Consider Carefully How You Listen

Well, this morning as we come to the Word of God, we're back in the Gospel of Luke, continuing on with the story of Jesus.

Last time, we heard Jesus tell the parable of the sower and the soils.

It was a parable about how people have different responses to the Word of God that Jesus has been speaking.

And why?

Well, after telling that parable, Jesus had more to say.

He continues on.

And so, we're going to listen to what Jesus has to say in Luke chapter 8, verse 16.

Luke 8:16

Luke chapter 8, verse 16.

Luke 8:16

No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed.

Instead, they put it on a stand so that those who come in can see the light.

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.

Therefore, consider carefully how you listen.

Whoever has will be given more.

Whoever does not have, even what they think they have, will be taken from them.

Now, these words of Jesus aren't easy to understand.

Jesus uses an analogy of lamp and light.

But what does he mean by it?

Jesus uses proverbial language.

Verse 17 and verse 18 sound like they could be right out of the book of Proverbs.

In order to understand what Jesus means, we have to understand what the elements of this analogy relate to.

We have to understand how the proverbial truth applies to what Jesus is talking about.

And as we hear these words of Jesus, for many of us are probably thinking,

these things sound really familiar.

And that's maybe because Jesus says these same things on more than one occasion.

And he applies each of these three sayings in each of these three verses in different ways on different occasions.

If we flip ahead just a few chapters to Luke chapter 11, verse 33,

Luke 11:33

we notice Jesus says the same thing.

He says,

No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden or under a bowl.

Instead, they put it on its stand so that those who come in may see the light.

But there in Luke chapter 11, as he continues on,

Luke 11 · chapter mention

he says this, he says,

Your eye is the lamp of your body.

When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light.

Jesus goes in a totally different direction than he did here in Luke chapter 8.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

The analogy relates differently to what he says.

Or we could look at this thing Jesus says in chapter 8, verse 17,

For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed,

and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.

Jesus says the same thing later in Luke chapter 12, verse 2.

Luke 12:2

There he says,

Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed,

or hidden that will not be made known.

He goes on in that chapter, chapter 12, to say,

What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight,

and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

Again, we see Jesus use the same words, the same sort of proverb,

but go in a totally different direction with it.

Instead of applying it to the light of a lamp and exposing what is hidden,

he applies it to the hidden hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

So that's what makes these words of Jesus kind of hard to understand.

We wonder, what is he talking about?

What does the lamp and the light represent?

What does hiding that lamp under the bed represent?

Many of us look to Matthew's gospel for an understanding of these words.

Matthew 5, verse 14 and 16.

Matthew 5:14

Jesus uses the same language there.

He says,

You are the light of the world.

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead, they put it on its stand,

and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way,

let your light shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds

and glorify your Father in heaven.

It's a familiar and wonderful and true saying of Jesus.

And so many think,

this must be what Jesus is talking about

when he uses the same language in Luke's gospel

about putting a lamp on the lampstand.

No one lights a lamp

and hides it in a clay jar

or puts it under a bed.

Instead, they put it on a stand

so that those who come in can see the light.

For there is nothing hidden

that will not be disclosed

and nothing concealed

that will not be known

or brought out into the open.

Therefore, consider carefully how you listen.

Whoever has will be given more.

Whoever does not have,

even what they think they have,

will be taken from them.

Many interpret these words

as sort of dovetailing in

with what we just read from Matthew's gospel.

And according to this way of reading it,

this passage is about sharing the light of Jesus

with others around us,

letting them see our faith in public

rather than hiding it in private.

Let your lamp shine out brightly

and your faith in Jesus

be known publicly

since all that is hidden now

will eventually be known

and public anyway.

Verse 18 may mean then

that we ought to listen carefully

to God's word that we've received

and act on it

because those who do

will be blessed or rewarded

while those who do not

will lose in the end.

That may well be the right way

to understand these words,

but there's some things

in Luke's gospel here

that make me wonder.

Here in Luke's gospel,

I notice that Jesus doesn't start off

by saying,

you are the light of the world.

Neither does he follow

this lamp analogy up with

in the same way,

let your light shine

before others.

The thing he implores us to do,

rather,

is to consider carefully

how we listen.

And that has to do

with what Jesus

has just been explaining

to his disciples

with this parable of the sower

and the seed

and the soils.

It was all about hearing

and responding

to the word of God.

If this teaching of Jesus here

is all about us

shining the light

and telling others

about Jesus,

then why does Jesus

tell us as the main point

to consider carefully

how we listen?

Why does he follow this up

with a warning

that for some,

even what they think

they have

will be taken away?

There's another way

that Christians

have understood

these words

in Luke.

And it's not

what Jesus said

in the Sermon on the Mount

about letting our light shine.

That's true.

That's absolutely true.

But maybe Jesus

is in a different occasion here

using the same Proverbs

to make a different point.

If we look back

to chapter 8,

verses 9 and 10

for a moment,

remember Jesus

is talking to his disciples.

They're asking about

the meaning of the parable

of the soils.

What does that mean?

And Jesus said to them,

Well, the knowledge

of the secrets

of the kingdom of God

has been given to you.

But to others

I speak in parables

so that though seeing

they may not see,

though hearing

they may not understand.

So the context here

is Jesus explaining

this parable of the sower

to his disciples

and why he uses parables.

And as we look

at that explanation,

what is hidden?

What is it that's hidden?

Well, it's the knowledge

of the secrets

of the kingdom.

We talked about that

a couple weeks ago.

There are hidden truths

about God's purposes,

about the kingdom of God.

And these are the things

that Jesus is teaching.

He's doing it

in parable form,

but then explaining

in private

to his disciples

what these parables mean.

So you can probably

imagine the disciples

wondering

and asking,

Why do you teach

in parables?

Why not just

explain plainly

without the parables

what God has to say

to everyone?

Do you want people

to see

and understand

or not?

Well, it could be

that verse 16

is Jesus' answer

to that question.

No one lights a lamp

and hides it

in a clay jar

or puts it under a bed.

Instead, they put it

on a stand

so that those who come in

can see the light.

Perhaps Jesus

is simply saying

that the goal here

is not to hide

the truth from people.

He has come as light

into the darkness

of our world.

And his teaching

is intended

to illuminate.

It's there

to give knowledge

and understanding.

God has not

sent his Son

into the world

as a light

only to hide

that light

from people.

That would be absurd.

Just like

hiding

a lit lamp

in a jar

or putting it

under a bed.

Rather,

God has sent

Jesus

as the light

to shine

brightly

on the lamp

stand

so that all

who come in

can see the light.

So that the things

that are hidden

may be disclosed

and revealed.

The secrets

of the kingdom

so that they might

be made known

and brought out

into the open.

And therefore,

verse 18,

consider carefully

how you listen.

Personally,

I think this way

of looking at it

makes a little more sense.

At least to me,

it does.

It seems to flow better.

And we notice

in the parable

before this,

the parable

of the sower,

the word of God

was the seed

which fell upon

the ears

and the hearts

of the people.

Jesus was the sower.

Could this be

just a different

analogy to say

the same thing?

Jesus is the lamp

that God has

given

to give the light

of his good news

to a dark world.

and God's purpose

in lighting the lamp,

in sending Jesus

is not to hide things

but to reveal

what is hidden.

To reveal

what we can't see

and know

without his light

of truth.

And therefore,

it's critical

that we listen

to Jesus carefully,

that we pay attention

to his words

and really hear them.

It's the difference

in the parable

of the soils

between that

bumper crop harvest

and getting nothing

from what was sown.

It's the difference

in the analogy

of the lamp

between seeing

and understanding

what is hidden

or continuing

to grope about

in the darkness

blind

and ignorant

to God's mercy

and to his kingdom.

When we come

to verse 18,

whoever has

will be given more.

Whoever does not have

even what they think

they have

will be taken

from them.

I can't help

but see a parallel

here to what

Jesus shared with us

in the parable

of the sower

and the soils.

Remember,

each soil type

mentioned,

the path,

the rocky soil,

the weedy soil,

the good soil.

Each one received

the seed.

Each kind of hearer

had the word of God,

the truth of God

which comes

through Jesus

and yet

there was that

good harvest

from only one

kind of hearer,

the good soil.

Those who hear

and retain

and by persevering

produce a crop.

Well,

what happens

to the others

in that parable?

Well,

this seems to

describe it

in a nutshell,

doesn't it?

Whoever

has

will be given more.

Whoever does not

have,

even what they think

they have

will be taken

from them.

Either the devil

comes and

takes away the word

from their hearts

as with the seed

that fell on the path

or the difficulties

of following Jesus

come and

take away

what they first

believed

and they fall away

or the worries

of life,

greed,

the distractions

of pleasures

in this world

come and

take away

what they had.

they choke

out the word

they heard.

These words,

I think,

are worthy

of meditation.

Even what

they think

they have

will be taken

from them.

That's sobering.

Sort of speaks

of the mindset

of people

who don't

take Jesus'

words seriously.

They think,

perhaps,

that they're

okay with God.

I prayed

the sinner's prayer

when I was a kid.

Or I went up

to the altar

at the call

of the pastor.

Or I believe

in Jesus,

just not like

the crazy

fundamentalist types

do.

Where I go

to church

once in a while,

it's like

there's a sort

of self-deception

whereby people

who do not

have true faith

in Jesus

often think

that they do.

people who

are not

seen clearly

by the light

of Jesus'

words

think that

they are.

Even what

they think

they have

will be

taken from

them.

The Bible

tells us

that one day

when Jesus

returns,

he will sort

out the

goats

from the

true sheep

and the

tares

or the

false wheat

from the

wheat,

the true

disciples

from the

imposters.

One thing

I think

we can all

agree on

as we look

at these

words

is that

that's

in verse

18,

that imperative,

therefore

consider

carefully

how

you

listen,

how

you

hear.

Jesus

said this

to his

disciples.

Imagine

yourself

there in

the room

with Jesus

as he

said all

this.

imagine

Jesus

looking

you

in the

eyes

and

saying

therefore

consider

carefully

how

you

hear.

There

is more

than one

way to

hear

or to

listen

to the

words

of God.

Some

of those

ways

are

disastrous

and they

leave us

self-deceived

and wanting

in the

end.

How

seriously

do you

take

the

words

of

Jesus?

Will

you

rearrange

your

life

and

your

priorities

if

needed

to hear

Jesus'

words

and follow

them?

I was

thinking about

that analogy

of the

lamp

and the

light

and hiding

it

and just

the light

that Jesus

is and

what came

to mind

was a

time this

week when I

was in my

storage room

and I

accidentally

turned

the lights

went off

and all

of a sudden

it was

pitch black

in there.

there's

no windows

at all

in there

and I

got

thinking

about

that.

When

it's

pitch

black

what do

we see?

What do

we experience?

Nothing.

You can't

see anything.

It's just

nothing.

We have

so much

more

by the

light.

We can

see

everything.

All the

stuff that's

there.

God wants

us to

live in

the light

and to

enjoy his

grace.

And that's

why he

has lit

a lamp.

That's

why he

has sent

his son.

Not to

hide the

truth from

us but

to reveal

the truth

to us.

But how

seriously

do we

take the

words of

Jesus?

Would

you

rearrange

your life

and your

priorities

to better

hear and

follow the

words of

Jesus?

Let's

continue on

with

verse 19.

Now

Jesus'

mother and

brothers came

to see

him but

they were

not able

to get

near him

because of

the crowd.

Someone

told Jesus

your mother

and brothers

are standing

outside wanting

to see

you.

Jesus

replied

my mother

and my

brothers

are those

who hear

God's

word

and put

it into

practice.

Imagine

this for a

moment.

You're in

the house

with Jesus

and the

house is

packed

solid with

people.

Everybody

wants to

get near

Jesus.

Everybody

wants to

see what

he's doing

or hear

what he's

saying.

And then

suddenly this

man calls

out,

Jesus,

your mother

and your

brothers

are here.

They're

just

outside.

Who

could be

more

important

than

family,

right?

They

should have

an automatic

VIP seat

in the

house if

they want

it,

right?

What will

Jesus do?

Will he

dismiss the

whole crowd

and then

spend some

time with

them?

Or will

he call

for those

in the

room to

make space

so that

they can

come in

and sit?

Jesus'

response in

this moment

is surprising.

He replies

with this,

my mother

and my

brothers are

those who

hear God's

word and

put it into

practice.

He turns it

into a

teaching moment

and we

never find

out from

Luke whether

Jesus'

mother and

brothers end

up getting

to see him

on this

occasion.

But there's

one piece

of context

here that

might shed

some light

on this.

If we

look at

Mark,

a parallel

account,

chapter 3,

verse 20,

the following,

then Jesus

entered a

house and

again a

crowd gathered

so that

he and

his disciples

were not

even able

to eat.

When his

family heard

about this,

they went

to take

charge of

him for

they said,

he is

out of

his mind.

And then

just 10

verses after

that in

Mark,

we read

this account

of Jesus'

mother and

brothers arriving

to talk

to Jesus.

And so we

kind of get

a little

sense here

of what's

going on

in the

relationship

between

Jesus and

his family

around this

time.

It would

seem that

Jesus'

family,

his mother

and his

brothers,

don't

understand

what's going

on here.

Maybe

they're even

a little

embarrassed

by all the

public

attention

that's coming

to them

and coming

to Jesus.

perhaps

some of

them are

even unsure

about some

of the

things that

Jesus has

been saying.

Maybe some

of his

brothers.

We kind

of notice

in the

context of

Mark,

if we just

look down

the page

a little

bit,

that already

Jesus is

facing major

opposition

from the

Pharisees

and the

teachers of

the law.

They're even

accusing him

already at

this point

of being

possessed

by the

devil.

And what's

Jesus'

mother and

brothers doing?

well,

they're trying

to take

charge of

him,

it says.

At least

some of

them,

probably his

brothers,

are saying,

he's out

of his

mind.

He's not

possessed.

He's gone

insane.

It's not

really the

kind of

support that

you hope

for from

your family

when you

take a

stand for

what's

right and

speak the

truth.

But I

think it

might shed

some light

on what's

happening here

in Luke

Luke 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8.

Mark

Mark 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

We don't

know for

sure,

but perhaps

Jesus'

mother and

brothers have

come again

to try and

take charge

of him,

or at least

let's sit

down and

have a

discussion

as a

family here.

We've got

to talk

some things

through.

Whatever the

case,

Jesus turns

their arrival

into a

teaching moment.

He declares

that his

family,

those who

are kin

to him,

are those

who hear

God's word

and put

it into

practice.

And I

don't think

that we

should read

any disrespect

into those

words from

Jesus towards

his family.

I think if

anybody was

careful to

honor his

mother and

father,

it was

Jesus.

It might

be that

there's some

tension here

between honoring

Jesus'

human mother

and honoring

his heavenly

father.

father.

But I

don't think

that Jesus

is disowning

them,

saying you're

not my

mother and

brothers anymore

or saying

that they

don't matter

to him.

You're not

important to

me anymore.

But what

Jesus is

saying is

that what's

most important,

even more

important maybe

than our

family relationships

is hearing

God's word

and putting

it into

practice.

That's the

chief concern

of Jesus

doing the

will of

his father.

It trumps

everything else.

And not

only is that

Jesus'

priority to

obey the

word of

God and

submit to

his father,

but right

now he's

teaching the

very words

of God to

the people.

And that's

of the utmost

importance,

both to

God and

to the

people.

And if we

just follow

this through,

there are

some people

in the

crowd,

who are

there to

hear the

very word

of God

so that

they can

follow it

and put

it into

practice.

And therefore

some in the

room are

now just

as important

in this

moment to

Jesus as

his own

mom and

brothers.

It's not

that he's

diminishing the

importance of

his family,

but that he's

elevating the

importance of

hearing the

word of God

and putting it

into practice.

that's as

important as

family.

Those who

hear and put

God's word

into practice

are my

family.

This really

fits with

what we've

just been

hearing from

the parable

of the

sower and

the analogy

of the

lamp.

Both of

those things

have been

about hearing

the word

of God

and how

important

that is.

Jesus says

a lot about

that, but

maybe it's

because we

have this

tendency to

underestimate

the importance

of hearing

God's word

and of really

paying attention

to it.

It's like

Jesus is

saying, there

isn't anything

more important

than hearing

and putting

into practice

the word of

God.

It's at,

it's even

above the

level of

family.

It's what

characterizes

the family

of God.

it's also

hard not

to miss

the emphasis

of Jesus

on putting

it into

practice.

That's

something

maybe not

mentioned as

much in

the parables

before.

Those who

hear and

put it

into practice

are the

family of

Jesus.

It suggests

to us that

if we hear

the word

of God

but don't

put it

into

practice,

we fall

short of

the family

of God.

We cannot

claim to

be a

brother or

sister of

Christ or

a fellow

son or

daughter of

God.

In Jesus'

parable of

the sower,

this is

probably the

difference right

here between

those three

soils where

there was no

harvest and

the good

soil where

there was a

great harvest.

All of the

soils had

the seed fall

on them.

All of the

people heard

the word of

God but

only one by

persevering

produced a

crop.

Those who

hear,

and truly

believe the

word of

God will

put it

into

practice.

Those who

hear and

truly believe

the word of

God will

put it into

practice.

It's not

enough just

to hear it.

That in

itself doesn't

result in

salvation.

It doesn't

do anything

for us.

It's not

enough to

just come to

church every

Sunday and

hear the

word of

God,

the words

of Jesus.

We must

put Jesus'

words into

practice.

We must

obey them.

We must

do them.

That's the

evidence that

we truly

believe.

Now don't

misunderstand me.

I'm not

saying we

need to do

good works

in order to

be saved.

To be

saved we

just believe

in Jesus.

No good

works required.

And true

belief in

Jesus will

lead us to

do what

he says.

to obey

his word.

To do

good works.

Is it

your life

goal not

only to

hear the

word of

God but

to do

it?

Is that

the highest

priority in

your life?

To put

God's words

into practice?

If it's

not, what

is the

highest priority

in your

life?

I want

to urge

you this

morning to

examine

yourself and

ask yourself

that question.

I really

do think

that's the

difference

between the

good soil

and the

other soils.

Between

having and

even what

you think

you have

will be

taken from

you.

God's

love.

I don't

know what's

in everyone's

hearts but

Jesus does.

And we

can't, when

it comes to

Jesus, we

can't fake

it till we

make it.

Either we

listen to his

words and in

faith take

them as

truth and put

them into

practice or

we perish.

Am I

really listening

to God?

Am I

really

listening to

Jesus?

Does he

have the

attention of

my heart?

Am I

organizing my

life according

to the

commands and

the priorities

that he

has given?

This is what

it is to be a

child of God,

to be in the

family of God.

This is what

it is to be a

follower of

Jesus.

Now God

knows that we

will not live

perfectly in

perfect obedience

always.

But if we

really believe in

him, if we

really fear him

and love him,

then we will

take him

seriously.

We'll make

every effort to

do what he

says.

His words are

light in the

darkness.

His words reveal

the secrets of

the kingdom of

God.

That great

kingdom that's

soon going to

sweep over

this world

and overshadow

all human

history forever.

Therefore,

consider carefully

how you

listen.

Many of you

hearing this,

I hope and I

pray, are

thinking,

yes, amen.

That's my

life's goal,

to obey the

Lord Jesus

Christ and do

what he says.

And if that's

you, that's a

good indication.

I think that

you are that

good soil.

Soil.

Jesus says

this, whoever

has will be

given more.

So I want to

encourage you, if

that's you, keep

on.

Don't give up.

Let's not grow

weary of doing

good.

For at the

proper time, we

will reap a

harvest.

If we don't

give up, we

will inherit what

has been

promised.

We will receive

that crown of

glory.

The Lord has

promised.

His word is

true.

And he will

bring it to

pass.

We can be

sure of it.

Let's pray.

Father in

heaven, we

thank you that

you have spoken

to us through

your son.

And I pray

that each one

of us

values that so

deeply and

treasures that

so deeply

that we

respond to

it well.

That it's not

just a religion

thing that we

do because

that's what we

grew up with,

but it's a

thing that's

meaningful and

powerful in our

lives that we

are doing this.

We are living

this way because

we know you.

We believe in

you.

We believe your

words.

And it's our

greatest honor and

joy in life to

submit to you

and to follow

you.

For you are a

glorious God.

Work that in

each one of our

hearts, Lord.

Don't let us

deceive ourselves.

We just commit

ourselves to you

in Jesus' name.

Amen.