The Meaning of Luke 8:12 Explained

Luke 8:12

KJV: Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

YLT: and those beside the way are those hearing, then cometh the Devil, and taketh up the word from their heart, lest having believed, they may be saved.

Darby: But those by the wayside are those who hear; then comes the devil and takes away the word from their heart that they may not believe and be saved.

ASV: And those by the way side are they that have heard; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Those  by  the way side  are  they that hear;  then  cometh  the devil,  and  taketh away  the word  out of  their  hearts,  lest  they should believe  and be saved. 

What does Luke 8:12 Mean?

Study Notes

saved
salvation
The Heb. and (Greek - ἀλεκτοροφωνία , safety, preservation, healing, and soundness). Salvation is the great inclusive word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification. Salvation is in three tenses:
(1) The believer has been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin Luke 7:50 ; 1 Corinthians 1:18 ; 2 Corinthians 2:15 ; Ephesians 2:5 ; Ephesians 2:8 ; 2 Timothy 1:9 and is safe.
(2) the believer is being saved from the habit and dominion of sin Romans 6:14 ; Philippians 1:19 ; Philippians 2:12 ; Philippians 2:13 ; 2 Thessalonians 2:13 ; Romans 8:2 ; Galatians 2:19 ; Galatians 2:20 ; 2 Corinthians 3:18 .
(3) The believer is to be saved in the sense of entire conformity to Christ. Romans 13:11 ; Hebrews 10:36 ; 1 Peter 1:5 ; 1 John 3:2 . Salvation is by grace through faith, is a free gift, and wholly without works; Romans 3:27 ; Romans 3:28 ; Romans 4:1-8 ; Romans 6:23 ; Ephesians 2:8 . The divine order is: first salvation, then works; Ephesians 2:9 ; Ephesians 2:10 ; Titus 3:5-8 .

Context Summary

Luke 8:1-15 - Various Hearers Of The Word Of God
Hitherto our Lord had made Capernaum His center; now He started on a circuit through the province of Galilee, going through its cities and villages in a systematic and leisurely manner. It must have been a great opportunity for the instruction of the Twelve in His doctrine and methods.
The parable of the sower was suggested by the scenery before the speaker. There is an advance in the stages of reception and growth, indicating the several phases of experience. The success or failure of gospel preaching is determined by the character of the soil. In every crowd there are the hardened, like the trodden path; the impulsive, like the thin layer of earth upon the rock; those with a heart divided by riches or cares, like the thorn encumbered soil; and those who receive with joy and bear fruit with patience. The Lord veiled His meaning in parables. Increased light would only add to the condemnation of disobedient hearers. [source]

Chapter Summary: Luke 8

1  Women minister unto Jesus of their own means
4  Jesus, after he had preached from place to place,
9  explains the parable of the sower,
16  and the candle;
19  declares who are his mother, and brothers;
22  rebukes the winds;
26  casts the legion of demons out of the man into the herd of pigs;
37  is rejected by the Gadarenes;
43  heals the woman of her bleeding;
49  and raises Jairus's daughter from death

Greek Commentary for Luke 8:12

Those by the wayside [οι παρα την οδον]
As in Mark 4:15; Matthew 13:19 so here the people who hear the word = the seed are discussed by metonymy. [source]
The devil [ο διαβολος]
The slanderer. Here Mark 4:15 has Satan.From their heart (απο της καρδιας αυτων — apo tēs kardias autōn). Here Mark has “in them.” It is the devil‘s business to snatch up the seed from the heart before it sprouts and takes root. Every preacher knows how successful the devil is with his auditors. Matthew 13:19 has it “sown in the heart.”That they may not believe and be saved Peculiar to Luke. Negative purpose with aorist active participle and first aorist (ingressive) passive subjunctive. Many reasons are offered today for the failure of preachers to win souls. Here is the main one, the activity of the devil during and after the preaching of the sermon. No wonder then that the sower must have good seed and sow wisely, for even then he can only win partial success. [source]
From their heart [απο της καρδιας αυτων]
Here Mark has “in them.” It is the devil‘s business to snatch up the seed from the heart before it sprouts and takes root. Every preacher knows how successful the devil is with his auditors. Matthew 13:19 has it “sown in the heart.” [source]
That they may not believe and be saved [ινα μη πιστευσαντες σωτωσιν]
Peculiar to Luke. Negative purpose with aorist active participle and first aorist (ingressive) passive subjunctive. Many reasons are offered today for the failure of preachers to win souls. Here is the main one, the activity of the devil during and after the preaching of the sermon. No wonder then that the sower must have good seed and sow wisely, for even then he can only win partial success. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Luke 8:12

Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore [εἷτα]
Everywhere else in N.T. this particle marks a succession of time or incident. See Mark 4:17; Mark 8:25; Luke 8:12; 1 Corinthians 15:5, 1 Corinthians 15:7. Here it introduces a new phase of the subject under discussion. [source]

What do the individual words in Luke 8:12 mean?

Those now along the road are having heard then comes the devil and takes away the word from the heart of them that not having believed they should be saved
οἱ δὲ παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν εἰσιν ἀκούσαντες εἶτα ἔρχεται διάβολος καὶ αἴρει τὸν λόγον ἀπὸ τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν ἵνα μὴ πιστεύσαντες σωθῶσιν

οἱ  Those 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
παρὰ  along 
Parse: Preposition
Root: παρά  
Sense: from, of at, by, besides, near.
ὁδόν  road 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ὁδός 
Sense: properly.
ἀκούσαντες  having  heard 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀκουστός 
Sense: to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf.
ἔρχεται  comes 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Middle or Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
διάβολος  devil 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: διάβολος  
Sense: prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely.
αἴρει  takes  away 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: αἴρω  
Sense: to raise up, elevate, lift up.
λόγον  word 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: λόγος  
Sense: of speech.
καρδίας  heart 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: καρδία  
Sense: the heart.
αὐτῶν  of  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἵνα  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ἵνα  
Sense: that, in order that, so that.
πιστεύσαντες  having  believed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: πιστεύω  
Sense: to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.
σωθῶσιν  they  should  be  saved 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Subjunctive Passive, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἐκσῴζω 
Sense: to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction.