Those sown along the roadside are the ones in whom the word is sown, but when they hear the word, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
Here Christ reveals the spiritual meaning of the first soil. The soil by the roadside is not only hard, but the seeds that fall on it are also subject to swift snatching away, just as the word sown in similar hardened hearts is subject to being snatched away. Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown. This shows us that hearing the Gospel belongs to the realm of spiritual warfare. When the word is proclaimed, the evil one is not indifferent. He knows the value of that word and strives so that it will not remain within a person. For this reason, carelessness, treating it with laughter, putting it off, or being immediately filled with other things are dangerous. If a person does not keep what he has heard, it is easily lost. This explanation also shows that a person’s inner condition and demonic opposition often work together. A hardened heart becomes a suitable place for the work of evil.