Luke 8:15-18 - "A Noble and Good Heart"

But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. Jesus is bringing this message to a great crowd of people who have gathered outside the city of Capernaum and He uses a parable to teach them a special lesson about receiving, sharing, and obeying the Word of God. For the past several days we have been talking about the parable of the Sower, the Seed, and the Soil. In this illustration Jesus tells us that there are four types of soil that the seed falls on, and that they represent four types of hearts that hear the Word of God.   Today, I want to go back to verse 15 and point out a very important truth. We ask the question why some people hear the Gospel and get saved, while others hear the same Gospel message and either ignore it or reject it. Notice what Jesus said about the good ground. He said it represented “those who hear the Word with a noble and good heart and keep it with patience”.   What is “a noble and good heart?” I believe this is someone who has an honest heart who listens with patience and considers as to what they are hearing is the truth or not. It is ok to be a skeptic about Christianity and the Gospel especially when it appears to have so many hypocrites and different churches and denominations. And when there so many different interpretations of the Bible. Over the centuries millions of people have died because of so called “Christian” wars. I can see why someone might be skeptical about Christianity.   I have also said that there are two types of skeptics. There are dishonest skeptics, and there are honest skeptics. The dishonest skeptic hears the facts and the truth but because he has been deceived, he denies and rejects it. The honest skeptic hears the facts and accepts it as the truth and changes his mind. Jesus called this a “noble and good heart”.   Now, in verse 16-18, Jesus is clarifying the purpose of using a parable in His message. The disciples were perplexed because Jesus taught in parables, so they asked Him for an explanation (Luke 8:9-10; also see Matt. 13:10-17). His reply seems to suggest that He used parables in order to hide the truth from the crowds, but just the opposite is true, and Luke 8:16-18 makes that clear. His teaching is a light that must be allowed to shine so that sinners may be saved.   The word parable means "to cast alongside." A parable is a story that teaches something new by putting the truth alongside something familiar. The people knew about seeds and soil, so the Parable of the Sower interested them. Those who were indifferent or proud would shrug it off. Our Lord's parables aroused the interest of the concerned.   A parable starts off as a picture that is familiar to the listeners. But as you carefully consider the picture, it becomes a mirror in which you see yourself, and many people do not like to see themselves. This explains why some of our Lord's listeners became angry when they heard His parables, and even tried to kill Him. But if we see ourselves as needy sinners and ask for help, then the mirror becomes a window through which we see God and His grace. To understand a parable and benefit from it demands honesty and humility on our part, and many of our Lord's hearers lacked both.   It is a serious thing to hear and understand the Word of God, because this puts on us the obligation to share that Word with others. Everyone who receives the seed then becomes a sower, a light-bearer, and a transmitter of God's truth (see 1 Thes. 1:5-8). If we keep it to ourselves, we will lose it; but if we share it, we will receive more.   Today, are you with humility and honesty receiving God’s Word and sharing it with others as a light in the world around you?   God bless!