Sermon Tone Analysis

At our last men’s night, we talked about the ways we most commonly waste time.

Everyone was surprised to learn that with only one exception, the way in which every guy there wastes time is on YouTube.

What varied was the things they watched on YouTube.

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.”

19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd.

20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Anon, 2016.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

All of this is explanation and exposition of v. 15—the good soil is those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in a good and honest heart, and bear fruit with patience.

v. 16: Cf.

Bearing fruit: fruit will be visible; good fruit will be plainly seen, and bad fruit will come to light.

v. 18: Cf.

V. 8, 10

Cf.

Bearing fruit: fruit will be visible; good fruit will be plainly seen, and bad fruit will come to light.

What’s with the “then”?

How do we “take care how we hear?” (Fr.

Écoutez).

He seems to command something we cannot do: hear with understanding.

v. 21: The relationship between Jesus & those who bear fruit.

“For Jesus, spiritual relationships were more important than physical ones.”

ESVN

At our last men’s night, we talked about the ways we most commonly waste time.

Everyone was surprised to learn that with only one exception, the way in which every guy there wastes time is on YouTube.

What varied was the things they watched on YouTube.

Be careful to listen and obey, for if you do:

your obedience will prove your faith (v.

16-17);

YouTube is a black hole—some things you find there are for entertainment, some are for information, and some are for no discernible use at all.

Now although there are some useful things on YouTube, the useful videos aren’t generally the ones that the majority of young men watch.

Most young men, if they’re watching “information”-type videos, watch the ones on how to hang upside down for an hour without getting a headache, how to build homemade lightsabers, how to make a mile-long track for toy race cars…

Here’s why I think we could reasonably categorize most of these kinds of videos as “a waste of time”.

I’d venture a guess (and guys, you can correct me if I’m wrong) that very few people actually do the things they learn how to do in those videos.

I doubt anyone in this church has built an inflatable Superman suit, or made a boat float on gas in an aquarium.

And even the useful things—like how to make your workday more effective, or how to use paperclips to keep your computer cords from tangling—are very rarely implemented.

We watch, we go, “Good idea!” and then we forget it.

Intro:

you will grow in understanding (v.

18);

All of this information, while interesting, doesn’t do much good if you never use it.

you will be counted a part of God's family (v.

21).

Those who learn for fun (Eduardo + Wikipedia)

ou will be counted a part of God's family.

Those who learn for fun (Eduardo + Wikipedia)

Last week we saw Jesus’s parable of the sower.

He described four types of soil in which seed was thrown, and the various ways these soil caused the plant to bear fruit (or not).

And he said that each of these soils were pictures of different types of people, and the way they receive the gospel.

Amassing tons of information

Amassing tons of information

What he says in today’s passage is the continuation of what we saw last week; it’s what he says immediately after.

So let’s pick up where we left off, at verse 16.

Interesting, but it doesn’t do much good if you never use it.

Intro: Last week—the “good soil” = those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in a good and honest heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Interesting, but it doesn’t do much good if you never use it.

Hiding the Light (v.

16-18a)

Here we have another image—”the light” in this verse is representing the same thing as the “fruit” in the last image.

It’s what happens in us when we hear the Word of God, accept it, and put it into practice.

Jesus says (v. 16),

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.

So of course, here we have another image—the light in this image is the same as the fruit in the last image.

It’s what happens in us when we hear the Word of God, accept it, and put it into practice.

I heard this verse a lot when I was a kid,

I think this image is hilarious.

I used to hide under my covers after bedtime so I could read without my parents knowing (as bookworm children tend to do).

But I did it so I could read; I didn’t want it shining everywhere, but I did want it shining on my book.

Never once did I bring a flashlight into my room, turn it on, hide it under my covers…and then just go to sleep.

That’s what he’s saying here.

No one lights a lamp and covers it with a jar, or puts it under a bed.

Why?

Because that would be dumb; you light a lamp to give light.

And it’s not just dumb; it won’t work.

At the time when Jesus said this, there were no electric lamps.

Putting a lamp under a jar or under a bed would either just put the flame out, or it would light the bed on fire.

So when he says, No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, he’s not just saying, “Don’t do this.”

He’s saying it won’t work.

So when he says, No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, he’s not just saying, “Don’t do this.”

He’s saying it won’t work.

And Jesus says it won’t work.

V. 17:

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

So you see what he’s really saying.

If we truly have faith, it will be impossible to hide it, and it doesn’t make sense to try.

And yet, strangely, that’s exactly what many Christians do.

They treat their faith as something interior, as something that only happens on the inside.

So they’ll read their Bibles and understand the words and be happy with what they’ve learned…and go out and live as if they’ve learned nothing at all of consequence.

It produces happy emotions on the inside, but no discernible change on the outside.

How many Christians do you know who say they are Christians, who say they believe in God, who say they have faith in Christ, and yet who continue to live exactly the same way they always have? or who—even better—say that God doesn’t care how we live, as long as our hearts are in the right place?

But Jesus says that it doesn’t work that way.

If what is inside is truly good—if I really do have faith—then it will be visible.

This passage is very interesting, because it appears in all three of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke).

When Matthew recounts this part in , he quotes Jesus as saying

15 [People do not] 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.

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.

This is the version which is most well-known, and Jesus definitely said it.

Because of this verse, we often say, “Become what you are.

You’re a Christian, a child of God; so act the way God tells his children to live—prove you are one of his children.”

That’s true.

It’s a perfectly legitimate and biblical way of encouraging each other to holiness.