Luke 8:5-11 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:1-21

The evangelistic circuit. Observe— I. THE PLAN OF CIRCUIT . ( Luke 8:1 .) "He went," or "went about," or "kept journeying." Hitherto Capernaum had been the centre from which short excursions were taken, the Lord always returning to it. Now he moves steadily on from place to place, "passing in patience until his work is done." "Through cities and villages." He will not omit any abode of man. If social influence and power had been the aim, this Prophet would have limited his... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:1-21

Incidents in evangelistic work. We have now to contemplate Jesus as fairly loosed from Capernaum as the centre of his mission work, and as making systematically the tour of the province of Galilee. The "beloved physician" gives to us here just such an insight into the material conditions of Christ's evangelistic work as we naturally desire. Let us, then, notice— I. THE SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL SIDES OF OUR LORD 'S EVANGELISTIC WORK . ( Luke 8:1-3 .) Twelve men and... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:4-8

Failure and success in hearing. The produce of our spiritual fields does not always answer to our hopes or reward our labours; there is much sowing, but little reaping. How do we account for it? I. THE ACCOUNT OF THE FAILURE . 1 . Inattention on the part of the bearer. The truth is spoken faithfully, but so little heed is given to it that it is no sooner uttered and beard than it has disappeared from view. Sown on the hard wayside ( Luke 8:5 ), it does not enter into... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:4-15

The parable of the sower , and the Lord ' s interpretation of it. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:5

A sower went out to sow his seed. The Master's words, in after-days, must often have come home to the disciples. They would feel that in each of them, if they were faithful to their work, the "sower" of the parable was reproduced; they would remember what they had heard from his lips; how he had warned them of the reception which their words would surely meet with; how by far the greater proportion of the seed they would sow, would perish. But though the disciples and all true Christian... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:6

And some fell upon a rock . The picture here is not of a soil full of stones, but of a rocky portion of the corn-land where the rock is only covered with a thin layer of earth. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:7

And some fell among thorns. "Every one who has been in Palestine must have been struck with the number of thorny shrubs and plants that abound there. The traveller finds them in his path, go where he may. Many of them are small, but some grow as high as a man's head. The rabbinical writers say that there are no less than twenty-two words in the Hebrew Bible denoting thorny and prickly plants" (Professor Hacker). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:8

And bare fruit an hundredfold . This is by no means an unheard-of increase even in the West, where vegetation is less luxuriant. Herodotus, quoted by Trench ('Parables'), mentions that two hundredfold was a common return in the Plain of Babylon, and sometimes three hundredfold; and Niebuhr mentions a species of maize that returns four hundredfold. On the marvellous fruit-bearing which would take place in the days of the Lord's future kingdom on earth, Irenaeus gives a quotation from Papias,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:9

.— And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be! This is the only parable St. Luke gives as spoken by our Lord in this place. St. Matthew—who gives the additional detail that on account of the pressure of the crowd on the lake-shore it was spoken from a boat moored close to the bank—relates seven parables here in sequence. It is probable that the Master spoke some of these at least on this occasion, but St. Luke, possibly on account of its extreme solemnity, possibly... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 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 . In St. Matthew we have the Lord's reply given at greater length; the same prophecy of Isaiah which here forms the basis of St. Luke's account of Jesus' reply is given in full. St. Mark weaves the Isaiah-words into the Master's answer. The thought, however, in each of the three accounts is exactly the same. The... read more

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:1-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:1-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:4-8

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:4-15

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:5

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:8

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:9

The Pulpit Commentary - Luke 8:10

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