Luke 8:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

NIV: Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."

NASB: And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.' As He said these things, He would call out, 'The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.'

CSB: Still other seed fell on good ground; when it grew up, it produced fruit: a hundred times what was sown." As he said this, he called out, "Let anyone who has ears to hear listen."

NLT: Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!' When he had said this, he called out, 'Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.'

KJV: And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

NKJV: But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

This completes the parable of the sower (Luke 8:4–7) by describing what we should all attain to become: good soil that readily takes the seed, nourishes it, and produces fruit. If our hearts are softened and ready for God's Word, Christ's truth will impact our entire lives, allowing us to display the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22–23). These behaviors and actions glorify God and show love to others.

Mark emphasizes the growth, saying the seeds "produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold" (Mark 4:8). Matthew is similar, although he reverses the numbers (Matthew 13:23). In the ancient world, a decent crop could produce thirty-five times more output. A one-hundred-times multiplication of seed isn't physically impossible, but it would have been seen as a sign of God's blessing.

For Luke, the point of the chapter is the last phrase: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." The parable, itself, is about our responsibility to listen well (Luke 8:10, 15). Next is a parable which explains the purpose of Jesus' teaching: so that people will hear it and grow in understanding (Luke 8:16–18). Following, Jesus reveals that His family is not His flesh-and-blood relatives, but "those who hear the word of God and do it" (Luke 8:21).

Finishing out the chapter are four stories where Jesus expresses God's Word through miracles that people initiate or respond to with different levels of faith. Even when faced with powerful, supernatural acts, people can still shut their ears and refuse to hear God's Word.

Luke 8:4–15 introduces the different ways in which people respond to the gospel. The sower—Jesus—spreads the "seed" of the gospel, and people accept or reject the message in varying degrees. Following are real-life examples of faith, particularly in conjunction with examples of miraculous salvation from the evils of the world. The parable of the sower is also found in Matthew 13:1–23 and Mark 4:1–20.

Luke 8 includes portions of three sections of Jesus' Galilean Ministry. The women who support Jesus' ministry bridge the faithful outcasts of chapter 7 to the sower who spreads the news of God's kingdom (Luke 8:1–3). Luke 8:4–18 includes the parables of the sower and the lamp under the jar. These illustrate the importance of hearing Jesus' message with a mind to believe and obey. Luke 8:19–56 presents different faith reactions when Jesus' life, power, and authority elicit questions about His identity.

This passage continues Luke's pattern in the account of Jesus' Galilean ministry: alternating calls to discipleship with stories that describe the discipleship He expects. In Luke 6:17, Jesus transitioned from calling and training the Twelve to a more general call; in Luke 7, Jesus interacted specifically with those with less privilege in society. Chapter 8 reveals how people react when Jesus reveals who He is, mostly through miracles. In Luke 9:18–50, Jesus returns to intense discipleship of the Twelve to give them courage and faith, preparing them for the journey to Jerusalem and what they will witness there.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.