Luke 8:1-21 - How's Your Hearing?

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

Amen. Thank you guys. That is our prayer. That is what we long for as we come this morning to God's Word.

In Luke chapter 8, you can find it on page 864 of the Bible in the pew in front of you.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

If you want to grab one of those, Luke chapter 8.

Luke 8 · chapter mention

As this chapter opens, as we have been walking through Luke's Gospel,

we find Jesus and His close group of followers going around town to town,

telling and showing the good news of the kingdom.

And I want us to notice something interesting in these first three verses here

before we pray and read the rest of the passage that we're going to talk about this morning.

In addition to the twelve disciples, some women are in this group with Jesus.

We only get three names, Mary Magdalene, Susanna, and Joanna.

But several women, many women, it says.

Now, that may not seem unusual to you,

but in Jesus' day, in a Middle Eastern culture,

in particular in a culture of Jewish rabbis,

and who typically follows them and would go around with them,

this is highly unusual.

In fact, not just unusual for many, it would have been scandalous.

Jesus certainly would have taken a few dings to His reputation

because of this reality.

But other than being unusual,

why would Luke mention these women who are with Jesus and His followers?

Why intentionally bring this point out?

Well, partially because it fits with Luke's theme

of the message of the kingdom that he's talking about here

being good news of great joy for all people.

Not just men, but women as well.

The community King Jesus is shaping features all sorts of men and women.

There's probably a whole sermon in there

about the significant place of women in the community of God's people,

and we could just stop at these three verses,

and you're saying, great, just do that this morning.

Why not do that this morning?

Well, because there are 50-some of our women on a retreat,

and my wife is one of them,

and I'm not going to waste an opportunity for brownie points with my wife.

Come on, give me a break.

We can't have that sermon this morning.

We will talk about it again more as we go through Luke.

But instead, let me just say this this morning

before we read the rest of the passage.

Women are vital in the kingdom of Jesus

and in the work of his church.

Notice that these women who are with him

are even providing for Jesus and his followers

out of their own means,

from their own pockets as they're traveling around.

Any Christian community is weakened

when it neglects to engage well with its godly women.

God has created male and female in his image.

Yes, with unique roles and uniquely in his image.

God's word describes for us many things

about how that plays out in our relationships,

but we need our women.

We should honor our women.

We must thank God for the women

he has blessed this particular church with

and how they love and serve in this body.

In the previous story at the end of Luke 7

that Peter preached about last week,

there's a woman whom other men had objectified and used.

Jesus treats her very differently.

Jesus honors her, forgives her, dignifies her.

It's worth us asking the question,

has the good news of Jesus changed the way you view

or treat women?

It should, in a noticeable, counter-cultural way.

Perhaps more generally,

has the good news of Jesus changed the way

that you view or treat others who are marginalized,

left out, the least of these?

It should, in a noticeable, counter-cultural way.

Jesus is good news of great joy for all people.

Do they experience that in relationship with us?

I heard this week that our children's ministry

is looking for more volunteers

to spend time caring on Sunday mornings

for some of our special needs kids

to love them and be with them.

And I thought to myself,

Jesus would sign up twice for that.

He loves those who others tend to ignore or overlook.

That's his heart.

What a great opportunity to share Jesus' heart, right?

Many others, not just our women,

many others are marginalized in our culture

as women were in Jesus' day

and in some ways still are today.

So I want to pray for our women

as many of them are gone this weekend

and then we'll turn our attention

to the rest of this passage.

Will you pray with me?

Father, for your creative design

in making us male and female,

we praise you.

we give you thanks for your wisdom

in designing us.

For the way you have called us

into relationship and community together

and for the way you have designed

your church

to work

with men and women

laboring

for your kingdom.

And Father,

we thank you

for the women of this church

and of this community.

For the ways that you have

uniquely shaped them.

For the amazing gifts

you have given to them.

For the tremendous blessing

they are,

an example they are to us

in this church.

We thank you.

We pray for them

and those especially

on the retreat

as they spend time together

this morning

around your word

and praying together.

Might you bless them.

Might you meet with them there

in a special way.

Might your spirit

continue to work

as they come back

and minister

among their friends

and families

in this church.

Father,

use them

in great ways.

And Father,

we come

to your word

this morning

that shows us

these things

that might not always

be the way

we would

naturally think.

That challenges

cultural assumptions

like Jesus did then

that calls us

to you

in ways that our hearts

need this morning.

And so would you

prepare us

to hear your word.

Would you speak

and might we listen

and hear

and see

and worship

our Savior.

And it's in his name

we pray.

Amen.

Luke chapter 8

Luke 8 · chapter mention

we'll pick up

at verse 4.

And when a great crowd

was gathering

and people from town

after town

came to him

he said in a parable

a sower went out

to sow his seed

and as he sowed

some fell along the path

and was trampled underfoot

and the birds of the air

devoured it

and some fell on the rock

and as it grew up

it withered away

because it had no moisture

and some fell among thorns

and the thorns

grew up with it

and choked it

and some fell

into good soil

and grew

and yielded a hundredfold

as he said these things

he called out

he who has ears to hear

let him hear

and when his disciples

asked him

what this parable meant

he said

to you it has been given

to know the secrets

of the kingdom of God

but for others

they are in parables

so that seeing

they may not see

and hearing

they may not understand

now the parable

is this

the seed

is the word of God

the ones along the path

are those who have heard

then the devil

comes and takes away

the word from their hearts

so that they may not believe

and be saved

and the ones on the rock

are those who

when they hear the word

receive it with joy

but these have no root

they believe for a while

and in time of testing

fall away

and as for what fell among thorns

they are those who hear

but as they go on their way

they are choked by the cares

and riches

and pleasures of life

and their fruit

does not mature

as for that in the good soil

they are those

who hearing the word

hold it fast

in an honest

and good heart

and bear fruit

with patience

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

for nothing is hidden

that will not be made manifest

nor is anything secret

that will not be known

and come to light

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 he has

will be taken away

then his mother

and his brothers

came to him

but they could not reach him

because of the crowd

and Jesus was told

your mother and your brothers

are standing outside

desiring to see you

but he answered them

my mother and my brothers

are those who hear

the word of God

and do it

thus far God's

holy

inerrant

inspired

word

that we might know

him

more

early in our marriage

I was

sitting on the couch

one morning

eating a bowl of cereal

watching ESPN

Sports Center

having a great time

and I have a vivid

recollection of this

morning because my

sweet wife walked

into the room

to talk with me

about something

I say I have a vivid

recollection of it

I also still have

no idea what it was

that she came to talk

to me about

what happened

as I sat there

watching

and her talking

I heard every word

that she said

only in one sense

of the word

heard

I grunted

a few times

in response

nodded

several times

but she perceiving

what was going on

in the situation

at one point

stopped

mid-sentence

and I had

absolutely no reaction

I was glued

to the highlights

didn't even notice

I'm hoping

now that

laptop computers

and smartphones

are fairly common

that I'm not

the only one

who's ever been

in this position

but if you haven't

been there

it is not

a good position

to find yourself in

don't do that

when my wife

is speaking to me

it is vital

that I hear her

properly

that I not just

have sound waves

pass through my ears

but that I truly

listen

that I understand

that I respond

appropriately

to what she's saying

how much more

is this true

with the word

of God

with the good news

of the kingdom

of Jesus Christ

Jesus is teaching

us here through

these parables

and these stories

that he tells

in this section

of scripture

that hearing

the word of God

properly

is of vital

importance

we must truly

hear it

in fact it has

eternal significance

that we hear it

properly

do you think

of yourself

as a good

listener

generally

do you think

you listen well

to the word

of God

specifically

hearing the word

of God

properly

is of vital

importance

and that's what

this passage

is about

notice Jesus

focus on hearing

here

how do you know

Will that that's

what this passage

is about

just look through

it and hear

what he's saying

we didn't stop

as we read

through it

but verse 8

he who has ears

to hear

let him hear

verse 10

there's a difference

highlighted between

mere hearing

that I was describing

happening while I ate

my cereal

and watched sports

center

and true

understanding

verses 12

and 13

and 14

and 15

as Jesus

begins this famous

parable of the

sower

you'll notice

all four soils

are people

who have

heard

the word

and then

what happens

next

it's different

each time

verse 18

Jesus says

very clearly

take care

then how

you hear

in verse 21

as we get

to the end

Jesus says

my mother

and my brothers

the ones

that are in

this close

vital relationship

with me

are who

the one

who gave me

birth

and the ones

I grew up

with

no

it's those

who hear

the word

and do it

that's what

Jesus is

talking about

here

we need to

grasp

what he's

talking about

when he's

talking about

hearing

the word

of God

don't we

there's something

that he's

onto here

in this

passage

when Jesus

speaks

of the word

of God

of course

he means

the holy

scriptures

what we

now know

as the

Bible

as we

have it

in particular

not just

the words

themselves

but the

story

that it

tells

featuring

King

Jesus

as the

one who

through his

life

death

and resurrection

redeems

and restores

all of

God's

creation

that has

been broken

and fallen

and us

particularly

in our

relationship

with God

that has

been

broken

by our

sin

it's

the Bible

and that

message

of good

news

of a

Savior

Christ

the Lord

that's

what

Jesus

is

talking

about

that's

what

it is

that we

must

hear

properly

he says

so let me

acknowledge

up front

the awkwardness

potentially

of a preacher

telling you

how important

his preaching

is

hey y'all

should pay

attention

to me

more

that seems

a little

bit

self-serving

and strange

perhaps

this time

each week

is not

the only

time

you are

to

encounter

the

word

of

God

but

it

is

a

primary

one

when

we

open

this

book

and

read

and

preach

these

truths

we

expect

to

hear

God

speak

we

mean

it

that

strongly

because

this

is

his

word

and

he

continues

to

speak

through

it

by

his

spirit

that's

not

to

highlight

the

preacher

quite

the

opposite

actually

it

means

that

the

good

news

of

the

kingdom

should

far

outshine

the

preacher

himself

a

British

preacher

Charles

Spurgeon

once said

of two

of his

contemporary

preachers

Mr.

Whitefield

and Mr.

Wesley

may

preach

the

gospel

better

than

I

do

but

they

can't

preach

a

better

gospel

amen

that's

why

we

come

and

talk

about

this

it's

not

really

all that

interesting

what I

might

think

personally

but

if

God

were to

speak

to

us

we

ought

to

listen

the

word

of

God

the

message

therein

is

what

we

must

hear

properly

not

the

eloquence

of

will

or

anyone

else

and

I'm

never

going to

apologize

for

highlighting

that

priority

it's

his

word

not

mine

so

what

does

Jesus

say

that

proper

or

true

hearing

of

the

word

of

God

looks

like

what's

he

describe

in

this

passage

well

after

some

negative

examples

we get

to the

end

of the

parable

of

the

sower

and

there's

good

soil

right

here's

what it's

supposed

to look

like

verse

eight

some

fell

into

good

soil

and

grew

and

yielded

a

hundred

fold

and

then

Jesus

explains

later

what the

parable

means

he says

as for

that

in the

good

soil

they are

those

who

hearing

the

word

hold

it

fast

in

an

honest

and

good

heart

and

bear

fruit

with

patience

there's

two

things

that

he

highlights

there

first

proper

hearing

begins

with

faith

with

holding

it

fast

it

starts

with

trusting

the

word

of

God

as

the

truth

that

directs

and

guides

me

not

just

because

of

what

it

is

but

because

it

comes

from

the

one

I

trust

to

be

my

good

shepherd

because

I

trust

him

I

trust

his

word

we

are

not

merely

to

hear

the

words

of

scripture

but

to

hold

them

fast

they

are

written

that

we

might

get

to

know

our

creator

and

king

that

we

might

worship

him

more

trust

him

more

contemplate

him

more

consider

who

he

is

that

we

might

have

an

actual

relationship

with

him

through

faith

that

he

would

speak

and

we

would

listen

and

we

get

to

speak

back

to

him

and

know

that

he

hears

us

as well

it's

a

relationship

but of

course

it doesn't

stop

there

it's a

relationship

that is

to

transform

all of

our

lives

hearing

that

begins

with

faith

also

leads

to

fruit

fruit

when

we

hear

God's

word

with

faith

it

produces

fruit

as

we

persevere

patiently

a

hundred

fold

kind

of

fruit

verse

8

says

we

hear

God's

word

and

we

do

what

it

says

now

it

just

makes

sense

that

that's

part

of

proper

hearing

right

action

that

we

would

do

what's

been

said

when

you

tell

your

child

to

make

her

bed

how

do

you

know

if

she

has

heard

you

properly

whether

or not

the

bed

gets

made

right

if

you

walk

upstairs

several

minutes

later

and

the

bed

is

a

mess

and

she

sits

there

on

the

ground

playing

with

her

dolls

she

has

not

heard

you

properly

you

will

probably

say

something

like

did

you

hear

what

I

said

to

you

and

you

know

that

she

was

close

enough

that

the

words

passed

your

ears

how

many

times

do

I

have

to

tell

you

do

I

have

to

say

it

you

you've

said

things

like

that

before

right

you

might

have

heard

me

but

you

didn't

hear

me

properly

there

was

no

fruit

to

your

hearing

the

same

would

be

true

with

a

boss

who

gives

directions

he

knows

they

were

physically

heard

but

but he

wants

to know

if there

was

fruit

from

them

if

his

employees

actually

followed

his

directions

or

if

you're

at a

restaurant

and

you

order

a

cheeseburger

with

no

mayo

and

it

comes

out

and

there's

white

stuff

dripping

off

of it

all

over

the

place

this

is

terrible

by the

way

should

never

be

done

that

way

the

server

has

not

heard

you

they

may

have

heard

what

you

said

but

they

didn't

hear

you

properly

there

was

no

fruit

from

your

comment

your

words

didn't

have

the

desired

effect

right

hearing

properly

involves

hearing

trusting

and

action

proper

hearing

begins

with

faith

and

that

faith

leads

to

fruit

fruit

that

according

to

the

next

brief

parable

Jesus

tells

about

the

lamp

shines

into

every

area

of

our

lives

that's

what's

going

on

here

it's

very

hard

to

understand

out

of

context

but

in

the

context

of

what

we're

talking

about

this

parable

of

the

lamp

begins

to

make

sense

look

at

verses

16

through

18

no

one

after

lighting

a

lamp

covers

it

with

a

jar

or

puts

it

under

a

bed

but

instead

puts

it

on

a

stand

so

that

those

who

enter

may

see

the

light

this

is

the

word

of

God

that

Jesus

is

describing

right

it's

not

something

to be

heard

and

then

hidden

away

as

though

it

speaks

into

nothing

else

and

we

end

up

living

in

darkness

but

no

it's

rather

that

we

and

others

around

us

would

see

God's

light

on

our

path

showing

us

how

to

live

exposing

and

enlightening

everything

verse

17

nothing

is

hidden

that

will

not

be

made

manifest

nor

is

anything

secret

that

will

not

be

known

and

come

to

light

so

because

that's

true

take

care

then

how

you

hear

how

are

you

hearing

the

word

of

God

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

for

those

of

us

who

hear

the

word

of

God

and

are

seeing

it

speak

into

this

area

of

our

lives

and

then

again

over

here

it

continues

to

do

that

as

we

study

it

more

as

we

read

it

more

the

older

we

get

the

on

Sunday

morning

and

hidden

again

and

left

aside

not

to

speak

into

my

life

it

won't

even

it

will

stop

working

that

way

it

will

stop

making

any

sense

on

Sunday

morning

because

it

doesn't

matter

to

the

rest

of

my

life

even

what

I

thought

it

was

useful

for

won't

be

worth

anything

anymore

it's

not

just

about

churchy

things

it's

to

shine

light

into

all

of

life

and

the

proper

hearing

involves

seeing

every

part

of

my

life

as

under

the

authority

of

God's

word

and

therefore

responding

redirecting

when

necessary

repenting

when

I

need

to

when

I

hear

his

word

what

does

that

fruit

look

like

just

a couple

of

examples

it

means

for

instance

that

when

I

learn

of

God's

providence

in

his

word

his

sovereign

care

for

me

even

in

the

painful

parts

of

life

it's

not

merely

for

the

purpose

of

me

being

able

to

teach

a

lesson

or

to

answer

a

test

question

about

providence

but

rather

it

leads

my

heart

to

trust

him

in

grief

and

in

struggle

it's

for

that

in

my

life

it

means

that

when

I

see

I

am

disobeying

my

parents

or

misusing

my

body

or

neglecting

another

of God's

commands

that

when

I

see

that

in

God's

word

I

confess

my

sin

and

turning

back

to

him

seek

to

live

the

way

that

God

directs

me

to

live

even

if

I

don't

fully

understand

why

it's

best

it

means

it

means on

a

day

when

I'm

ready

to

give

up

hope

all

together

and

everything

is

dark

that

I

see

God's

word

and

the

glory

promised

to

await

me

in

heaven

and

as

the

hymn writer

says

I

trace

the

rainbow

through

the

rain

in

this

situation

and

I

decide

no

there

is

hope

I

don't

see

it

now

but

I

believe

there

is

hope

even

here

it

means

I

don't

merely

give

a

cent

to

Jesus

as

being

the

most

valuable

thing

that

I

don't

just

say

things

in

verses

I've

heard

before

like

I

should

seek

God's

kingdom

first

above

all

else

that

I

don't

just

say

those

things

or

recognize

that

they're

from

the

Bible

but

that

those

values

would

drive

my

major

life

decisions

more

than

dollars

or

other

desires

that

I

might

decisions

I'm

making

day

to

day

that's

Jesus

heart

that

we

would

hear

properly

trusting

him

and