(4:15) They by the wayside,
that is, “those alongside the road.”
“Satan” is from a Hebrew word which means “adversary.” The definite
article precedes it, showing that a particular adversary is in the mind of the
writer whom both the writer and the reader know. It is “The Satan.” Matthew in
the parallel passage (13:19), calls this terrible being “the evil one,” the
Greek word being ho ponēros (ὁ πονηρος), “the evil one.” There are two words
translated “evil” in the New Testament, kakos
(κακος), “evil in the
abstract,” and ponēros (πονηρος), “evil in active opposition to the
good.” The kakos (κακος) man is content to perish in his own
corruption. The ponēros (πονηρος) man wants to drag everybody else down
with him into that corruption. The word “pernicious” is an excellent rendering.
Luke in his parallel passage (8:12), calls him ho diabolos (ὁ
διαβολος), in English
“the Devil,” the meaning in Greek being “the slanderer, the false accuser.”
(Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies for the Greek New Testament:
For English Readers, 22 vols. [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1998], 1:87)
Jesus’ teaching reflects the existence of the devil as an active
enemy. In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, the evil one in Jesus’ parable
snatches away the seed that falls along the path (Matt 13:19; Mark 4:15). In
other words, part of the devil’s work is to cause a person to neglect the
message of the kingdom of God. Wicked people are called followers or children
of the devil (John 8:44; Acts 13:10; Rev 2:9; 3:9; 1 John 3:8). (David
Seal, “Satan,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al.
[Bellingham, Wash.: Lexham Press, 2016], Logos Bible Software edition)
