Hidden Things Revealed (Mark 4:22-25)

Maybe something is missing. Perhaps if you had the missing piece of the puzzle life would make more sense.

There are mysteries in the word of God. There are secrets written there. However, these mysteries and secrets are not unknowable. But in order to know them they must be revealed. I wonder if these are the things we are told that angels yearn to peer into. Yet, Jesus said, “For nothing is concealed except to be revealed, and nothing hidden except to come to light” (Mark 4:22).

I’m fascinated that when Jesus spoke of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God in the parables that He used the same phrase He used in Revelation. “If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen” ( Mark 4:23). Is this a warning? How do you develop ears that can hear the mystery? How can you develop the ability to see what is concealed? How are these mysteries, these secrets, revealed?

When I read about Jesus making the deaf hear and bringing sight to the blind, I think it’s speaking of more than simply physical hearing and physical sight. Jesus, who is the light of the world, revealed the things hidden in darkness. Jesus opened our ears so that we could hear the secret, and then He said, “Pay attention to what you hear.”

Is something missing? Listen carefully, because the Word became flesh and spoke. Do you want to see what angels are longing to gaze at? Then ask the One who made blind eyes see. However, Jesus gives an admonition to those to whom these secrets and mysteries are revealed: Don’t hide what you’ve found.

Let it Shine! (Mark 4:21,22)

“If it’s going to be another book study I don’t think I’ll come. I don’t want to just gain more knowledge.” With those words our conversation ended. However, what was said stayed with me. I understood the meaning behind my friend's words.

A study of God’s Word just to gain more information or knowledge would be like the hidden lamp Jesus spoke of in His parable. The lamps in Jesus’ day were not like candles that consumed themselves in order to produce light. For a lamp to give light, it must first be filled with oil and then lit. However, once it’s filled with oil and lit, it wouldn’t make sense to put that lamp under a basket or a bed! In the same way, to study the Word of God and then to not act on it is equally futile.

The Jordan River is the source for two large lakes in Israel, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. However, there is a vast difference between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. They both have the same source, but only the Sea of Galilee has an outlet. Whatever enters the Dead Sea stays in the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is full of fish and plant life; the Dead Sea is stagnant and lifeless. The comparison between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea reminds me of the difference between a lamp hidden and a lamp placed on a lamp stand.

Jesus said,”Isn’t it (the lamp) to be put on a lamp stand?”(Mark 4:21) It isn’t enough to simply study to be filled with truth, to be filled with the Spirit. It isn’t enough. It isn’t even enough to be set on fire, to encounter the light of the world. A lamp has a purpose, and that purpose is to give light.

I finished teaching the book of Mark to three different groups, and yet I didn’t feel satisfied. I wanted to go deeper. I wanted to write about how I was being impacted by the life of Jesus. Yet, at the same time, I felt filled with self-doubt. Who was I to undertake such a project! I also was convicted by my friend's words. Was there really any value to what I was doing? Then I came to this parable, and like a little child I began to sing, “This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!”

Can You Hear the Mystery?(Mark 4:1-19)

Have you ever told a child to use their words? Have you ever felt the frustration of not being able to communicate with another person because there was a language barrier and you could not understand each other? Do you know how annoying it is to live with someone who is hard of hearing? Have you ever been the one who cannot hear?

Words are like seeds. They can be used to plant thoughts in the minds of those who have the ability to hear. In Mark 4 when Jesus began teaching the multitude He said, “Listen! Behold.” Jesus was using His words to plant a picture in their minds. He was translating spiritual pictures into everyday experiences they would be familiar with.

Jesus was teaching about the mystery, the secret, of the kingdom of God. In order for His hearers to understand, He had to translate these spiritual truths into a pictures common for them. Jesus’ audience would have seen farmers sowing seeds, and so Jesus sowed the seeds of the kingdom as He placed the picture of the kingdom of God beside a picture they were familiar with. He ended this parable by saying, “Anyone who has ears should listen.”

The disciples waited until they were alone with Jesus to ask Him what the secret was. I guess they didn’t want to admit in front of everyone that they didn’t understand. Jesus explained that the seed was God’s word. The sower sows the word. There is power in the word, the power to unlock the mysteries of God’s kingdom. But the seed that fell on the path was snatched up by the birds (translated to mean that Satan took the word away). The seed that fell on rocky soil had no root and was short lived (translated to mean when God’s word made life difficult they quit). Other seed was sown among the thorns (translated to mean that other things like anxiety, money, or anything that is deemed more important choked the ability to receive the truth about God’s kingdom).

The last soil Jesus spoke of was good soil. This soil could produce a crop of 30, 60, up to 100 times what was sown. This was impressive to those listening since back then a yield of 10 to 1 was considered a fine crop. But the seed Jesus spoke of was the living word of God.

Jesus began telling the secret of the kingdom of God by saying, “Listen!” He ended by saying, “Anyone who had ears to hear should listen” (Mark 4:9)! The mystery has been spoken. Were you able to hear it? The sower has sown the seeds. What is the condition of your soul?

Family (Mark 3:20-35)

The Springtime of her youth had past and when the winter winds had come she simply lowered her head and blanketed herself against the cold. She didn’t know when the chill had penetrated her heart. She couldn’t remember when her dreams had died. Life was hard and in order to survive she had to put away childish dreams and work with calloused hands. She didn’t realize that in the process her heart had become callous as well.

Life is hard when you’re poor. Dreams die like buds that never flower. You learn like everyone around you to lower your head when the yoke is placed on your neck. But there was something different about their older brother. He seemed to walk in the warmth of full light but all they could feel was the cold of being in his shadow.

Word had reached them in Nazareth. “Have you heard what Jesus is doing!” The one thing that flourishes in a small town is gossip. The gossip was entertaining and at least it gave the small town a momentary break from the drudgery of life. But Mary was alarmed. There was even a rumor that scribes were coming from Jerusalem who believed her son to be possessed by Beelzebul. So she gathered the family and they set out to restrain him. They believed that Jesus was out of His mind and and wanted to get to Him and bring Him back to Nazareth. Bring Him down to earth.

The family had heard about His following, they knew that they would need to draw Him away from those who believed Jesus to be a prophet if they were to save Him from Himself. When they arrived it was as if they had found a hive of bees and He was in the center. They sent word for Him to come to them. But He didn’t come out. Instead they heard the message, “Who are My mother and My brothers?...Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”(Mark 3:33-35) With theses words Jesus opened the door to His family and invited many in.

They could not save Him from Himself or from those who had purposed to distory Him, But no one took His life. Jesus willingly gave Himself to be a ransom for many. Mary was there watching as the soldiers pierced her son’s side. She was wet with the water and blood that flowed from His side. Her heart was pierced with grief. But this isn’t the last place we see Mary in the Scripture. In the book of Acts after Jesus had ascended into heaven, listed with those who were continually united in prayer are “Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brothers.”(Acts 1:14) So you see they became His mother and bothers in the truest sense.

The Gift of Presence (Mark 15:40,41)

As I listened to the sermon I also heard the vibration of a silenced phone. I am completely deaf in one ear and only have partial hearing in the other ear, yet I clearly heard the silent vibrations of a phone. Across the room I saw her troubled face as she quietly rose and exited the sanctuary. Suddenly, I remembered the prayer I had prayed earlier that morning, and I heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit saying, “Go, be with her.” But I hesitated, until in my mind I saw the picture of the women who were present with Jesus at the crucifixion.

What was the prayer that I’d prayed? I had asked God to help me move at the impulse of His will. All year I have been studying the book of Mark. I have become aware of the story within the story. I have been watching Jesus bring physical hearing to the deaf and physical sight to the blind. But within these miracles I have also become aware of a deeper miracle, that of opening the ears of the spirit and the giving of spiritual sight.

In my study of Mark I had been looking at the women who ministered to Jesus. The only other ones who ministered to Jesus were the angels. They ministered to Jesus after He was tempted by the Devil in wilderness. When Jesus was praying at the Garden of Gethsemane an angel was there. The women who had been following Jesus ministering to His earthly needs were there at the cross. They could do nothing for Him, they were simply present with Him.

“Oh Lord, I want to be like these women!” I prayed. “I want to move at the impulse of Your will and be present, even when all I have to give is my presence. Open the ears of my Spirit to hear Your voice.” But when the opportunity came that morning I hesitated. Should I stand up and leave in the middle of the service just because I heard her phone vibrate? Then with the eyes of my spirit I saw again the women who ministered to Jesus by simply being present, and I felt as if I was seeing with more than physical sight. I quietly got up to join my friend.

The phone call had been from her sister who was staying with their dying mother. She was unable to reach her sister. I couldn’t take away her grief, but by obeying the words I heard in my spirit and seeing the situation through the spiritual lens of the Scriptures, I was able to simply be present and pray that the God of all comfort would be with her as well.

The Unblinking Eyes (Mark 3:22-30)

They came from Jerusalem in their flowing white garments, expecting and excepting the honor and reverence they received as they took the chief seats in the synagogue. They came because they had heard about the demons who had proclaimed that Jesus was, “the Holy One of God” in the synagogue in Capernaum. Rumor had it that Jesus spoke with power and authority that the scribes did not possess and they were offended. They had heard how all who were sick and demon possessed had flocked to Him. In fact, they had heard that the whole town had assembled at His door and that Jesus had healed many and had driven out demons. They had viewed all this with the unblinking eye of a serpent and had come to pass judgment.

With malicious jealousy they proclaimed that Jesus could drive out demons because He Himself was possessed by the chief of demons. Note that there was no question about the existence of demons. In the book of Mark we are given a glimpse into the spiritual world where demons are fully acknowledged. The question wasn’t whether demons existed or not the question was by whose authority was Jesus casting them out.

Jesus’ first words in Mark are, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.”(Mark 1:15) When Satan entered the garden in the form of a snake and tempeted man to sin he was able to steal dominion and set up his kingdom. But even as the curse was spoken God also gave a promise that one day the head of the serpent would be crushed. Jesus response to the scribes was a parable about kingdoms in conflict. “If a kingdom is divided against itself it will not stand.” (Mark 3:24)

In connection with driving out demons Jesus also said that, “no one can enter a strong man’s house and rob his possessions unless he first binds the strong man.” (Mark 3:27) I can’t but wonder if the scribes who had from Jerusalem were among those who stood at the foot of the cross as Jesus took His place between two thieves. On the cross the word of God was fulfilled. Satan bruised the heal of Jesus but Jesus crushed Satan’s head and in doing so He bound the strong man and robbed him of his possessions.

In was also in response to the accusation that He, Jesus, had Beelzebul in Him that there was a reference to the unpardonable sin. “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of eternal sin”(Mark 3:29). Blasphemy is when you refuse to acknowledge what is good and worthy of respect and instead speak evil about what is good and in doing so you reverse moral values. Come with me to the cross and I will show you an example. Jesus hung between two thieves at first they both hurled insults at Him. Did they both commit the unpardonable sin? No. One of the thieves impaled on the cross repented and that day entered the kingdom of God. The other turned his face away. All this was seen by the unblinking eyes of the scribes.

Those Jesus Summoned (Mark 3:13-19)

I’m so glad when Jesus summoned those He wanted to be with Him that it wasn’t a list of perfect people. He called 12 to walk alongside Him during His earthly ministry. They each were fully seen and fully known by Him, but not one of them fully saw nor fully understood Jesus.

In every list given of the 12 apostles Peter is always first. In the Gospel of Mark we hear Peter’s voice telling the story. Jesus understood and loved His friend Peter. Peter obviously loved Jesus enough to walk away from the life he knew to follow Jesus. But Peter had a hard time understanding his friend. Peter wanted to protect Jesus. Once that even took the form of his pulling Jesus aside to rebuke Him when Jesus spoke about crucifixion. Again Peter tried to protect Jesus when the mob came to get Jesus in Gethsemane by pulling his sword and slicing at the High Priest’s servant. I have no doubt that Peter’s intention wasn’t to lop of his ear but his head. However, in both instances what comes into focus was Peter’s inability to truly see and understand just who Jesus was.

James and John were brothers. They weren’t the only pair of brothers that Jesus chose. In fact, I think calling the apostles a band of brothers would be a good description. James and John, however, were part of the inner circle that Jesus chose. He gave them the nickname “Sons of thunder.” Maybe that was because they asked Jesus if He wanted them to call down fire from heaven to burn and consume the people in the village that didn’t welcome Jesus. Again they had a passion for Jesus and were willing to kill for Him, but they didn’t understand that He had come to die for them; and not only for them, but also for those that they were willing to burn for His sake.

When the apostles found themselves in a storm on the Sea of Galilee they woke Jesus. He rebuked the wind and the waves, and they looked at each other in terror and said, “Who is this!” Later, when Jesus again sent them out on their own in the night to cross the Sea of Galilee, they were fighting against the wind. Jesus came to them walking on the water. Jesus said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” Then He rebuked them for their lack of faith. They couldn’t really see or understand who He really was.

All through the Gospel we see Jesus opening the eyes of the blind, giving the deaf the ability to hear, unbinding the tongue of the mute. For those He summoned to come to Him, He gave spiritual sight, He took away their spiritual deafness. He gave them a voice to proclaim the good news. This was His gift to all who would repent and believe in the gospel. But at the end of every list we find the name of one who would not repent or believe. There we find the name of Judas.