The identity of Jesus as prophet having been established previously, calls the readers attention to an aspect of the prophet's life that needs to be highlighted: the Word of God. The parable of the sower and its explanation is common to all the Gospels, but in Luke we find a shorter presentation of it. Luke places emphasis on the germination of the word in patience, something consonant with his over all insistence on Discipleship as something that is lived daily (cf. v. 15).
When Jesus answers the question on why he speaks in parables, Luke changes Mark's "to those outside" with "to others" and he omits the phrase that reads "lest they should turn (away from sin, the verb used is from epistrefw which has the religious meaning of "conversion") and be forgiven". The reason is because the additional passage is superfluous seeing that it is already included in the explanation of the seed falling by the wayside (see v. 11)
Parables are the bedrock of Jesus' teachings. They characterized the form of what Jesus taught.
But a parable needs to be remembered, reflected on continuously and understood until its content becomes part of one's way of living and acting.
An integral element in Jesus' school of Discipleship is that which involves the study and reflection on Jesus' words. A fifteen minute exercise each day on the understanding of Jesus' words should help the Christian go a long way in this life.
The way it stands in the Lucan Gospel, the parable of the seed and its explanation prepares for the following section on the true kinsmen of Jesus, Luke 8:19-20. Those who "keep" Jesus' words and act on them are his brothers and sisters. Luke 8:16-18 is a call to those who have received the word to live it out. The word is like a lamp that should be left to shine out, not kept under a bushel basket. Not to act on the word of Jesus is like the case of the seed that falls by the wayside and is flown away by birds: even that, "will be taken away from him."
