A Lamp On A Stand (Mark 4:21-25)

Why does Jesus speak in parables? There are many parables spoken by the Lord Jesus. These parables reveal the secrets of the kingdom of God. The parable of the sower, the parable of the weeds, the parable of the mustard seed and the yeast, the parable of the hidden treasure and the pearl, and the parable of the net. Those are recorded in the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 13. Parable is a condensed story which plainly explains the things in it like how it is, why it is, what it is. It is like a double-edged sword. It may trigger the sense of hearers that they want to know more what the hidden deeper meanings are. Or, some might just pass by, thinking that they know already it. We shall not be the latter because we cannot simply pass by. It is designed to deliver the significant messages and revelations on the kingdom of heaven. One phrase repeated many times here is “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” It means that we shall be carefully attentive to what the Lord says. We may miss a meal. We may miss a TV show. We may miss a vacation. But we cannot miss his words of truth which tells and reveals the mysteries of the kingdom of God. How do we do it in the midst of challenges and difficulties? Life is not a joke, nor a game. It is a serious matter. The Scripture says so. Our Lord Jesus tells the parables for humanity to learn the secrets of life designed and made by God in his infinite wisdom and knowledge. Why do we not, then, paying careful attention to what he says?

“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? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.’ ‘Consider carefully what you hear,’ he continued. ‘With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.’” (Mark 4:21-25)

It is obvious that no one puts a lamp under a basket or a bed. Instead, everyone puts it on its stand. The lamp is to shine and give light in the darkness. What does it tell? It tells a significant truth. Some may think that they could hide something all the way to the tomb. Not so. Why cannot anyone hide anything at all? Because God is light. Light reveals all things as in the daylight. All things include not only the visible but the invisible. In fact, the visible things are all but the manifestation of the invisible things. God sees and knows our hearts and minds. He knows the deep things of humanity. God’s eyes are like blazing fire in whom nothing is hidden and concealed. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13) Our Lord Jesus says, “What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.” (Luke 12:3) That is what the lamp is for. It reveals all things. Nothing can be hidden or unknown in the sight of God.  

What is the lamp then? In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells that he sows the seed which is the word. The word of God is the lamp. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalm 119:105) God sows his word in the hearts of mankind to listen and pay careful attention what it is and why it is and how it is. Because it tells the reality and truth of humanity. It tells that we are helplessly lost and fallen. It tells that we are poor and inadequate in spirit. It tells that God loves us so dearly. It tells that Jesus Christ is the Messiah God sent. It tells that there is the end of the world and the beginning of the new beginning. It tells that we shall rejoice even in the sufferings and trials. It tells that Christ in us, the hope of glory. It tells that as the Son in the Father and God in the Son, so also we in Christ and Christ in us. It tells that we are born again and united with Christ through the blood and share his glory as heir of God and co-heir with Christ. it tells that there is an evil who has rebelled against God. it tells that the devil is not in the league of God but a creature made by him who rules and reigns all things. It tells that no one has seen God except Christ the Son who is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of him, sustaining all things by his powerful word. It tells that God created the heavens and the earth in the beginning. Without the lamp, it would have not been known. That is why the Scripture is given. It is a gift from heaven above for those who read, understand, accept, and obey the precepts and statues.

“Blessed is the one

who does not walk in step with the wicked

or stand in the way that sinners take

or sit in the company of mockers,

but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,

and who meditates on his law day and night.

That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season

and whose leaf does not wither—

whatever they do prospers.” (Psalm 1:1-3)

Why is the lamp given? TO MEASURE! So, we shall measure what we hear. How shall we measure? How shall we understand and accept the word of God? How shall we read, study, and take it? How shall we carefully hear it? It is so significant how to measure it because with the measure we use it will be measured to us and even more. The Amplified Translation writes this way, “Then He said to them, ‘Pay attention to what you hear. By your own standard of measurement [that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you [and you will be given even greater ability to respond]--and more will be given to you besides.’” (Mark 4:24) The right way of measurement in our study of the Scriptures is that we accept and put them into practice in our midst. James says so pertinently on this matter of acting on the truth we learn in the Epistle to the saints. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:22-25) So, we shall respond to the word by obedience to the Lord!

What is God’s blessing to those who respond and obey the Lord? “Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” (Mark 4:25) The Amplified Bible translates as this. “For whoever has [a teachable heart], to him more [understanding] will be given; and whoever does not have [a yearning for truth], even what he has will be taken away from him.” A teachable heart is the heart that is willing to venture out in obedience to the Lord. The commandment of God is to love one another, embracing each other, loving the unlovable, and forgiving the unforgivable. Everyone knows loving enemies is not an easy thing to do, even to the mature. But it is the commandment of God. So, we shall obey just as our Lord Jesus Christ obeyed the Father even to the point of death. However, it is not possible to obey God with our flesh and blood—dedication and commitment whatever they are. It is only possible in the way our Lord Jesus demonstrated on the cross, giving his whole body to the Father on behalf of the sin of the world. Jesus bled and died for our sins and transgressions just as it was prophesied in the Scripture. Christ obeyed the Father even to the point of death because it was the will of God. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) This is called the mystery of Christ.

This section, “A lamp on a stand,” is followed by the parable of the sower. There are four kinds of field which the seed is sown. Except the good soil, the three fields bear no fruits at all. The lamp is used to examine and test what kind of heart is. Our God is generously and faithfully sowing the seed for us to examine our hearts. The seed is good and ready to bear fruits. But the other fields will not bear fruits except the good soil. The word is sown in the hearts of mankind, but only a few understand and accept it and bear fruits. It depends on how we measure it. The stubborn heart bears no fruit, being taken away what has been sown. They are like passers-by. They are unteachable because of the hardened heart. Others have no root. They are consumed by the worries of lives, duped by the deceitfulness of wealth, choked by the covertness of other things in the world. God is unfailing and faithful in keeping his promises. They cannot bear fruits as long as they do not pay careful attention to the word as the standard measurement of truth. They cannot but experience all but the emptiness and boredom and meaninglessness in the midst. It is called the wrath of God.  

“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18-20)

However, those who have good soil, receiving the word and responding by obedience to the Lord, will bear abundant fruits, thirty times, sixty times, and one hundred times. Here it indicates that the blessings of God is increasing, not the other way around. Jesus says more will be given to those who measure rightly and put them into practice. What will be given more? The fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit teaches the revelations of the Scriptures, which gives understandings. It goes on and on as the blessings of heaven. Thirty times, sixty times, and one hundred times! It indicates the blessings of heaven aren’t coming stingily but abundantly. What a promise!

April 22, 2018

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