Mark 4:21-23 It Should Come to Light

Once again Jesus asks us to really listen; "let him hear". This is important! In this little parable, hardly even a story, Jesus is asking the big question: "Are you going to live for me or for yourself." And to live for Him is to live transparently.

At first glance verses 21 and 22 seem almost unrelated. In verse 21 He is talking about lamps, which must be prominent. But in verse 22 the subject is secrets which should be hidden. What is the link?

My logical, analytical side likes everything clear and easy to understand, but the Asian mindset is quite different. Things only need to be tangentially related. so maybe there is a poetic, or an "opposites attract" reason for this paradox. Or maybe the incongruities are to grab our attention.

In verse 21, He asks a rhetorical question. Is a lamp to be hidden or displayed. The obvious answer: "To be set on a lampstand". What is the good of a hidden light? It is wasteful and illogical.

Maybe he is talking about the word here. The gospel of the kingdom. It is meant to be shown to all the world, meant to be really listened to.

Verse 23 begins with "For" meaning therefore, and, as or but. These verses are linked! Any "light" we try to hide will be exposed. It is almost as if he is saying "In your stupid, proud humanity, you may think you can keep some important things hidden, but they aren't going to stay that way.

Or maybe He is saying we aren't even aware of some essentials, they are hidden from us.

It could be our true characters that are hidden away from us, and the world. In the preceding parable of the sower, the soils superficially may have looked the same, but the harvest will show their real nature.

Jesus is talking to the disciples here . The 'stony soil' character of Peter and the 'thorns" of Judas' character were both brought to light during the crucifixion. Peter realised , maybe for the first time just how stubborn he was... and, by the grace of God, he changed! So we don't have to stay in the same place. Our character is revealed so we can change it. The soil can be tilled, the rocky subsoil broken up and the weeds turned in.

By contrast, when Judas learnt of the "deceitfulness of riches". He chose not to do the hard work of destroying the weeds. He would not change his ways and reaped the cruel reward.

God's character through Jesus was also revealed at the cross. A character of total self-denial and love for us.

Maybe we try to hide our Christianity too, we harbour the gospel but don't share it. Even then it will still shine through the cracks in our lives. The gospel will 'out' despite us.

What about our favourite "hidden" sins? Or those grudges we try to hide from our acquaintances? In fact anything that we use to make up the sham of the human life that is less than totally open to God's word? These will 'out' as well. Very scary thought!

Is it really possible to live transparently? This is a big ask. But the next couple of parables show how growth towards this goal is possible in the "kingdom of God".

Mark 4:3-9, 13-20 Let Him Hear

"Time and effort" I said in my last post, which was a long time ago as I have been living out this innocuous little time-bomb of a parable.

Jesus starts with the word "Listen!" then finishes with "he who has ears to hear, let him hear!" He starts the explanation with "Do you not understand this parable?" Obviously He is saying something important and he wants us to get the message.

Jesus is telling the people about His kingdom, a kindom built around our choices, not the choices of the King (in marked contrast to all political systems then and since). I love Van Gogh's "Sower with Setting Sun" as it seems to show the tranquility of this kingdom's origins but also the light touch of the Sower.

In a way Jesus is fulfilling the parable as He tells it, He is spreading the word, or the seed, into hearts. So the kingdom comes with words, ideas and stories. What we do with them is what the story is about.

There are four responses that listeners to the gospel can make:

1. Dismiss it and let Satan keep it away from their heart


2. Accept it gladly but don't let it take root. They have a superficial link to Christ, maybe they just can't submit totally to Him, maybe they just trust themselves too much and they are tripped up.


3. Hear the word but don't spend any time in Scripture, busy with temporal things. Unlike the second group, which wither away, these people stay alive but they "yield no crop". They look alive but there is no fruit.


4. Hear the word. Accept (receive, delight in) it, or, in contrast with the others, value it appropriately, grow closer to Christ, spend time in the word. These listeners bear lots of fruit, they fulfil the purpose Christ has in mind.

Yes... I feel very much like the seed among thorns I haven't been spending the time I should in the Word. I've been doing "good things" like working hard and arranging and carrying out my church and mission obligations, but I have not been doing the "best" things. In this parable Jesus indicates the best things are time spent in His Word and effort trying to understand or "hear" it.

Jesus is so keen I understand this parable because my response determines the quality of my Christian life and experience.

As I spend more time in Mark, expect more frequent posts. If you don't see them, please send comments to wake me up.