MARKAN MEDITATIONS

Meditations in the Gospel of St.Mark

St. Mark 4:21-25

=====

THESE five verses are not just separate statements, but each follow on from the previous one, and the message of Jesus is one message which he develops further in each verse. Because of this each verse needs to be understood before the next verse can be properly understood. For this reason our meditation I think is best done by looking at each verse in turn.

Verse 21 one is the illustration Jesus uses to make clear all that he is about to say. Like all the illustrations Jesus used, it is one everyone can identify with, and it is one that never changes. We may not have light provided by a wick floating in oil now, but the purpose of lights never change, so the illustration is always relevant. The purpose of lamp Jesus points out is to give light. There is no other purpose for a lamp. If it is to give light then it must be allowed to do so, and placed in a position in the room where it can be of maximum use. It is stupid to place a lamp under a bed or some other object, and so hide it. The purpose of the lamp is lost if it is hidden.

The next verse plainly follows from the previous one concerning the light, but there seems to be something left out. Certainly we need to understand what is assumed by Jesus. The first question is this - What is Jesus referring to when he speaks of something hidden. We can't say it is a general truth because it is just not true to say that everything that is hidden is meant to be later disclosed. Some things are hidden never to be disclosed.

It is not difficult to see that Jesus is speaking of the Gospel of salvation. Although, in the Old Testament, people were saved through faith in the Gospel, these believers had to have some light in order to believe. However the fulness of the revelation concerning the Gospel came when Christ entered the world and worked out salvation, and when then the Holy Spirit opened the understanding of the Apostles concerning all the meaning of what Jesus had done for sinners. We have, therefore, a much greater light than the Old Testament saints, though they were saved through faith in Christ, just as we are, and are not deprived of any of the blessings of the kingdom.

The point which Jesus is making is that the Gospel is light in a dark world, and though hidden in Old Testament times, was never meant to remain so, and like light must be made known for all to hear and believe. Linked with the illustration of the lamp which has to be put in a prominent place in order to give light, we see that Jesus means the Gospel to be made plain for everyone to see it. This is why Jesus during his ministry preached the Good News of the Kingdom, and after he had won salvation by his death for us, he told his church to preach the Gospel to every creature. The Gospel is light in this dark world, and Jesus means everyone to come under the influence of this light.

Verse 23 that follows is a statement Jesus has made before, for example between the parable of the sower and the explanation of that parable. It fits in the sequence here exactly. The light of the Gospel is made known, and indeed everyone can hear it with their ears, that is the physical sound and words, and hear what is being said; but this does not mean that they have ears that actually hear - that is understand, receive, believe and commit their life to. The human heart in sin is most prone to despise the Gospel and in the pride of life treat it as nonsense and foolish. When this is so people are too proud to listen and receive. They exalt their reason above God's word, or they exalt the worlds aims and goals before the goal of knowing God, and though they hear the words, they don't hear the message.

The next verse expands on this theme. Jesus tells us we must be careful how we listen and hear, lest we miss hearing the truth of the Gospel and miss salvation; or on the other hand, though we have believed, we may be careless now in listening, and miss the depth of the Gospel blessings, which may be ours if we really hear. The spiritual principle is this, that if we listen diligently, and this is the measure we use the light, what we know, and the blessing we receive, will be to the degree of our earnestness in listening.

The last verse rounds off the lesson which Jesus is making on receiving the light of the Gospel. If we have truly listened and have the blessings of the Gospel, then we will receive more. The reason is that the promise of God is always to those who seek him and his truth diligently. And if we are inclined to listen carefully and truly, then we will go on doing so, and so benefit more.

It is equally true that if we have little of the Gospel blessings, then it is because we have not listened, but been either neglectful to listen, or careless in our listening. Then we will begin to lose what we already have. Because we have been so careless concerning the light of the Gospel, we will establish a pattern of carelessness, and so receive little. This carelessness breeds a contempt for what we already have and so we allow the blessing to slip from us. Further those who despise the Lord and the light of his Gospel, will find the Lord beginning to despise them, and withdraw his grace that enables us to hear and receive unto salvation blessings.

So we learn two things in this meditation. Firstly that the Gospel is light to be placed where everybody can see and hear it for their salvation, and it is the business of the church not hide this light, but set it forth so everybody can benefit by it. Then secondly we learn the importance of heeding this light. We must not ignore or despise it, but rather attend diligently to it, because if we don't we miss the blessing, and even go backwards spiritually rather than forwards.