Susanna: Hearing, Holding Fast, and Bearing Fruit

Joshua Liem · Pilgrim Church, Vancouver
July 19, 2026 · Luke 8:1–15, 18 (NRSVue)

Sermon overview

Joshua Liem reads the parable of the sower alongside Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna in Luke 8. Good soil becomes a picture of active discipleship: hearing the word of God, holding fast with an honest heart, and bearing fruit through endurance.

Editorial summary above; the sermon manuscript and reflection questions below are drawn from Joshua Liem’s source document. The manuscript may differ from the delivered recording. Section headings have been added for navigation.

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Sermon manuscript

Scripture reading

Would you please stand if you are willing and able for the reading of Scripture?

Luke 8:1-15, 18 NRSVUE 8 Soon afterward he went on through one town and village after another, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, 2 as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who ministered to them out of their own resources.

4 When a large crowd was gathering, as people were coming to him from town after town, he said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed some fell on a path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and as it grew up it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 Some fell into good soil, and when it grew it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”

9 Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others I speak in parables, so that

‘looking they may not perceive and hearing they may not understand.’

11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones on the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy.

But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. 14 As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart and bear fruit with endurance.

18 So pay attention to how you listen, for to those who have, more will be given, and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.”

The Word of the Lord. [thanks be to God]. You may be seated.

Beyond the soil categories

This parable is the parable about parables. It is the first substantive parable in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and the only one in Luke that Jesus explains in detail.

So it should be the easiest one for us to understand, right?

How should this text unsettle us, as all parables should do? Again, the beauty of the parables of Jesus is that the simple and plain reading can still be so beneficial for our spiritual walk. My reading of this parable for most of my life was to take it as how to examine the conditions of my soil, my soul.

How close is the devil to my soul? Do I let the devil take away my belief? Are there some lies that I believe instead? Lies like: God has not spoken? That I am not called? Or that I’m just meant to be a cog in the machine, producing goods and services as the meaning to my Christian existence?

Or is my soul in rocky soil? Are my roots deep enough to get water from the Spirit so that I can withstand the trials of life and not wither away? How’s my spiritual life, my prayer, my meditation on Scripture? What habits have I formed so that when I’m stressed or in crisis, my fight or flight mechanism leads me to my knees in prayer rather than to my drug of choice?

Or is my soul trapped in the thorns? Do worries about the future of AI and the impacts it’ll have on my kids overtake my thoughts? Or am I pursuing riches endlessly, because it’s so incredibly expensive to live in Vancouver? Or do I seek pleasure as a way to numb the pain, or do I overindulge in the good things we have here?

Those can be some great reflection questions to diagnose where you’re at. And that is a perfectly valid takeaway from the parable. Now the next question would probably be: how can I instead be that good soil?

But there is one potential trap in this kind of metaphor.

Soil is soil. You can’t exactly turn rocks into good soil. There’s a danger of thinking that we have zero part to play in this work of producing fruit. This reading can lead to passivity, or worse, judgement with no gospel. To take this parable as a means for us to judge others. To look at the person sitting across from you and say: yeah, they’re the rocky soil.

So perhaps in despair we might say: God can do the impossible; he can turn hearts of stone into flesh; he can raise the dead and transform this soil of ours. So then the response would be to pray harder for that soil transformation. “God, make me good soil!”

Ah, but is that the end goal of this parable? To pray that God would transform you?

Now, don’t get me wrong, that is a great prayer. I’ll never be against praying for transformation, for seeing God as the worker of miracles and God as the one who initiates the transformation process in our souls. All that is good, and yes you should ask God to do this heart surgery!

Yet I think the point of this parable has much more to do with that last verse explaining it: [8:15] The good soil are, first, those who 1) hear the word, 2nd) those who hold fast to it with honesty and a good heart, and third, those who bear fruit by enduring. The only truly passive part that we don’t control is “the word” — but hearing, holding, enduring— that is the action sequence meant for us.

What is the word of God?

So let’s start with “the word of God.”

What comes to mind when you imagine hearing “the word of God?” Perhaps the Bible comes to mind. But what does the Bible say the word of God is?

Now my brain just automatically goes to John’s Gospel when I hear “the Word of God.” That gospel starts off with: in the beginning was the Word, the word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us— Jesus Christ.

So when I hear The Word of God, I think: Jesus. And a part of me wants to just hammer on that point for a while, because we’ve seen in history and on Tiktok a lot of people take the Bible and severely misuse it. The Bible, when stripped and taken out of context, can put words in God’s mouth telling us to do or believe racist or xenophobic or sexist or homophobic things; and these Holy Scriptures have been used to justify all sorts of evils— slavery and colonialism, or disowning or controlling family members. The devil himself used Scripture to tempt Jesus in Luke chapter 4.

Saint Paul says [2nd Tim 3:16-17] that these writings are God breathed, inspired, and useful for teaching for righteousness and equipping us for good works. And Saint Peter says [2 Peter 3:15-16] that Scripture and Paul’s letters have been interpreted and twisted by the ignorant and unstable to their own destruction.

I think that the best way to safeguard us against destruction, or a poor or flat view of the Bible and bad interpretations of it, is to know what the Bible says about itself. To see Scripture as that which reveals the Word of God, which, for John, is Jesus. And that it is useful in equipping and training us to be like Jesus, according to Paul. I love Scripture and reading, meditating, studying it, and I let it speak authoritatively to correct and judge me and my view of God; but the Bible itself isn’t God; it is a window to know God.

So one way to take this parable about the Word of God is to “judge the tree by its fruit” — which was earlier in Luke 6:43— Jesus said A good tree bears good fruit. What kinds of fruit have certain interpretations led to? If it spawns a hundred-fold increase in murder, greed, dehumanization, condemnation, and divisiveness…then that’s probably not the correct hearing of the Word that is meant to produce the love, joy, peace, and kindness, and generosity of Jesus.

And last week, we saw how the Samaritan, the Levite, and the priest all had the same Torah, and they interpreted it differently from each other; but Jesus only commended the one who obeyed the heart of it, compassion for the stranger— and he commended the one that the audience least expected to do the right thing— the Samaritan. But back to “the Word of God” — What does Luke mean by it? I’ve gone to John, to Peter and Paul and Torah… but for Luke, whenever he mentions the Word of God, he’s talking specifically about Jesus’ proclamation: that the Kingdom of God has come.

And if we go to Acts, Luke’s second book, it is also the proclamation that Jesus is Lord of this Kingdom, and so with that, comes the call to follow and obey Jesus in discipleship.

So what is the word of God? In Luke, it is that the Kingdom of God has come, its Lord is Jesus— follow him.

Hearing the good news of the kingdom

So what is the Kingdom of God? And what does it mean to hear this proclamation, to hold fast to it, and to endure and bear fruit?

Now this could be a whole sermon series; and in a sense, all preaching is proclamation of this Kingdom of God. So to just give one look of what it is in Luke: let’s go to chapter 4. The first time “kingdom of God” is mentioned is in verse 43: Jesus said: I must proclaim the good news, the gospel, of the kingdom of God to other towns, for that is what I was sent to do. And this gospel is in verses 17-21: Taking the scroll of Isaiah, he said: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and the regaining of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” … [21] today, the Scripture has been fulfilled.

Hear the Word of the Lord: The Kingdom of God is here: the anointed king, the Christ, has come— to proclaim good news to the poor, release of captives, healing of the blind, freeing of the oppressed, proclaiming the year of Jubilee; the year of the Lord’s favour.

That is what we are called to hear, and hear well.

And then to hold on to this. To take this to heart, to let the truth cut against us by coming honestly before God, with all that we are, and to let this proclamation prune off anything that isn’t of God’s kingdom. So we can take Luke chapter 4 and ask: Do I truly believe that God’s kingdom is here? Or am I building my own kingdom, or supporting someone else’s? Is what I believe and how I live good news to the poor? Am I captive to other voices or systems other than Jesus? Am I a healing presence for others? Who is the oppressed neighbour that Christ has come to free?

Think of it like a knife with no handle. Grip it tight, and let it cut you and prune you. Do the hard work of reflection and introspection with Scripture.

Bearing fruit through endurance

And finally, don’t stop there, but bear fruit through endurance. Do the thing God calls you to do, and do it to the very end.

The point of hearing and holding the Word of God is to lead us to action; to obedience.

Or in Jesus’ sermon on the Plain, he says: 6:27-28 to you who are listening, who are hearing: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. [6:46-48] 46 And don’t just call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you…

47 “ Listen to my words and put them into practice —Everyone who comes to me who does that, I will show you what he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.

So in Jesus’ sermon, being on rocky ground is a good thing; but in the parable, being rocky soil is bad— but both land on listening and doing. And just a few verses after the parable, the disciples get into a boat and hit a storm and Jesus calms the storm with a word and the disciples remark: 8:25 He commands the winds and the water and they obey him. And a chapter after that, Peter James and John see Jesus transfigured, his clothes become dazzling white and a voice from the cloud spoke and said: [9:35] this is my Son, my Chosen one: Listen to him.

Listen well. Hold fast. And then do– endure; bear fruit. That’s how you be the good soil.

Now I must confess, I don’t always listen well, or hold fast, or endure. I have definitely gone down dark spirally paths of doom scrolling and being anxious about the state of our geopolitics and the unknowns of my kids’ future because of how fast technology is advancing without human flourishing as the key goal but rather the empowerment and enrichment of just a handful of individuals. Perhaps you are like me and also deal with things in the thorns category. Or perhaps you were once really joyful and excited about the things of God and Jesus’ kingdom, but you find yourself dry and listless now. That’s happened to me too.

Wherever you are, don’t get stuck on the soil categories as your ontology— who you are at your core identity. I see them more as phases we can go in and out of; and this is more about setting our lifetime trajectory rather than our story in individual seasons. Being good soil is a lifelong endeavour. Take Peter, for instance. When Jesus talks about [8:11] seeing, yet not seeing, hearing, yet not understanding: who saw and heard everything about Jesus? Peter. Yet he misunderstood so much about Jesus!

He didn’t understand that Jesus’ mission was going to culminate in death and resurrection, John tells us that at the garden, Peter raised a sword when Jesus was going to surrender his life peacefully, and Peter denied he was Jesus’ follower when he was pressed, and when Jesus rose from the dead, he didn’t believe the women who told him but instead ran to the tomb, saw it was empty, and he was amazed; he still didn’t really understand. Yet of course, Peter would go on to preach the Word of God and to lead the church; and he would die a martyr and would produce a hundredfold of fruit.

So maybe you’re something like Peter. Not the greatest example, but a relatable one who, by the end, did give his life away and saw it multiplied.

Mary, Joanna, and Susanna

But does Luke give a better example of this good soil anywhere?

I think he does; right before he gives the parable.

Verses 1-3: Jesus went town to town, proclaiming the gospel: that the kingdom of God has arrived… and the twelve and some women were with him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna, who ministered to them out of their own resources.

Women, especially these three prominent ones, funded Jesus’ ministry out of their own pockets. It wasn’t quite so scandalous to have women supporting itinerant rabbis financially, but it is quite astonishing that Joanna, who was married into Herod’s court, the same Herod who beheaded John the Baptist, that she was one of them.

And these women weren’t on the sidelines. They were counted among the disciples.

Some believe that these women were also among the 72 that Jesus sent to heal and proclaim the Kingdom of God in chapter 10.

And look at this in chapter 9: NRSVUE 9:18-22 Once when Jesus was praying alone, (this was in Galilee), with only the disciples near him… he asked some questions and then said, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, be rejected, and killed, and then on the third day, be raised.” Only the disciples knew.

When Jesus breathed his last breath, Luke notes that [23:49] the women who followed him from Galilee, those there at the beginning of chapter 8, heard what he said in chapter 9 and were sent in chapter 10, that they saw the whole crucifixion and where his body was laid in the tomb [23:55]. And the women again were the first ones to see the stone rolled away [24:1-3] and the empty tomb.

And the angels told them [24:6-10] that Jesus has been raised— and to “Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee, only to the disciples”: that he would be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day. So these women remembered Jesus’ Words; they held fast to it, and then they went and preached this to the apostles: that Jesus was raised! These women were the apostles to the Apostles. And two of these names are only mentioned twice in Luke’s Gospel: Mary Magdalene and Joanna. Mary and Joanna — mentioned at the beginning of chapter 8, right before the parable of the sower.

Luke gives an example of the good soil before he gives the parable itself. And it’s not Peter and James and John who are the ones who hear and hold fast to Jesus’ words and endure, but it’s Mary, Joanna, and Susanna who heard, held fast, and endured— They did the thing. They gave from their own resources to see Jesus minister, they themselves proclaimed the kingdom of God, and Jesus as Lord, and Jesus risen from the dead. They were there for the whole thing from beginning to the end, and preached to the apostles, and their fruit was a hundredfold.

Practising faithful discipleship

So how should this parable work in us?

For me, first, it’s to let these women be the example of the good soil. The ideal disciple. The family of Christ. A few verses after Jesus tells this parable, with its emphasis on hearing, he says: [8:21] My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. These women heard and did. What would my life look like if I made them the exemplars of the faith and life on earth? What would the church look like?

Second, I’d let this parable help me see my life as the seed sown. To have the Word of God, the proclamation of the Kingdom of God and Jesus as Lord take up every part of my being; that my life is the witness of the Gospel; the kingdom of God on earth is enacted in everything I do, until death. I take this from the next chapter where Jesus says: 9:23-25 If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take their cross daily and follow me. Those who want to save their life will lose it, those who lose their life for my sake will save it.

What profit is there to gain the world but lose their soul?

And here I think of Susanna. Mentioned once, and never again. She was probably known to Luke’s audience; maybe one generation after that, and then she disappears. She didn’t gain the whole world; maybe she only influenced Luke and his immediate circle. But I’d like to think she made a big impact for Luke for him to mention her. And that’s okay! Not everyone is called to be known in the whole world and to have biopics made of them… hear the Gospel. Christ has come, his kingdom is here. Hold fast to it honestly. Let it prune off anything not of the Kingdom in you. Know what God has called you to.

And endure in doing that.

Closing prayer and communion

Let us pray.

Holy Spirit, would you open our ears to hear and understand your Word. Show us what it means— that the Kingdom of Heaven has arrived, that Jesus is Lord. Empower us and enable us to listen and do the thing Christ has called each of us to do. Help us to endure, to not get choked out by the worries and anxieties of life or the lies of the devil. Root us deeply in you, Jesus, that we may abide and bear fruit. For the glory of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

So as usual, we’ll enter into a time of communion. Today I’ll be inviting Andre up to lead it. I’d like to have different members come up to do this at least once a month. There are so many good ways to do communion and I really appreciate the different emphases each way brings. So Andre, would you come on up?

Reflection questions

Who is a Susanna in your life — someone whose faithful endurance you’ve seen, who the world wouldn’t ever hear about?
Reflect on your life. Which soil(s) have you been? What is your trajectory? a. What would setting a trajectory for being good soil look like for your life?
Take Luke 4:18–19, Jesus’ own summary of the kingdom, and ask: Is what I believe and how I live good news to the poor? Am I captive to voices other than Jesus? Am I a healing presence? Who is the oppressed neighbour Christ has come to free?
What has God given you to do today? This week? Year? Decade?
The women at the tomb remembered. Three years after Galilee, standing in front of a rolled-away stone, they still had his words. As a spiritual practice for this week: write down something you believe God has said to you. Date it. Set a reminder on your calendar to look at it in a month, then a year, from now.

Meet Joshua Liem and visit Pilgrim Church

Joshua Liem is the lead pastor of Pilgrim Church in Vancouver, British Columbia. Read his official pastoral biography.

Pilgrim gathers on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. at 6075 Inverness Street, Vancouver, BC V5W 3P8. Plan a visit and check the church website for current details.

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