. Yet, in the parable, the farmer wasted the seed and received a harvest a hundred times larger!

When Jesus explained the parable, he addressed both intent and result (or lack of result). Hardhearted people (like the road) could not receive God's word; the devil swept it away. People with shallow character (like the rocks) got excited initially in the new faith, but, when the novelty wore off, wandered off to find the next thrill. Anxious people (like the thorn plants) became believers but did not grow, due to the constant worries of daily living. People of good character (like the good soil) produced a bountiful harvest because the Word took deep root. Implicitly, the faithful disciple (the good soil) became the productive missionary (an abundance harvest to seed others with God's Word).

In life, we've all been the road, the rocks, the thorn plants and the good soil. What sort of soil are you right now in your faith walk?