Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 8:4

"And when a great multitude came together, and they of every city resorted unto him, he spake by a parable:" — Luke 8:4 (ASV)

Teaching by using parables was common among the rabbis of Jesus’ day (see comment on Mk 4:1–34). The sequence in vv.4–15 is (1) the parable of the sower, (2) Jesus’ reason for using parables, and (3) the interpretation of the parable of the sower. Each part deals with the mixed response Jesus was receiving from his audiences. Jesus explains the present parable and his reasons for using the parabolic form—both to warn those who neglect the word they hear and to encourage his disciples when that word is not fully accepted.

Luke begins with an observation on the size of the crowds and adds a comment about those who were coming to Jesus from “town after town.” The effect is to help the reader visualize a large mixed group of people who represent the various types of “soil” in the parable.