Luke 8:16-18 (3)

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Well, we’ve come to Luke 8:16-18 this morning.

As always, I would encourage you to follow along in your Bibles.

-For the last two weeks, we’ve been looking at:

The Parable of the Sower...

The reason Jesus gave for beginning to speak to the crowds in parables.

And both Luke, and Mark, attach the warnings that we see in today’s verses...

…to those very things.

It will behoove us...

…to take those warnings seriously

We’ll begin reading in verse 16:

Luke 8:16–18 (ESV)

16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

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-What we have in these verses...

…is (essentially) three common sayings of Jesus...

…being combined together...

…to illustrate the importance of...

…responding appropriately to the Word of God!

-Because of the fact that they are used elsewhere (individually)...

…it can be easy for us to conflate their combined emphasis here...

…with their individual applications elsewhere.

But, we’re going to try to make those...

...comparisons and contrasts as we go along...

…and (hopefully) weed out those misunderstandings.

-It will help us to keep in the forefront of our minds...

…that Jesus is speaking these words within the context...

…of How the Word of God is received.

-Look with me again at verse 16.

You’ll notice quickly...

…that it is something of a micro-parable, itself:

Luke 8:16 (ESV)

16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed...

To help us understand the point, imagine:

It’s the middle of the night...

No moonlight...

Doors are shut...

Blinds are drawn...

And your power goes out...

And all you have are candles!

(That’s more the scenario at this time)

The darkness is deep and permeating...

…and you fumble around in the drawer...

…and find a candle and a match.

With great trouble, you light the match...

…and that small light invades the darkness!

Then you light the candle...

…so that now you can see something of the whole room.

Then... you run over and grab a pot...

…and put it over top of the candle!

What have you done?

You’ve snuffed out the light, haven’t you?

You’ve defeated the very purpose for which you created that light, haven’t you?

Who would do such a thing?

No one! (That’s what Jesus says)

It’s a ridiculous scenario, isn’t it?

What are you really going to do with that candle?

Set it on a table in the center of the room...

Where everyone in the house can see it!

That’s what Jesus says:

Luke 8:16 (ESV)

16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.

-Now, there’s nothing complicated about the illustration He’s using here.

Where we can get tripped up...

…is when we conflate its application here...

…with how He applies the same principle elsewhere.

For example, he uses the same analogy in:

Matthew 5:13–16 (ESV)

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

What’s He talking about here?

God’s people outraying God’s goodness and righteousness...

…through their deeds!

This is why the Church is described in the Revelation...

…as Lamp-stands!

The Holy Spirit is the oil that...

…produces the light of God’s glory within her...

(i.e., the Spirit’s work produces fruit within Her)

You can see this principle in:

Philippians 2:12–15 (ESV)

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine (through word and deed) as lights in the world,

This is the specific application of the parable in Matthew 5.

It’s a little different than the application in our text.

But, the two are interconnected!

Look at what Paul says in the next verse about...

...the primary way that they were to accomplish that:

Philippians 2:16 (ESV)

16 holding fast to the word of life...

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THAT’S what the meaning of our text is.

Remember the Parable that proceeded it.

The Sower was broadcasting the Word of God.

Remember, what Zechariah (John’s the Baptist’s dad) prophesied...

…about the first advent of Christ in the incarnation.

He described it as:

Luke 1:78–79 (ESV)

78 ...the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Remember also how Simeon had said that Christ’s advent was:

Luke 2:32 (ESV)

32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

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This is the particular focus of verse 16:

The light of Revelation through the Word being proclaimed.

The Revelation of God

The Revelation of His Kingdom!

If you’ve been so privileged as to receive it, you don’t...

Selfishly hide it under your bed...

Put a lid on it...

Keep it to yourself!

…You put it on a stand for the whole world to see!

That’s what’s being implied in verse 16.

-Now, notice that verse 17 begins with a causal conjunction:

It says:

Luke 8:17 (ESV)

17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

Remember, that He is talking to His Disciples...

…in the context of how you hear, and respond to,...

…the Word of God.

And, He's saying that the Word of God is inevitable!

It’s unavoidable

Its precepts are inescapable

Its judgments are absolute

You will have to come to terms with it sooner or later...

And It will reveal the truth about EVERYTHING!

It is inevitable!

Its light will eventually pierce every nook and cranny of your soul!

Mark words it like this:

Mark 4:22–23 (ESV)

22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.

-This principle is ubiquitous

Solomon warned:

Ecclesiastes 12:14 (ESV)

14 ...God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

The New Testament frequently issues such warnings as well.

Hebrews 4:13 (ESV)

13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Luke 12:1–3 (ESV)

1 . . . “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

What’s that?

Hiding your true nature

2 Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.

3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops.

That sobering!

Paul warned:

1 Timothy 5:24–25 (ESV)

24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.

25 So also good works are conspicuous, and even those that are not cannot remain hidden.

He also warned that when our Lord returns, He will:

1 Corinthians 4:5 (ESV)

5 ...bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart...

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That’s going to happen...

fully

finally

…at the second-coming...

But, if I’m understanding it right...

…verse 17 is saying that the proclamation of the Word of God....

…will have such an effect on its hearers NOW!

Think about the context of the preceding parable.

All of the soils looked the same at the time of the sowing.

But, the sowing of the seed...

…forces the reality of their true nature to be revealed.

The point being, that an inescapable collision happens...

…every time we hear/read the Word of God.

The same light that reveals the hidden purposes of God...

…also exposes our responses to it.

If the soil of our heart has been made good...

Then we will respond to it with:

Faith

Repentance

Obedience

(i.e., we will bear its fruit)

If the soil of our heart is still bad...

Then we will respond with:

Unbelief

Impenitence

Argumentation

Excuse making.

But, what’s absolutely certain, is...

Luke 8:17 (ESV)

17 …nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest....

This is Jesus’ warning here.

These are the indicatives of our text:

God’s Word is light.

It cannot, and shall not, be concealed

It will penetrate even the darkest of areas

It will bring to light EVERY hidden reality!

Those are the indicatives.

Verse 18 contains the (hopefully) now familiar imperative.

We’ve read it for the last two weeks now:

Luke 8:18 (ESV)

18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

We saw this same warning last week in Matthew 13.

Remember how we parsed it out then:

What does the one “who has,” have?

Revelation of God

The Word of God

Remember how we plugged that back into the text for emphasis.

Let’s do the same thing for Luke’s account...

And notice that he records a very helpful addition.

Luke 8:18 (ESV)

18 Take care then how you hear (God’s Word), for to the one who has (The light of God’s self-revelation), more will be given, and from the one who has not (That light), even what he thinks (appears, supposes) that he has (Of the Knowledge of God) will be taken away.” — (Emphasis Mine)

Remember that axiom we read last week...

…that sums this precept up so well?

Light rejected is light denied. — Believer’s Bible Commentary

The application I interjected then, was that...

…if you want to grow in...

...Your knowledge and understanding of...

God

His Word

His Kingdom

His World...

…then you must begin with simple...

…belief and obedience to the light you’ve already received!

There is no shortcut!

You will be exposed if you try!

Norval Geldenhuys said it like this:

“While those who listen to Him with a believing, surrendered and obedient heart, will be given a deeper and more intensive insight into the spiritual life and into His Word,

the indifferent and disobedient ones will lose even the little measure of spiritual knowledge and joy of life which they possess.” — Norval Geldenhuys

I think that sums up the warning pretty well.

-Sproul adds a little nuance to his summary.

I think that nuance will be beneficial:

There is a further point hinted at here in this little saying of Jesus, that is a frequent motif in his teaching, and that is this: that with Christ, and with the words of Christ, there is no neutrality.

You either respond and move from faith to faith, from grace to grace, from life to life.

Or you move in a negative direction from darkness to darkness, from unbelief to unbelief, from death to death.

Jesus is saying that’s the way it is. Where the word of God has taken root in a person’s heart, that person begins to be nurtured; more and more is given to those who are open to the things of God.

But to those who are closed, whatever semblance of benefit of the things of God that person has, they are going to lose it. God does not give his gifts to be played with.

This is a very sober warning from Christ. — R.C. Sproul

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-Brethren, the New Testament is full of these warnings...

(Even, many times, using this same language)

We must receive those portions of God’s word too!

We must...

Believe

Heed

Obey

Put out on the table, in the center of the room...

Shine forth

Out-ray

Do business with...

…those portions of God’s Word too!

Remember what James warned in:

James 1:22–25 (ESV)

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.

24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

(Elaborate)

25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

I hope the connection is clear.

Jesus told HIS DISCIPLES...

(NOT the crowds)...

Luke 8:18 (ESV)

18 Take care then how you hear...

These warnings are for us...

…and we would do well to heed them.

Ask the brothers to come up and distribute

Brethren, as blessed and joyous a thing as the Lord’s Supper is to us...

It too, is prescribed with warnings attached to it.

Those warnings are based on the fact that...

…the Supper is a proclamation of divine truth.

Remember the admonishments to the Church at Corinth:

1 Corinthians 11:17–22 (ESV)

17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse.

18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you...

20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat.

That’s a strong indictment

What you’re doing isn’t the Supper

21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk.

22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.

Here’s why partaking in such a manner is so egregious.

It hearkens back to our stewardship responsibilities of the Word:

1 Corinthians 11:26 (ESV)

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

If you corrupt the ordinance...

…you corrupt the gospel that its proclaiming.

This is very serious.

Thus, Paul says:

1 Corinthians 11:27–30 (ESV)

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.

28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.

Is this a “very sober warning” from Christ’s Apostle?

How do we partake in a worthy manner?

First of all, we:

We use the proper elements

We don’t get innovative or creative.

(We don’t ascribe to them more than the Scriptures say)

Secondly,

We admit the proper participants:

The members of the New Covenant

(Do we know for sure who that is?)

So, how do we police it?

By admitting all who have publicly professed faith and allegiance to Christ...

…through the waters of baptism...

…and have given no cause for that good confession to be rejected...

…through the means of church discipline.

-If we modify or innovate on any of these...

…we change the nature of the proclamation!

How else?

We partake with reverence and sobriety

We partake in faith

Faith in the reality behind the symbols!

(Not in the efficacy of the symbols themselves)

We partake in humility and dependence

We partake in the fear of the Lord

We partake with love and consideration for those who are seated at the table with us.

Paul said this (and we’ll partake) in the midst of those warnings that we read:

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 (ESV)

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,

24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

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Partake

Paul went on to say this:

1 Corinthians 11:25 (ESV)

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

And this is where he had said:

1 Corinthians 11:26 (ESV)

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Ask to Pray

Partake

Amen!

Let’s Continue to Worship and Proclaim!