”CALLED

“Teaching in Parables 2 – A Lamp on a Stand”

9.30am Sunday 21 September, 2008

Readings: Mark 4:21-25; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 TNIV

As mentioned last week, chapter four of Mark is very important as Mark gives us in detail our first example of Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God. This chapter is important also for the fact that it provides the longest section of Jesus’ teaching found in the whole of this Gospel. It therefore deserves closer examination, and is why we plan to spend four Sundays working our way through the teaching in this chapter.

The part we are considering this morning is not a single story. Rather what we have here is a collection of short sayings: the first is about the lamp; the second about the disclosure of what is concealed and hidden; the third about receiving back the same measure we give; and finally the saying that to the person who has, still more will be given. Mark has chosen to put these four sayings all together. However, when we look for these same sayings in Matthew’s Gospel we find them in four different contexts. What we can take from this is that we do not need to find a common link between them, but rather deal with them one by one. The most likely reason why Matthew and Mark have chosen to record them differently, one putting them together and the other apart, is that although they remembered each saying clearly because of their vividness, they probably could not remember the exact context in which they were first spoken. Jesus would have used them on a number of occasions as he probably repeated them for every new audience.

Now while these sayings may not have a common theme, the injunction to listen and to consider them carefully is still there. These are truths to which we must pay close attention. Again, as earlier in the chapter, Jesus uses images and pictures that were vivid and very familiar to his audience. Every household had lamps. That was their only form of lighting. Bowls and beds were in every home. The image of a ‘measure’ was also well known and is also implied in the word translated ‘bowl’ in TNIV. In the Greek it is the word for a ‘bushel’ measure, sometimes translated a ‘peck.’ There’s an old song which uses the phrase ‘I love you, a bushel and a peck’ repeated in it several times, to give an indication of the depth of one’s love. A peck was approximately one quarter of a bushel, or a British imperial measure of two gallons, or a little under nine litres. In Jesus day, these measuring containers were in evidence at every market, so it would be something people would see almost daily. As families seldom had the money to buy their food in bulk quantities, nor the space to store it, they would visit the market daily to buy what was needed. It is much the same today. These photos were taken in one of the Markets we visited in the Middle East. Supermarkets with grain electronically weighed and hygienically packaged in plastic or cellophane bags is virtually unknown in many parts of the world. Those to whom Jesus was speaking could immediately picture in their minds the imagery he employed as a vehicle to convey God’s truth.

However, as was mentioned last week, Jesus did not intend to do people’s thinking for them. Although these images were well known, the point Jesus was making required some thought on the part of his hearers. The implications of the sayings are not clearly spelt out. Jesus wanted people to ponder what he said and come to their own conclusions. So although these verses are different to the story he told about The Sower, Jesus is still teaching in parables, taking something very familiar to help people grasp a deeper truth about the kingdom. A good word one could use to describe these sayings would be the word ‘pregnant,’ as they clearly contain truths whose full meaning maybe hidden at present but through thought and consideration will eventually be disclosed. This, of course, is the ultimate purpose of a parable, not to conceal truth but to reveal it. We will consider them one at a time.

5

The image in verse 21 is clear enough. When a person lights a lamp, the reason for doing so is to give light. To cover the light with a bowl defeats the purpose for lighting it. It just does not make sense, and could be dangerous as well. The truth Jesus draws from this is that hidden things are to be disclosed, and secrets must be brought out into the open. But what does he mean by this? Does it mean that the disciples are to share with others the secrets that have been given to them, as Jesus says in verse 11: “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.” If that is the case, why does Jesus go on to say, “But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.”[1] This implies that some will never catch the meaning of God’s truth as revealed through Jesus, and that this is why he taught in parables. If everything is to be made known, why does not Jesus make his teaching less ambiguous? The meaning of these words does become clearer if we translate this verse literally. It reads, “Does a lamp come…” which suggests that Jesus himself is to be seen as the lamp that comes. And the form of the Greek indicates that the answer expected is ‘No.’ Of course a lamp is meant to show its light. It would be absurd to hide it. Paul understands what Jesus is referring to here when he writes, “…he (God) made known to us the mystery of his will … which he purposed in Christ … to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”[2] The ‘mystery’ or ‘secret’ about the Messiah was only temporary. The concealment of Jesus’ identity was a necessary part of God’s purpose, which would include his crucifixion and resurrection, concepts that not even the disciples could entertain, less understand at that early stage in Jesus’ ministry. Only after his death and resurrection did they fully understood who he was (and still is) and why he came. Jesus came to reveal truth and to stand by it, even if it would lead to his death. The truth ultimately must be revealed, not concealed.

This is so in other contexts, too. Christians at all times are to stand by the truth, even when it may be dangerous to do so. Martin Luther is an example of this. He, and many others at that time, were deeply troubled by a number of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church in which he was a priest and teacher. At that time the Papacy was seeking to raise money for the on-going construction of St Peter’s Basilica. The sale of indulgences was a by-product of the Crusades in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Crusaders were promised immediate salvation if they died while performing a good deed, such as fighting to "liberate" the Christian holy city at Jerusalem. The Church based this on the argument that good works earned salvation, so paying money to support good works could do the same. To justify the sale of indulgences, Church leaders argued that they had inherited an unlimited amount of good works from Jesus, and the credit for these good works could be sold to believers in the form of indulgences. In other words, indulgences were something like "confession insurance" against eternal damnation. If you purchased an indulgence, then you wouldn't go to hell if you died suddenly or forgot to confess something. In later years, the sale of indulgences spread to include forgiveness for the sins of people who were already dead. This was what was being promised by John Tetzel, the monk who sold indulgences in Germany and inspired Martin Luther's protest in 1517. One of his catch cries was, "As soon as a coin in the coffer rings / the soul from purgatory springs.”

Luther was rightly concerned because it was giving people a false sense of security, as all they had to do to secure forgiveness for their sins or for the sins of their deceased family members was to buy one of these indulgences from a priest. Luther knew it was not true, and ran counter to what the Scriptures taught. He also knew the real purpose selling the indulgences as to raise funds for for the Pope’s building project. In the process the Pope’s agent was fleecing people of money they could ill afford to give. Now Martin Luther could have ignored it and turned a blind eye to what was going on. But he could not do that. From his own study of the Scriptures he had discovered the truth that we are saved by God’s grace, and that forgiveness cannot be bought or sold, as the church was doing. It is available to every believing person as a free gift in Christ. He knew he had to make a stand against the church and did so by drawing up ninety-five theses against indulgences and pinning them where all public notices and subjects for academic debate were read, on the door of the Church of All Saints in Wittenberg. He chose to do this on the first of November, All Saints Day, which was the occasion when the church had its largest attendance. It also coincided with the anniversary of the founding of the church, which attracted an even larger gathering than usual. Now if Luther had been a prudent man he would not have taken issue with the Roman Catholic Church in the first place by drawing up his ninety-five theses. Secondly, he would never have nailed them to the church door. And thirdly, he would have chosen a less auspicious occasion to do so. But Luther had discovered the truth, truth that had set him free, and he knew he must align his life with it, even if it meant taking on the church establishment.

For all of us there are times when we know we must stand up for the truth, for what is right. It takes courage to do this as it can make us unpopular and attract unwanted and unwelcome attention. This verse reminds us that we are not to hide our lamp under a bushel and conceal it through cowardly fear, but let it shine so that all can see. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”[3] It is easier to keep quiet to the fact that we are a Christian and are part of his Church. This verse and that in Mark 4 encourages us never to be ashamed of Christ but to uphold his cause.

Jesus in the next verse goes on to talk about the disclosure of what is hidden. “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open..”[4] Truth cannot be hidden forever. Eventually it will be disclosed, even if people close their minds to it, or try to suppress it or stamp it out. Truth has a resilience all of its own. It cannot be ignored forever.

In the early sixteenth century when Copernicus made the discovery that the earth was not the centre of the universe, but that in fact the earth rotates around the sun and not vice versa. He did not say anything about his discoveries for many years. Then just prior to his death he managed to persuade a printer to publish his work, Revolutions of Heavenly Bodies. Copernicus was dead by the time the storm broke, and others inherited the aftermath of it. One was Galileo, who in the early seventeenth century saw that what Copernicus had discovered was the truth. When Galileo publicly supported Copernicus’s findings he was summoned to Rome, and made to renounce what he had said or face the penalty of death for his heretical statements. The judgment that was passed on his views was as follows: “The first proposition that the sun is the centre and does not revolve about the earth, is foolish, absurd, false in theology, and heretical because contrary to Holy Scripture … and … opposed to the true faith.”[5] Galileo gave in rather than die. Even men like Martin Luther condemned the views of Copernicus. Today we have no problem with what Copernicus discovered, and in fact understand that there is not just one solar system, but probably millions. The truth eventually prevails.

The same is true with sin. We cannot sin with impunity or try to ignore it. The first man and woman discovered this in the account of the Garden of Eden. God confronted them with their sin, and passed judgment on them. Those who seek to hide their sin can never know real peace. David expresses it will in Psalm 32: “When I kept silent, by bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. …And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”[6] This is why the Scriptures encourage us to confess our sins, let the truth about them be acknowledged, for then they can be forgiven and we can be cleansed from unrighteousness.[7]

Ultimately all will be revealed and God’s purpose will be achieved. However the onus is on us to heed Jesus’ words. Jesus repeats the words used earlier in Mark 4, “If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” And “Consider carefully what you hear?” [8] This is an encouragement to keep listening. What may be obscure at the beginning will be clear at the end.

The next saying of Jesus could be summarised by the words, what you give will determine what you receive, and with interest. It is the principle of sowing and reaping that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 9. In Matthew and Luke these words in Mark are linked with the subjects of judgment and forgiveness. For example Luke has Jesus saying, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”[9] And then follows with the statement about receiving in same measure as we give, which ties it in with the bushel measure mentioned earlier. The principle here is simply, we reap what we sow.

This is a principle that holds true in all areas of life. We often hear it put this way: “You get out of things what you put in.” Hard work brings its own reward whether it is in our studies, our daily work or our sport and recreation. The same principle is also true of our worship. We need to take care that we do not come to church each week just to receive, for that is not what worship is all about. The resource we put out about worship some years ago reminded us that we are not here as spectators, to watch what those up the front are doing. All of us are participants. Our audience is God. Worship is a corporate act we are involved in together. Each of us, whether we realise it or not, contribute to it. The question we must come to worship with each week is not, “What can I get out of this?” but “What can I contribute to this service?” What you put into it, is what you will receive.

Another incorrect approach is to come to worship without any expectation. Maybe we are here because that is what we do on Sunday. We come out of habit. Worship is a very good habit, and from the example set by Jesus, it should be our weekly practice. It must also be a daily habit in the sense that all of our life is an act of worship to God. And if it is true that we come to worship to commune with God, the God who is revealed in Scripture, then there is no telling what the outcome might be. God desires our worship, and Jesus promised to be where two or three gather in his name. God is here, whether we are aware of it or not. We must never limit what God might do when we come together to meet with him in this way and he with us.

The other thing is that we can come to worship unprepared. We are all guilty of this at times. Jewish families followed the practice of walking to church quickly, not because they were running late to but indicate an eagerness to meet with God; and then walking home slowly because they were reluctant to leave the greater sense of God’s presence we experience when we gather to worship him corporately. When you wake each Sunday morning, thank God for this day and the opportunity of being able to worship him freely, and you can ask him to prepare you for what he has in store for you that day.

Finally, Jesus applies the use-or-lose principle to hearing the gospel. “Those who have will be given more; as for those who do not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”[10] In Matthew’s Gospel these words are found in two places; first in relation to Jesus teaching in parables as here in Mark, and then near the end of the Gospel in ‘The Parable of the Bags of Gold.’ This story elaborates more fully on the meaning of these words.

Working with what is here in Mark we need to remember that this statement is prefaced by Jesus’ words, “Consider carefully what you hear.” The same words can be translated, “Watch what you hear.” Jesus is commanding people to use their sense of sight to assist their sense of hearing. So it is in relation to our response to hearing about the kingdom of God that we are to understand this statement.

The principle outlined in verse 25 is similar to the rich getting richer. Just as it takes money to make money, it takes a good hearing of these parables to get an added explanation to them. Cf Proverbs 1:5 “…let the wise listen and add to their learning…” and 9:9 “Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still; teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.” The person who hears poorly continues the truism. The poor get poorer.

Another way of expressing this truth is we lose what we don’t use. “Use it or lose it.” How many of you learnt French or Latin at High School, or learnt to play the piano? How well can you speak and play now? The same is true of our physical bodies. If muscles are not used they waste away. Did you know we have over 640 muscles in our bodies? Having a knee injury for the past eighteen months has deepened my understanding of the muscle structure of our bodies and the vital role they play. When no progress was being made a second opinion was sought. The problem was quickly identified. The vaste interna muscle, one of the three muscles at the front of the upper leg was not working. Because of the damage to tissue behind the kneecap it had shut off and had been gradually wasting away. It is not uncommon for this to happen. Because it was not doing its job the other muscles were pulling the kneecap off centre and so aggravating the problem. It will require at least three months of exercises that will focus on making the vaste interna muscle work and build up muscle bulk to the place where it will again be functioning as it should. It is a case of using it, or losing it. We need to use what we have been given by God.

There is a note of encouragement in how Jesus ends these words. The great promise to those who hear, receive and respond is that even more will be given them. “Those who have will be given more…”[11]

These four statements all have to do with hearing the parables of Jesus just as the parable of the seeds and its interpretation had to do with this same topic. Whereas Matthew and Luke use these statements to represent good works and the lack thereof, in Mark they have to do with hearing well and hearing badly. Jesus wants us to listen well, heed his truth, and apply it to daily life. It is this that enables us to be fruitful and effective in his service.

Prayer

Lord, save us from the carelessness over your truth. Make us good hearers, and doers of what we hear. And use us to bring to light for others what at present is hidden from them.

[5] Quoted from William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Mark (Edinburgh: St Andrew Press, 1975) 101.