Luke 8:6

6 And some went on the rock, and when it came up it became dry and dead because it had no water.

Luke 8:6 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 8:6

And some fell upon a rock
Which the other evangelists call "stony places", and "stony ground"; by which are meant such hearers whose hearts are, hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and continue so notwithstanding the preaching of the word unto them.

And as soon as it sprung up;
as it did immediately, as the other evangelists say; and that for this reason, which they give, "because it had no depth of earth"; only a small crust, or shell of earth over the rock; and signifies, that these hearers had only a superficial knowledge of the word, and hastily made a profession of it, which soon came to nothing:

it withered away, because it lacked moisture;
the other evangelists say, "when the sun was up, it was scorched"; meaning tribulation and persecution, the grace of God being wanting to support under fiery trials: the reason given in Matthew and Mark why it withered, is,

because it had no root;
and so read the Persic and Ethiopic versions here.

Luke 8:6 In-Context

4 And when a great number of people came together, and men from every town went out to him, he gave them teaching in the form of a story:

5 A man went out to put in seed, and while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside and it was crushed under foot, and was taken by the birds of heaven.

6 And some went on the rock, and when it came up it became dry and dead because it had no water.

7 And some went among thorns, and the thorns came up with it and it had no room for growth.

8 And some falling on good earth, came up and gave fruit a hundred times as much. And with these words he said in a loud voice, He who has ears, let him give ear.