Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 8:14

"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." — Luke 8:14 (ASV)

In the next two types of soils there is an initial response, though it is superficial. For some, “in the time of testing” they “fall away” (GK 923; a word related to “apostasy”), for they cannot endure adversity.

The third soil has to do, not with adversity, but with distractions of this world, like those Jesus warned against in 11:34–36; 12:22–32; 16:13. These distractions prohibit a person’s faith from maturing. (That this matter of being fruitful is not simply a matter of the quality of one’s Christian life but of whether one has life at all is suggested by Jesus’ parallel teaching on wealth in Mt 6:19–34.) The unresponsive people described in this part of the parable apparently

lack the necessary essentials to true saving faith.