27/1/05 Mark 4:21-25

Mark 4:21 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, 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."

Jesus told parables. Everyday stories that expressed a spiritual truth if people could understand them. For some people, such as the teachers of the law, the meaning of the parables was hidden by their refusal to accept Jesus.

Jesus had just told His disciples the parable of the soils. The seed sown was the word of God. The varying soils represented the differing responses to God by people. The disciples didn't understand what the parable meant and Jesus explained this immediately before today's passage.

This passage is about what followers of Jesus do with the revelation they receive. This involves listening carefully, verses 23-25 and telling others, verses 21-22.

First of all Jesus uses a picture of a lamp on a stand to show that followers of Jesus should tell others about the good news.

The lamp would have been a small clay dish with the edges pinched up to form a spout. A small piece of fabric typically hung over the spout from the body of the lamp serving as a wick. These household lamps usually held only a teaspoon or two of oil and rested on pieces of wood or plaster.

The lamp represents the revelation that Jesus gave to His disciples including the parable of the soils. This was about the coming kingdom, or rule of God in and through Jesus. Whilst the full revelation of the gospel would be hidden from the disciples until the resurrection, Jesus was already teaching them to share the revelation God had given them.

If you owned something valuable, such as a beautiful piece of jewelry, a wonderful painting, or a vintage car, you would do all that you could to safeguard it and maintain it. However, there would be times that you would want to share it with others. Keeping something precious locked up all the time would deny their very purpose. Similarly, not telling the good news of Jesus is to miss the point.

You may recall there used to be chocolates called "Good News". The advertising line was "Good news is for sharing". We live in a world where there is so much bad news that we should share the good.

The Message translates verse 22; "We're not keeping secrets, we're telling them; we're not hiding things, we're bringing them out into the open.

Jesus then tells the disciples to listen very attentively to what He says because it will pay dividends, verses 23-25.

We can this show by thinking about doing a job. The more you do it the more proficient you become at it. The expression that illustrates this is "Practice makes perfect".

It is as if Jesus said; "The more you listen, concentrate and think about me and my words, the greater opportunity you have to grow. Whereas if you devote the scraps of your life and intellect to considering the Christian faith you are denying God the chance to really bless you. If you use a shovel in loads of my teaching and think about it a lot I can really use you. Whereas if you put in a little bit at a time using a teaspoon you are not going to grow in the way I want you to."

I have been married for over twenty years, and so has Melanie! As I have increasingly got to know her I could tell you how she thinks and does things. In a similar way we get to know God by spending time with Him and concentrating on our relationship with Him. Reading the Bible. Praying. Listening to sermons. Reading books. Going to home groups. Worshipping privately and corporately.

The more we learn, the greater capacity we have to understand more. One of the ways in which we learn is by telling others about Jesus.

We could summarise the passage with a sentence; "Give yourselves totally to learning about God and share this with others."

Benjamin Franklin wanted to interest the people in Philadelphia in street lighting. He did not call a town meeting nor try to persuade the people by talking about it. He acted upon what he considered a good idea. He hung a beautiful lantern on a long bracket in front of his house. He kept the glass polished and carefully trimmed and lit the wick every evening at the approach of dusk. The lamp helped the people see the pavement ahead; made them feel more secure at night. Others began placing lights in front of their houses. Soon Philadelphia recognized the need for street lights.

Be the one today to light up your neighborhood with the light of life. Let it shine. Let your light shine TODAY!