Jesus Has Spoken. Will You Listen?

We Should Absolutely Listen to Jesus

This morning we’ll be continuing to listen in on the book of Mark. And as we’ve seen over the past few months, the book of Mark here gives us an account of Jesus’s life. And for the first few chapters, Mark has been insisting that Jesus is the Christ – the one chosen to be king over God’s people – and Jesus is also the Son of God. And this means that Jesus isn’t merely a man. But he’s deity. He’s truly equal to God in his being, in his perfections, and in his authority.

And we’ve seen evidence that this is the case. God the Father has spoken from heaven to affirm the identity of his son. Jesus has healed the sick, and Jesus has overpowered Satan and his minions. Jesus has interpreted and applied God’s Word with unique authority. But in spite of all this, Mark has been showing us that in those early days, virtually no one understood how significant Jesus was. We’ve seen that Jesus was misidentified and misunderstood by the Jewish religious teachers, by the crowds, by his own family – even misunderstood by his twelve closest followers – his disciples.

And yet last week we learned that in some respect, this is intentional. Jesus’s plan hasn’t been for everyone to recognize his greatness, and to understand his teaching. In fact, Jesus has been teaching people in hard-to-understand ways – by speaking in metaphors and parables. He’s been doing this on purpose, in order to reveal the secrets of the kingdom of God to some people, but not to everyone.

And last week we gave attention to one of these parables – the parable of the Soils (also known as the Parable of the Sower). And this morning, we’ll be looking at another section of text where Jesus speaks in a less-direct way – with metaphors and parables. So if you haven’t already, please turn with me in your Bibles to Mark, Chapter 4. If you’re using one of our church Bibles, you can find our text on page 788. And this morning, we’ll be giving our attention to verses 21 through 25. Before we listen to these verses, though, let’s ask for God to work by His Spirit, and to lead us into a right understanding of his word. Let’s pray:

[Pray and Read Text]

Make Use of God’s Gifts, or Miss Out

Sometimes in our home, I’ll be helping to clean up after dinner, and one of our kids will come up to me and ask, “Can I have a snack? I’m hungry.” And as you can imagine, I’ll say, “What? You’re hungry? We just finished meal time! How can you be hungry?” And almost always my child will explain that he or she didn’t have enough food – either because they were distracted, or because they didn’t like what we were having for dinner, or because they assumed they had time to wait – but in any case, my answer is usually the same. I try to explain to them – meal time is over. We aren’t going to have snacks at 1:15 when we’ve just gotten done with lunch. When the food is out on the table, we expect you to eat it. That’s what it’s there for. And we try to help our kids realize – if they aren’t going to eat when it’s time to eat, it’s not mommy and daddy’s fault if they’re hungry. If they don’t make use of the food that’s out at lunchtime, they’re going to miss out on it.

And in the verses I just read, Jesus is actually making a similar point to his disciples. Remember, his disciples had come to him, back in Mark 4, verse 10, asking him to explain the parable of the soils to them. And so Jesus has done this – in verses 13 through 20. He’s taken the time to explain the secret meaning of his story.

But now in our text – Jesus changes gears. He’s done telling them what the story means. And now, Jesus wants to make clear that having this special knowledge should lead to action. Jesus wants his followers to know – including us – that you need to make use of God’s gifts, or you’ll miss out on his gifts. (You need to make use of God’s gifts, or you’ll miss out on his gifts.)

I’ll give some more explanation to what Jesus is saying, and what he isn’t saying here as we go along – but we’ll see this big idea more clearly as we unpack two word-pictures – two lessons – that Jesus gives us in our text. In verses 21 and 22, Jesus explains that light has been given in order to be revealed. This will be first main point. (Light has been given in order to be revealed). And in verses 23 through 25, Jesus explains that listening is necessary in order to receive benefit. And that will be my second main point. (Listening is necessary in order to receive benefit). There are just two points here this morning.

Light Has Been Given in order to Be Revealed

So as we unpack this first point – that light has been given in order to be revealed – let’s take a closer look at this illustration that Jesus uses, concerning the lamp. Right after Jesus finishes explaining the parable that we looked at last week, he then asks his disciples a question. In verse 21, Jesus says, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?”

In other words, Jesus is asking, “When someone brings a light into their home, what is it’s purpose? Is the lamp intended to go under a basket or under a bed – to be covered up? Is that what the light is for? And the obvious answer is no. Especially in those days – because they didn’t have electric lights. They had oil lamps and putting those lamps under a basket or under a bed would be a fire hazard. So the obvious place you’d want to put a lamp would be on a stand – you’d want to put it in some prominent place in the room where the lamp can give light to the house.

Of course, Jesus isn’t trying to teach us about home décor here. He isn’t literally talking about lamps or light fixtures. But instead, this lamp that Jesus is talking about is the light of God’s Word. And the point he’s making is that when this special communication arrives – when the light comes to us, there’s a purpose in it. God wants us to see to it that the light shines – that the radiance of his truth goes out.

Now, what might be confusing is that last week Jesus maybe seemed to be saying something different. Because, you might remember – he said that the reason why he was speaking in parables was so that many would hear his words without understanding them. It may almost sound like Jesus’s goal was to hide his lamp under a bed.

But it’s important to clarify that last week, Jesus was making a different point. He was showing us how the human heart is unable to understand Jesus’s words unless he helps us. The inability of the crowd to understand Jesus’s parables was just symbolic of that. And fortunately, Jesus’s plan really isn’t to keep everyone in the dark. But he begins to reveal the secrets of the kingdom of God, starting with his disciples.

And in our text this morning, Jesus quickly affirms he wants his followers to reveal God’s Word to other people, too. He’s now giving them understanding and light – he’s giving them a lamp – for the purpose of having that light shine. That’s what he’s saying in verse 21. And even though God’s good news had remained rather hidden and mysterious up until those days, Jesus makes it clear that it shouldn’t stay that way. Instead, in verse 22, he explains that, “nothing has been hidden except to be made manifest, nor is anything secret except to come to light.” In other words, Jesus doesn’t want his disciples to think that they should try to keep God’s good news to themselves. Because the day has now arrived for these things to be brought to light. The time has come for the riddles to be revealed and for the puzzles to be proclaimed in clear words.

And make sure you recognize how Jesus intends to do this. Jesus plans to reveal the magnificent mysteries of his kingdom through his followers. He doesn’t intend to give an audible voice from heaven. He doesn’t intend for this work to be totally done through angels or supernatural signs. Instead, Jesus intends to speak through ordinary people to reveal extraordinary good news.

And even though this might seem strange at first, Jesus is doing this deliberately. He knows what he’s doing. For one thing, Jesus wants his message to be proclaimed by people who have personally experienced the goodness of it – who have been personally changed by it.

Just imagine for a moment that a business owner or a sales representative comes to your door, and they say, “I have an out-of-this-world great product. It’s low cost, it looks nice, and it really works.” Now, it’s possible that you’d just take their word for it – and you’d buy the new vacuum, or the hair cream, or whatever it might be that they’re selling. But I think that most of us are looking for something more than a sales pitch. We want to read the product reviews. We want to hear personally from people who have been doing business with this company for a long time. We want to see evidence that this product really makes a difference.

And that’s part of the genius of Jesus sending out people who have been transformed by the good news – people like you and I. Because we can show people, not only what Jesus has said, but also how it has changed us. We’ve been humbled by his word – because he’s shown us our badness, and our broken relationship with God. We’ve been healed by his word, because we’ve trusted that Jesus died in our place to rescue us from evil and death. And his word has changed our desires, our behaviors, and our priorities – to love God and others instead of being obsessed with ourselves. We can speak compellingly about the goodness of Jesus’s Word, because we’ve experienced it. Because it has changed our lives for the better, and it continues to change us.

But there’s another reason why Jesus is brilliant, here, when He calls his followers to lift up their lamp, and to transmit the radiance of God’s truth. It’s brilliant, because when we take this responsibility seriously – when we’re actively laboring to make God’s word known to other people – it has a profound impact on our spiritual health. It stretches us and matures us and it refines us in a really unique way. Because it forces us to internalize the words of Scriptures. It forces us to figure out how to understand the Bible, how to explain the Bible, and how to apply the Bible in every part of life.

Something similar happens when a husband and wife have their first child. The new mom and dad are now responsible to meet the needs of somebody else – not just themselves – and it forces them to grow. There’s something about changing dirty diapers a thousand times, without getting praised or paid for it, that makes people more humble, more patient, and more willing to serve others. And young parents are forced to mature, because they have to think about how they’re going to raise their baby – and what habits and virtues they’re going to pass on. Being responsible for other people like this grows us. And so when God calls us to be responsible for other people, spiritually – when he tells us to make known his word to others – it’s really helpful, not just for the spiritual formation of others – but for ours, too.

So, as a church in Mt Pleasant, let’s lean into the task Jesus has for us. Let’s be people who speak freely about God’s Word – people who live it out with joy, integrity, and consistency, in a way that makes the goodness of his Word visible. And (many of you are so diligent in these things already, but) let’s also continue to be people who display the love of Christ – people who are eager to step in and serve the needs of others.

We shouldn’t be ashamed or afraid to ask people about their faith journey, or to invite them to take a step toward the light. It doesn’t have to be hard. You can even ask a simple question: “Hey, have you ever taken time to read the Bible before? Have you ever been in a small group to talk about God and the Bible? Is that something you’d ever be interested in checking out?” If we really appreciate the difference that God’s truth has made in our own lives, it just makes sense that we’d want other people to enjoy the light, too. The purpose of the lamp is to shine. Friends, are you shining your light into the darkness?

Listening Is Necessary in order to Benefit

But, if we’re going to bring light to others, we need make sure that we’re really listening to Jesus ourselves. And that’s what Jesus is getting at in verses 23 through 25. He explains that if you and I, ourselves, are really going to benefit from the light of his word, we need to be careful how we listen to it. And this is my second main point from our text this morning – that listening is necessary in order to benefit.

So as we work through the remaining verses in our text, I want to answer three questions. First, who should listen? Second, how should we listen? Third, what will happen if we listen well, or if we don’t?

So first, Jesus talks about who should listen in verse 23, when he says, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Now, to some of us, it might sound like Jesus is limiting who he’s speaking to here. It might seem like there’s a subset of people who have a special ability to understand what he’s saying – who have ears to hear – and that he’s just telling those people to listen, while everyone else is off the hook.

But it’s much more likely, here, that Jesus is directing his words to everybody – to everyone who has ears for hearing. Of course, in our world that’s been messed up by sin, sometimes people have birth defects and they don’t have ears, or some people are deaf and can’t listen to audible noises. But the point here is that it’s nearly a universal human experience for people to have hearing ears. And so that’s why Jesus speaks how he does. He’s basically saying, “If you have ears – if you’re a human being, if you have a pulse – then you have a responsibility to listen.”

And Jesus clarifies how we should listen in the next verse. In verse 24, he says, “Pay attention to what you hear.” Or perhaps a better way to translate Jesus’s words here would be “Make sure that you see the significance of what you hear. Make sure you understand it.”

And so when it comes to hearing Jesus’s Word, our goal isn’t just to confirm that audible noises came from Jesus’s mouth. Our goal isn’t even just to remember what Jesus said, in order to recite his words to other people. That’s something that a well-trained parrot can do. Instead, our goal must be to actually see the meaning of his words – to understand them.

Otherwise – if we aren’t really sure what Jesus is talking about, how can we expect to know God and the way of salvation with any level of confidence? Why should we expect to have a life of joy and courage and comfort in Jesus, if we don’t understand what his life and mission were about? If you want God’s goodness and truth to shine out of you, it’s essential to make sure that his light has been shining into you. And so Jesus insists, “Pay attention to what you hear.”

But practically, what does this look like? What are things we can do to keep ourselves focused – to make sure that we’re paying attention to Jesus’s word? Jesus himself doesn’t go into great detail here. But let me give a few practical ideas that reflect the Biblical wisdom of the text here:

First – perhaps most importantly – recognize your need for God’s word. Part of the reason why Jesus insists that his word needs to be publicized is because people like you and I have an ongoing need to hear it!  But I think that many of us struggle to listen to God’s Word because we don’t actually believe it’s necessary. We think too much of ourselves, and too little of our dependence on God’s truth and mercy. And so before you can really listen, you need to turn from your arrogance. You must admit that that his word is necessary to drive you out of your darkness to Christ. There should be a real conviction that you need his truth, in order to be corrected by it, conformed to it, and comforted by it. If you have a humble attitude like this, it’ll have a profound impact on how you listen.

But practically, here’s another idea that may help you pay attention to the words you hear from Jesus. Remember the person who’s speaking. I think it’s easy for us to forget that the words of Scripture are coming to us from a person. And not just from any random person – but from the Supremely good and powerful person who invented the universe – who displayed his great love for us by suffering on the cross for our sin. We aren’t just reading facts and figures from a text book. But by giving us his word, Jesus is personally caring for us. And so when you’re hearing the Bible preached, or discussing it, or reading it – remember, you aren’t just dealing with paragraphs and punctuation. You’re dealing with a person, in the context of a real relationship.

But let me mention a third practical idea, that’s helpful for paying attention to Jesus’s Word. You should actually reserve time to do it. We need time, not just to take a quick bite of truth and swallow it – but we need time to digest it, and to be nourished by it. I think that many people are looking for a shortcut to spiritual growth and nutrition. They just want the Bible multi-vitamin: something fast and easy – something they can quickly gulp down, so they can get on with their life. But it shouldn’t surprise us – that way of ingesting God’s truth will ultimately be flavorless and unfulfilling. If you really want to be enriched and energized from the words of Jesus, you need to make time for it. I suppose it’s like that old riddle: “How do you eat an elephant? Of course, it’s one bite at a time.” There really aren’t any shortcuts.

So what does making time to learn from God’s Word look like? Well, if you aren’t already having meal time from your Bible daily, that’s one place I’d encourage you to start. Even 10 minutes of reading and 5 minutes of reflecting, and trying to summarize the main idea will go along way. But this isn’t just something to do privately, on your own. If you live with other people, have a time each day where you’re discussing the Bible with your family or roommates, too. And just as God has wisely told us, people like us need to set aside one a day a week to refocus on Him – to gather as a church for worship, and to prioritize and spiritual rest and refreshment. Paying attention to His Word takes time. And so we need to make time.

But here’s one more quick piece of advice, when it comes to paying attention. Remove distractions. Plan ahead, as best as you can. And get good sleep. Put your phone on silent – or just put it away for a time. Pick out a quiet place. And remind yourself that the big football game really isn’t all that big. Your to-do list can wait for 15 minutes. What needs your attention now, is to listen to the voice of Jesus, here in the Scriptures.

So when it comes to listening and learning from the word, these four things are practically wise – Recognizing our need, remembering the person speaking, reserving time, and removing distractions.

But Jesus answers one more question here, about listening. The question of what will happen? What will happen if I listen, versus if I don’t?

And in the second half of verse 24, Jesus explains. He says, “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.” And this is what he means, here. Jesus lived in a time when people often went to marketplaces to buy their food. And in these marketplaces, people would sell rice and barley and stuff, and they’d measure it out with whatever type of scoop they had. And when Jesus says, “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you,” the idea is if you’re generous as you measure out and sell your rice and barley – if you use a big measure – then people will be similarly generous when they measure their goods out to you.

But in this situation, Jesus isn’t talking about people being generous with their rice or barley. Instead, he’s saying that if you and I are generous in our listening, then God will be proportionately generous in giving wisdom and insight. In fact, God will be even more generous. Jesus says that “still more will be added to you.” And in verse 25, Jesus adds something similar, “For to the one who has, more will be given.”

Notice here, the way to receive good things from God – it’s not by deal-making, or by making promises to him. It’s not by doing religious rituals. It’s not by performing miracles, or by having spiritual experiences. Instead, it really has nothing to do with us accomplishing or achieving anything at all. Instead, Jesus says that if we listen – if we humbly accept that we’re the delinquent who needs correction, that we’re the fool who needs true wisdom – then God will fill our ear, and heal our heart with the good news of Jesus. He’ll do this, not just to meet the level of how well we listened – but instead to reach the level of his infinite grace and kindness.

And when we consider how eagerly and freely God wants to give good things to us – why wouldn’t we want to listen? The more wisdom and confidence and happiness we gain from God’s Word – the bigger our capacity will be to receive even more. “…[S]till more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given.” And so his word is like a golden spoon. Not only is the word precious itself, but it’s also the tool God uses to further fill us and delight us from the buffet line of his goodness.

Listen Well or Lose Out?

And yet at the end of verse 25, Jesus ends here with a word of warning – to his disciples, and also to us. Because he solemnly explains, “from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

So there are just two options that Jesus lays out here. Those who receive the word – who have the word – they’ll receive even more good things from God. But for those who don’t receive the word – who don’t listen, who don’t understand – God promises that a person like that will lose everything. “Even what he has will be taken away” – that’s what Jesus says here.

Essentially, the person who doesn’t gain from Jesus’s Word – he’s like a man who’s living on borrowed money. From the surface, it might look like this guy owns a house, and a car, and all kinds of possessions. But in reality, he doesn’t own anything. In fact, this guy is bankrupt. He has nothing that’s truly his own. And so when the day of reckoning comes, and the bank is asking to get the money back, even what he has will be taken away.

But when we’re talking about people who don’t have Jesus, the situation is much more serious. Because ultimately, we don’t just owe things to a bank. We owe things to God. And we don’t just owe him our houses and cars – we owe him our very lives. We’re indebted to him for every breath, and every bit of happiness that we’ve ever been able to enjoy. It’s all borrowed money. So when the day of reckoning comes, if you haven’t listened to his good news – if you haven’t received from the bank vaults of Christ’s saving work, then your time has run out – and you’ll be left with zero. You’ll enter eternity with absolutely no hope, no happiness, no help from heaven. You will have nothing, in the most miserable sense of the word. So please, I don’t want anyone here to walk that road. Open your ears, for as long as you still have ears to hear!

Because there’s a God in heaven who has spoken. He’s given the mysteries of his good news to us. And he’s given us His Son, Jesus, to suffer the penalty for our wrongs, and to secure for us forgiveness and eternal life. We don’t deserve gifts like this. And yet even now, Jesus wants to give us even more. He’s calling from his word – to children and adults, to men and women, to the rich and the poor, to everybody within hearing range. And he’s saying that if you will just listen, you’ll richly benefit forever from the treasurehouse of God’s goodness.

So don’t ignore the one who’s speaking in Scripture. Pay attention to what you’ve heard. And pursue faith. Pursue fruitfulness. And proclaim the light of Jesus for as long as there’s still time. Let’s pray: