"The Light!" (Mark 4:21-25)

"The Light!"

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #25)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

July 17, 2011

The Word of God from Mark 4:21-25 (NAU): ²¹ And He was saying to them, "A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? ²² For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." ²⁴ And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. ²⁵ For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him."

Jesus is continuing in His teaching on the Kingdom of God utilizing parables. Today, we will listen to both the Parable of the Lamp (vv. 21-23) and the Parable of the Measure (vv. 24-25). I believe that Jesus is both illuminating the Kingdom of God through these parables, but He is also teaching His followers, who have already received the mystery of the Kingdom of God, why He utilizes parables with the crowds of people. In that latter sense, this section of Scripture serves as a bookend to Mark 4:10-13 in His private discourse with His followers; with the meat of this section being the explanation of the four soils in vv. 14-20, which we unpacked last week.

This is important to understand because Jesus is emphasizing that the ultimate purpose of parables is to reveal that which has been hidden; to bring to light that which is a mystery to so many people who have not understood the Kingdom of God through Jesus' person, direct teachings, and the manifestations of God's coming rule (listen to verse 22 with this in mind, "For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light."). Parables are pictures of the Kingdom of God so that people, if they will hear honestly and believe, even if they only see in part, even if they only see in a mirror dimly the mystery of the Kingdom of God, later they will be able to know fully just as they will be full known (1 Corinthians 13:12). As we will learn in the coming weeks, salvation begins with a mustard seed. Listen to verse 25 with this in mind, "For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him." If only you would receive the smallest seed of faith in your heart, God promises that He will bring it to abundant harvest with eternal life. But if you do not receive faith, no matter how many riches or successes or good deeds you do in this life, all will be taken from you in the life to come.

Now, let's dive into the foremost purpose for this passage by exploring the two parables themselves. Remember, that in these parables Jesus is illuminating the Kingdom of God through these pictures that bring the hearer from a reality of the 'here and now' so that they may begin to understand and receive the mystery of the 'there and then'. Let's dive in…JESUS CHRIST CAME TO LIGHT THE WAY TO GOD.

Listen to Mark 4:21-23 again, "And He was saying to them, 'A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.'"

Jesus wants you to understand; He even prays the declarative prayer that anyone who has ears to hear, may they hear the spiritual reality in this parable. The lamp is Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God, and He was not sent into the world to be hidden or even diminished by the things of this world. No, a lamp is supposed to bring light so that people can perceive! Remember the words of Luke 19:10—Jesus was sent with a redemptive purpose for all people for all time! Jesus came so that when lifted up from the earth, all men would be drawn to Him (John 12:32).

Listen to John 8:12, "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, 'I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.'"

Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise found in Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Friends, you do not need to go through this life wandering from experience to experience, riding the roller coaster of human emotion, chasing happiness, corralling hope, deconstructing truth. The Truth can be known and the Truth will set you free—free from the captivity of sin and free from delusions of who we are and why we exist. Jesus Christ, came from Heaven to earth to show us the way declaring, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (John 14:6).

Who or what lights your way in life? Someone or something will direct your way in life…I have found that God is faithful and just to keep His promises!

If you join me and we claim the authority of Jesus Christ in our lives and we call ourselves Christian, then AS HIS DISCIPLES, WE ARE CALLED TO BE LIGHTS IN THE WORLD POINTING TO JESUS CHRIST!

And this is where the Parable of the Lamp leads us to a life application—as a community and as individuals. If we accept the truth that Jesus Christ is the Light sent by God to show all humanity the way to God, then there are implications in our own lives. Jesus Christ stated in a parallel passage of our Scripture today found in Matthew 5:14-15, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house."

God sent His One and Only Son as the Light of the world so that whoever follows Jesus will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life. That's the truth of John 8:12. Jesus Christ the Son of God, calls you and me to be Light-bearers to a darkened world!

We are called to labor in the harvest fields. We are called to follow Jesus and fish for men. God's redemptive plan to bring salvation to all humanity includes you and me! You are blessed with faith and salvation, so that you may be a blessing—your life is no longer your own; you are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 7:23). The Light into the world continues today 2000 years after Jesus Christ lived on earth, shed His blood for each of our sins on the Cross, and defeated death being raised from the dead 3 days later, ascending to the Father to His rightful place on the throne, and sending upon His Church the Holy Spirit of God to fulfill the promise of God's presence and power in our lives. The God who is the Light lives in us and we become the light.

This is called incarnational ministry! We are Light-bearers because God lives in each of us and His very presence in us changes not only our eternal destiny, but also our purpose for living. Philippians 2:14-15 declares, "Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world."

You have the very person of God living in you; the essence and substance of God has regenerated you to life and now empowers you to live a life that more and more conforms to image of Jesus Christ, the Light of the world. God's substance lives in you! Here is a scientific reality that illumines this: Darkness has no substance; light does! Does your life bring substance to those around you?

The way we conduct ourselves is important because the world will only know Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, by you and me being what we were intended to be—we are meant to be lights to the world that point to Jesus Christ, the Light whom we reflect in our heart, minds, words and deeds. He becomes and is the substance of our lives! We are called to be like the moon which has no light of its own, but shines brightly in the darkness because it reflects the light of the sun. Is the light of Jesus Christ visible for all to see in you and through your life?

Let us shine the Light so that WHOEVER RECEIVES JESUS CHRIST HAS THE GIFT OF GOD'S ACCEPTANCE! Doesn't it just humble you to realize that the God who created you, who created the Heavens and the Earth, who is all powerful, has chosen you, has gifted you, and has called you to shine His light before all men so that they too can receive the gift of God's acceptance? You are a part of His plan! Yet it is so easy for us to get distracted and busy with jobs and activities that distract our focus and diminish our light. The bottom line is that we cannot afford, nor can all those people in this ever darkening world afford for us to let His light diminish because we are distracted. There are significant real life consequences!

Mark 4:24-25 teaches, "And He was saying to them, 'Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.'"

In the Kingdom of God, how we cultivate the seed in our lives directly determines how much more will be given to us; this is the law of increase. It's true in our spiritual life—spend time with Jesus in a lifestyle of worship and mission and you will know more and more of Him. If you dabble, you will only have enough religion to be miserable, but if you dwell in Him then you will gain more and more of His presence. This is true for knowledge—if you study little you will gain little; it's true for our physical fitness—if you work out little you will gain little; it's true of the skills and crafts—if you train and work little you will gain little; it's true of our ability to bear responsibility—if you take on very little responsibility then you will be given very little responsibility.

The emphasis in these verses is the promise of God to all who take care to listen to the parables. Let these people hear the parable and with what measure they receive it shall be measured to them. Your attitude of hearing shall create the ultimate result. This parable is to wake up people who are rejecting Jesus' teaching as well as to encourage the followers, who have the mystery of the Kingdom of God. If you have Jesus, you have everything. If you reject Jesus, you have nothing, and that which you think you have will be taken from you.

Listen to the power of receiving the Living Word, the seed of life, as described in John 1:9-13, "There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

When we receive Jesus Christ as Lord we are walking out of darkness into light. In that moment we are accepted as a child of God—chosen for adoption and filled with the Holy Spirit which seals us for eternal life and gifts us for service. It is amazing this happens from receiving God's Word into our heart! What an abundant harvest!

The Bible declares in John 3:18-19, "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil."

All humanity will be judged according to this one thing—what did you do with the Light that came into the world? Through the authority of the Word of God and with the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I am calling you to personally make a choice today to what measure you will receive Jesus Christ, the Light of the world.

Jesus came to light the way to God! In response to this revelation, you either walk in the light of God's acceptance or in the darkness of God's judgment. Do you love the darkness or the Light? There is no greater decision you will ever make in your life. Let's pray.