Consider Carefully What You Hear

Consider Carefully What You Hear Mark 4:21–34 (NIV84) 21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed [revealed], and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” 26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” 30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.” 33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (ESV) “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Friends, today I would like us to consider something, I think, that most of us are taking for granted, but that Jesus often highlighted – that we should use our senses to come to a better understanding of God’s message to us and the world that we live in. We find it in verses 23-24a: 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And “Consider carefully what you hear.” How many categories of sense organs do we have [5] — our eyes, ears, tongue, skin, and nose. Have you ever thought what the basic joined purpose of these sensory organs is? Scientist would say that the most important function of our sense organs is help to protect the body against all forms of danger. Why do you switch a light on? Yes, because you want to see. But why is it important to see? It is important because when we see we can respond better, or more informed, to our environment. This is true for all our senses. They make us more receptive. The better our senses function the more we become open, amenable, alert, and responsive to our environment and whom or whatever we meet. The better our senses function the safer we are. Let’s get back to our Scripture reading. Jesus started this section with a question and answer: “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? It is important to understand the context in which Jesus spoke these words. He was busy teaching His disciples as well as those who journeyed with them and those who came to meet Him. One of His basic modes of teaching was Parables. In using these short, provocative stories, Jesus recognizes the importance of the imagination. In using parables Jesus is seeking a shift in our imaginations, a shift in the way we see ourselves, see God, and see others. Such a shift may seem small and insignificant, but here he compares it to a mustard seed, a tiny particle that can have miraculous powers. In using parables, Jesus seeks to stimulate his audience’s imagination so that they might perceive the power and presence of God in a new and immediate way. The problem however was that Jesus’ parables were notoriously difficult to understand. Superficial listening might cause people to jump to simplistic conclusions. The disciples must have wondered why Jesus seemed to be deliberately hiding the truth of the gospel through parables. Perhaps in considering the parable of the sower they thought that if the Word was going to fall on hard hearts, then why should they sow it so liberally? Shouldn’t they just limit their teaching to those who were ready and eager to listen? But Jesus’ words answered their question with our scripture reading. “No,” explained Jesus, “I am not deliberately trying to hide the truth from people. That would be like lighting a lamp and then putting it under a bowl. Why then light the lamp at all? If I am hiding the truth, there is no reason for me to teach.” The purpose of the parables is not to conceal the truth, but to reveal it; the parables explain in everyday terms truths that human minds cannot grasp. Thus the parables do not obscure, they clarify—but only to those who are willing to listen and ponder intently, only those who pay attention all the more carefully and whose careful consideration prompted them to believe. The disciples may have been beginning to understand the mission to which Jesus had called them. Like the farmer in the parable, theirs would be the job of sowing the seed of the gospel in a largely hostile world. The light of the truth about Jesus had illuminated them, and it was their ministry to shine that light to a sin-darkened world. Their witness for Christ would be public, not hidden. The benefits of knowing Jesus and receiving salvation were not to be kept to themselves, but passed on to others. This is why Jesus said to them:23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And “Consider carefully what you hear.” The Hebrew word שׁמע [shama] and the Greek word ἀκούειν have a range of at least eight nuances for which these words for hearing are used: literally to hear sound; to understand a language; to understand in the sense of grasping meaning or significance; to recognize; to discern; to pay attention; to agree with, accept, or believe what is said; and to obey. I would like to remind you that parables beg to he heard. Seven times this expression comes at the end of a parable: “Let the one who has ears to hear, hear.” We find it in all three versions of the Parable of the Sower: Matthew 11:15; 13:43; Mark 4:23; Luke 14:35; also in Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; and 13:9. It also appears as a variant in Mark 7:16. • Matthew 11:15 He who has ears, let him hear. • Matthew 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. • Mark 4:23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” • Luke 14:35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” • Revelation 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. • Revelation 2:11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. • Revelation 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. • Revelation 2:29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. • Revelation 3:6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. • Revelation 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. • Revelation 3:22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” • Revelation 13:9 He who has an ear, let him hear. • Mark 7:16 Some early manuscripts have after ‘unclean’ this sentence: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. All of these references make one thing abundantly clear: neither Jesus’ teaching nor His miracles automatically produce the true response. True response is a product of careful consideration of what you hear. It seems to me that Jesus and all the reference texts are calling on us for that. They propel us into the domain of thoughtful, tenacious, and discerning faith. Through His Parables Jesus implored those who heard it first, and us as His secondary audience when we read it, to in-depth-listening. Parables urge us on to ask: “What do I really need to understand from what has been said?” Jesus clearly told these are stories with communicative intent even when the specific context has not been preserved, as is the case with many of them. Parables seek more than mere hearing, they seek effective [successful] hearing, hearing that leads to doing. They assume an in depth understanding of hearing, one that calls for profundity and perceptiveness in our listening and this includes a practice of obedience. In the Parable of the Lamp (Mark 4:21–25), we are taught that truth is manifest; in the Parable of the Growing Seed (4:26–29), we learn that growth is mysterious; in the Parable of the Mustard Seed (4:30–32), we are reminded once again that the results are multiple. Jesus put special emphasis on “having ears to hear” in the Gospel of Mark. He expected much more than a captive audience, though: “ ‘If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!’ And he said to them, ‘Take care what you hear! With the measure by which you measure out, it will be measured out to you, and will be added to you’ ” (Mark 4:23–24). Some people argue that our most important organs of sense are our eyes. Others argue that our ears are our most important sensory organs. What do you think? I would argue that hearing is probably the most important of all our senses. You might think that this is an unjustified overstatement, but I don’t think so. I would agree that all our sensory abilities are important, but would argue that hearing is our most important sense. Why? Because although they provide data for perception all our other senses are restricted to their own domain, but hearing opens up our world to language and language to communication that in turn provides an opportunity to share the whole of life with others. Just think about it, there are plenty of times when there’s little or no light, and you have to rely purely on hearing to communicate. For most of us, this is no big deal – but if you’re deaf or hard of hearing, it’s another case entirely! Even with hearing devices like cochlear implants, most deaf people still rely heavily on lip-reading. Language opens a new dimension whereby tradition, the past, is made available to us and we are allowed to understand who we are. I’m sure most of you know about Helen Keller? She was born healthy in 1880, but when Helen was 19 months old she contracted scarlet fever that caused her to become deaf and blind. She was cut off from the world until someone came along and opened the world for her by teaching her to communicate. At the age of 7 the learned her first word. Helen became famous for learning to speak and read despite her disabilities. She became the first deaf and blind person to earn a degree from university. We get closer to that in-depth understanding when we listen with intent, when we consider carefully what we hear. Stories do not have within themselves the force to persuade or convince. They were not intended so to do, any more than the miracles. They are pointers, signposts, avenues that, if followed, point us to the One who does convince and persuade, namely Jesus himself, and the attitude that helps us to follow the pointers and signposts along the avenue is serious, persistent, perceptive faith. Because the parables are so important in what they teach, Jesus warned the people to pay attention to his words. Consider carefully what you hear. To hear is not a neutral affair. Hearing puts us under great obligation. The time has come, not just for Jesus to preach and heal, but also for us to make up our minds. This theme also present in the spread of the early church, as in Acts 17:30–31. It means that those who preach or witness to others must realize how awesome a task we perform. We put those who hear under great obligation and responsibility. How important to do it with all the sensitivity, care and preparation possible! Friends, we need to understand that Jesus’ message is intended for all people. We should not hide Christianity from the watching world. Many Christians today are hidden from sight, reluctant to be identified as Christians. This kind of Christianity is like a brand-new light that never leaves the packaging it came in. If a lamp doesn’t help people see, it isn’t worth much. What Jesus told his disciples privately, we need to share with others privately and publicly. God’s truth requires a clear and helpful explanation to the world. As light fills a room, God’s Word drives out spiritual darkness. Disciples share in revealing God’s truth to the world through witness in word and deed. We dare not hide something as important as God’s truth. In the context of our faith we must treasure the words of Jesus. Because Scripture reminds us that those who hear, understand, and then share with others will be given even more understanding to pass along. The saving act of God in Jesus Christ remains both revealed and veiled to us in this life, just as it remained so for the first disciples. Like the disciples and like the early church, we are caught between understanding and misunderstanding. Therefore, let us use our ears (verse 23) and consider carefully what we hear! Jesus revealed the secret of the kingdom to His disciples, to the surrounding crowd, and to us. Now that we hear, we must take care that we respond. Bear fruit befitting His work in you (Mark 4:20), and let others know why you bear fruit (Mark 4:21–22). Because He has given to you with such abundance, He expects you to live abundantly for Him—right now. As believers we are responsible to use our God-given understanding, insight, and opportunities to share the gospel well. Whether we have little or much is not nearly as important as what is done with what we have. Only as we put God’s teachings into practice will we understand and see more of the truth. The truth is clear, but our ability to understand is imperfect. That is why we need to consider carefully what we hear! Consider and believe! And because you believe, obey! And as we obey, our vision will be sharpened and our understanding increased.