Church Fathers Commentary Luke 8:4-15

"And when a great multitude came together, and they of every city resorted unto him, he spake by a parable: The sower went forth to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it. And other fell on the rock; and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And other fell amidst the thorns; and the thorns grew with it, and choked it. And other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit a hundredfold. As he said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him what this parable might be. And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to the rest in parables; that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. And those on the rock [are] they who, when they have heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among the thorns, these are they that have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection. And that in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it fast, and bring forth fruit with patience." — Luke 8:4-15 (ASV)

Theophylact of Ohrid: That which David had foretold in the person of Christ, I will open my mouth in parables, the Lord here fulfills. As it is said, when a large crowd was gathered and people were coming to him from every city, he spoke by a parable. The Lord speaks in parables, first, to make his hearers more attentive. For people were accustomed to exercising their minds on obscure sayings and despising what was plain. Second, he spoke this way so that the unworthy might not receive what was spoken mystically.

Origen of Alexandria: Therefore, it is significant that the text says, when a large crowd was gathered and people were coming to him from every city. For there are not many, but few, who walk the narrow road and find the way that leads to life. This is why Matthew says that he taught by parables outside the house, but explained the parable to his disciples inside the house.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Christ most fittingly presents his first parable to the crowd—not only to those who stood by then, but also to those who would come after them—urging them to listen to his words, saying, A sower went out to sow his seed.

The Venerable Bede: We can understand the sower to be none other than the Son of God. Going forth from his Father’s bosom, where no creature had ever reached, he came into the world so that he might bear witness to the truth.

St. John Chrysostom: Now his "going forth"—he who is everywhere—was not a change of location, but an approach to us through the veil of the flesh. Christ fittingly calls his advent a "going forth." For we were alienated from God, cast out like criminals and rebels against the king. But one who wishes to reconcile people goes out to them and speaks to them outside, until, having become fit for the royal presence, he brings them inside. This is what Christ did.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But he went out now not to destroy the farmers or to burn up the earth; he went out to sow. For often the farmer who sows goes out for some other reason, not only to sow.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Some beings went out from the heavenly country and descended among humanity, but not to sow, for they were not sowers; they were ministering spirits sent forth to minister. Moses and the prophets after him also did not plant the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven in people. Instead, by holding the foolish back from the error of iniquity and the worship of idols, they tilled the souls of men, as it were, and brought them into cultivation.

But the only Sower of all, the Word of God, went out to sow the new seed of the Gospel—that is, the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.

Theophylact of Ohrid: The Son of God never ceases to sow in our hearts, for he sows good seed not only when he is teaching, but also when he is creating.

Titus of Bostra: He went out to sow his seed. He does not receive the word as something borrowed, for he is by nature the Word of the living God. The seed, then, is not from Paul or John; they have it only because they have received it. Christ has his own seed, drawing his teaching from his own nature. This is why the Jews said, How does this man know letters, having never learned?

Eusebius of Caesarea: He teaches, therefore, that there are two classes of those who receive the seed. The first consists of those who have been made worthy of the heavenly calling but fall from grace through carelessness and laziness. The second consists of those who multiply the seed by bearing good fruit. According to Matthew, however, he makes three divisions in each class, for those who corrupt the seed do not all have the same manner of destruction, and those who bear fruit from it do not all receive an equal abundance.

He wisely presents the cases of those who lose the seed. Some, for instance, have lost the good seed implanted in their hearts—not through sinning, but through its being withdrawn from their thoughts and memory by evil spirits and demons who fly through the air, or by deceitful and cunning people, whom he calls the birds of the air. This is why it says, And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He did not say that the sower threw some seed on the wayside, but that it fell by the wayside. For the sower taught the right word, but the word falls in different ways upon the hearers, so that some of them are called "the wayside." As the verse says, and it was trodden down, and the birds of the air devoured it.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Every wayside is, to some degree, dry and uncultivated because it is trodden down by everyone, and no seed can gain moisture on it. In the same way, the divine warning does not reach the unteachable heart so that it might bring forth the praise of virtue. These, then, are the paths frequented by unclean spirits.

There are others who carry their faith about as if it consisted in mere words; their faith is without root. Of them it is added, And some fell upon a rock, and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.

The Venerable Bede: The rock, he says, is the hard and unsubdued heart. The moisture at the root of the seed is the same as what is called "the oil to trim the lamps of the virgins" in another parable—that is, love and steadfastness in virtue.

Eusebius of Caesarea: There are also some who, because of covetousness, the desire for pleasure, and worldly cares—which Christ indeed calls thorns—allow the seed that has been sown in them to be choked.

St. John Chrysostom: Just as thorns do not let the seed grow, but choke it by growing thickly around it, so the cares of this present life do not permit the seed to bear fruit. In the physical world, a farmer must be rebuked who would sow among thorns, on a rock, or on the wayside, for it is impossible for rocks to become earth, for the path not to be a path, or for thorns not to be thorns.

But in rational matters, it is different. For it is possible for the rock to be converted into fruitful soil, for the path not to be trodden down, and for the thorns to be cleared away.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: The rich and fruitful ground represents the honest and good hearts that receive the seeds of the word deeply, retaining and cherishing them. This is what is meant by the verse, And some fell on good ground, and sprang up and yielded a crop a hundredfold. For when the divine word is poured into a soul free from all anxieties, it strikes its root deep, sends forth the stalk, as it were, and in its due season comes to perfection.

The Venerable Bede: By "a hundredfold," he means perfect fruit. The number ten is always taken to imply perfection, because the keeping, or observance, of the law is contained in ten precepts. Since ten multiplied by itself amounts to a hundred, the number one hundred signifies very great perfection.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But as for the meaning of the parable, let us hear it from him who told it, as it follows: And when he had said these things, he cried, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’

St. Basil the Great: Hearing relates to understanding. By this statement, then, our Lord stirs us to listen attentively to the meaning of the things that are spoken.

The Venerable Bede: Whenever this admonition occurs, either in the Gospel or the Revelation of St. John, it signifies that there is a mystical meaning in what is said, and we must inquire more closely into it. This is why the disciples, who were ignorant of the meaning, asked our Savior, for it follows, And his disciples asked him... But let no one suppose that his disciples asked him as soon as the parable was finished; rather, as Mark says, When he was alone, they asked him.

Origen of Alexandria: A parable is a narration of an action presented as if it happened, yet it did not happen literally (though it could have), representing certain truths by means of the story. An enigma, by contrast, is a story of things spoken of as if they happened, yet they have not happened and are not possible, but which contains a concealed meaning. An example is what is mentioned in the Book of Judges, that the trees went out to anoint a king over them.

The statement, A sower went out to sow, was not a literal fact like those related in history, yet it could have been.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Our Lord told them the reason why he spoke to the crowds in parables, as follows: And he said, ‘To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.’

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: When you hear this, you must not entertain the notion of different natures, as certain heretics do. They think that some people are of a perishing nature and others of a saving nature, while some are constituted such that their will leads them to better or worse. Instead, you must add to the words, To you it is given, the condition: "if you are willing and truly worthy."

Theophylact of Ohrid: But to those who are unworthy of such mysteries, these things are spoken obscurely. This is why it says, but to the rest in parables, that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ For they think they see, but do not see; and they hear, but do not understand. Christ hides this from them for this reason: lest they should create a greater judgment against themselves if, after they had known the mysteries of Christ, they despised them. For whoever understands and afterward despises will be more severely punished.

The Venerable Bede: Rightly, then, do they hear in parables, for having closed the senses of their heart, they do not care to know the truth, forgetting what the Lord told them: He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

St. Gregory the Great: But our Lord condescended to explain what he said so that we might know how to seek for explanation in those things which he is unwilling to explain himself. For it follows, Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Eusebius of Caesarea: He says that there are three reasons why people destroy the seed implanted in their hearts. Some destroy the hidden seed by carelessly listening to those who wish to deceive. Of these he adds, Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts.

The Venerable Bede: These are people who, in truth, receive the word they hear with no faith, no understanding, and not even an attempt to test its value.

Eusebius of Caesarea: But there are some who, not having received the word in any depth of heart, are soon overcome when adversity assails them. Of these it is added, They on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: When they enter the Church, they gladly attend to the divine mysteries, but with a weakness of purpose. When they leave the Church, however, they forget its sacred discipline. As long as Christians are undisturbed, their faith is lasting; but when persecution comes, their heart fails them, for their faith was without root.

St. Gregory the Great: Many people propose to begin a good work, but as soon as they are troubled by adversity or temptation, they abandon what they had begun. The rocky ground, then, had no moisture to sustain the fruit it had put forth and bring it to constancy.

Eusebius of Caesarea: Some choke the seed that has been deposited in them with riches and vain delights, as if with choking thorns. Of these it is added, And that which fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of this life...

St. Gregory the Great: It is remarkable that the Lord has represented riches as thorns. For thorns prick, while riches delight; and yet they are thorns, because they lacerate the mind with the pricking of their thoughts. Whenever they entice us to sin, they draw blood, as if inflicting a wound.

There are two things he joins to riches: cares and pleasures. Cares oppress the mind with anxiety, and pleasures unnerve it with luxuries. They choke the seed because they strangle the throat of the heart with vexatious thoughts. And by not letting a good desire enter the heart, they close up, as it were, the passage of the vital breath.

Eusebius of Caesarea: These things were foretold by our Savior according to his foreknowledge, and experience testifies that this is indeed the case. For people never fall away from the truth of divine worship except for one of the reasons he mentioned.

St. John Chrysostom: To summarize: some, as careless hearers; some, as weak; and others, as the very slaves of pleasure and worldly things, hold themselves back from what is good. The order of the wayside, the rock, and the thorns is fitting, for we first need recollection and caution, next fortitude, and then contempt for present things.

He therefore places the good ground in opposition to the wayside, the rock, and the thorns. The seed on the good ground represents those who, in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it... For those on the wayside do not keep the word, but the devil takes away their seed. Those on the rock do not patiently endure the assaults of temptation because of their weakness. And those among the thorns bear no fruit, but are choked.

St. Gregory the Great: The good ground, then, bears fruit through patience, for nothing we do is good unless we patiently endure the evils that are closest to us. Therefore, those who humbly bear their struggles are the ones who bear fruit through patience; after the scourge, they are received with joy into a heavenly rest.