The giving of the parable 8:4-8 (cf. Matt. 13:1-9; Mark 4:1-9)

As in the other Synoptics, Jesus gave the first parable to the crowds and then interpreted it for His disciples.

8:4 Luke omitted reference to the setting for this teaching. It was the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Instead he stressed the large and diverse crowd that Jesus addressed. Perhaps he wanted to picture the crowd as the various types of soil Jesus referred to in this parable.

8:5-8 The main focus of this parable in all the Synoptics is not on the sower (Jesus and His disciples) or the seed (the Word of God), as important as these are. It is the soils on which the seed falls. It is unclear whether in Jesus' day plowing followed sowing rather than the other way around, as some commentators claim.²³⁵Consequently it is not unusual that the sower scattered his seed where he did. The presence of thorn seeds would not discourage the sower from sowing seed among them if he knew they were there. Rocks under the surface would only become visible when the farmer plowed the seed under.

Luke probably omitted the lesser harvests and mentioned the largest yield to encourage his disciples with the ultimate result of His and their work. Only Luke mentioned that people trampled the seed under foot (v. 5) perhaps to indicate people's contempt for God's Word (cf. Heb. 10:29). His unique reference to lack of moisture (v. 6, cf. Jer. 17:8) explains why those plants had "no root"(Matt. 13:6; Mark 4:6). Jesus' final appeal urged careful listening.