LISTEN! - part 2
017 LISTEN! – part 2
Mark 4:1-34 (10-12)
February 8, 2026
THIS MORNING we began this segment in Mark’s gospel
Regarding the importance of listening.
It is a very dangerous thing to hear the truth and to fail to listen to it.
Such a foolish response could actually cause a person
To end up being prevented from hearing the truth at all.
It happened in Isaiah’s day.
It is happening again in the ministry of Jesus.
As we saw this morning, Jesus is preaching,
But He is preaching in a mysterious way
Where the meaning of the sermon is not comprehensible.
HE TOLD US ABOUT FARMING.
He taught us about seed preservation.
If you want a fruitful garden you’ve got to watch out for
· Birds,
· The sun (drought),
· And for thorns.
· Any one of those enemies will cause your seed to not bear fruit.
As we said, it’s TRUE information.
It’s even GOOD information.
BUT IT’S HARDLY ETERNAL INFORMATION.
OR IS IT?
Jesus concluded by saying:
(9) “And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Could it be that His story had a hidden meaning?
ABSOLUTELY!
BUT HOW DISHEARTENING
To hear that sermon and not know what it was about.
That is a judgment for not listening when you had the chance.
WELL TONIGHT we will continue on in Mark’s text, but I confess,
I’m not ready to leave behind this warning of not listening just yet.
I want us to consider this topic a little more before we blow past it.
And so I want us to begin tonight by first turning to the book of Hebrews.
TURN TO: HEBREWS 12
We have already read several warnings in the book of Hebrews
About rejecting or neglecting the truth once it is given.
We’re not going to revisit those again.
But I do want to remind you that one of the main themes
That continually emerges throughout the book of Hebrews is that
“GOD IS SPEAKING”
It’s not just that God has spoken, but that God IS speaking…to you.
Hebrews 1:1-2 “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”
Hebrews 2:1 “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.”
Hebrews 3:7 “Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you hear His voice…”
Hebrews 4:12-13 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
Hebrews 9:8 “The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,”
Hebrews 10:15 “And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us…”
Hebrews 12:5 “and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him;”
It is a constant point of emphasis that God is speaking to you.
· He is speaking to you concerning His Son,
· He is also speaking to you through His Holy Spirit,
· He is speaking through Scripture.
GOD IS SPEAKING TO YOU.
Because of that the writer has a familiar warning.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE LISTENING
· Hebrews 2 warned against neglecting salvation.
· Hebrews 6 warned against falling away from the truth
· Hebrews 10 warned against insulting the Spirit of grace
They are certainly serious warnings.
TONIGHT WE LOOK AT THE WARNING OF HEBREWS 12.
He starts with an ILLUSTRATION FROM THE PAST.
(READ 12:18-21)
He reminds us that there was a time in the past
When God drew His people near in order to speak to them.
That incident was at Mt. Sinai.
God called them near and God spoke.
AND IT WAS TERRIFYING.
· You came near the mountain, but you couldn’t touch it.
· It was covered in fire and darkness and gloom and whirlwind
· The hearers begged God to stop speaking
· Even Moses was full of fear and trembling
Exodus 20:18-19 “All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.”
God spoke to His people and it was a terrifying thing.
The very presence of God and the terror of the scene
Produced a natural expectation.
People knew that what God was saying was not to be taken lightly.
If you go to a mountain and God consumes it with fire and whirlwind
And then speaks out of terror to you,
You are going to realize that He means what He says.
The very terror of the scene emphasized the necessity of obedience.
That point was clearly understood at Sinai.
THE CONCERN OF THE WRITER OF HEBREWS IS
That his congregation, who is also hearing from God,
Will not take it as serious as that first generation
Because God is not as visibly terrifying to us as it was to them.
After an illustration from the past
The writer reveals The Present Reality regarding God speaking.
(READ 12:22-24)
That first generation came to Mt. Sinai and it was terrifying.
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God.”
While they came to an earthly mountain that quaked with fire,
You have come to a heavenly mountain which you cannot see.
It is actually more real than een Sinai, but not seen through physical eyes.
This mountain is far superior in every way.
This mountain is:
“the heavenly Jerusalem”
This mountain houses:
“myriads of angels”
The mountain is the true church:
“the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven”
This mountain is where God dwells:
“and to God, the Judge of all”
This mountain is where the saints dwell:
“and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect”
This mountain is where Jesus dwells:
“and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant”
This mountain is where true atonement occurred:
“and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel”
His point is that in reality Sinai had nothing on this mountain.
Previously God spoke from Sinai,
· A mountain which temporarily housed God’s presence.
· But you took it serious because you could see it and hear it and smell it and
feel it.
Well, God is still speaking, and you should know that
The mountain you have come to is far more holy and perfect
And even terrifying than that previous mountain.
That one was a symbol, this one is the substance.
That one was just a model, this is the real one.
God is speaking now, and if you could see it, you’d see how serious it is.
And that is where the warning comes in to play.
(READ 12:25-27)
Now you see the warning.
“See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking.”
No one dared walk away from Sinai
Thinking it was a small thing to ignore God.
Those who did eventually ignore Him, did not escape.
If you can’t escape God when He warns on earth,
How much less can you escape Him if He warns from heaven.
God shook the earth at Sinai.
God will one day shake even the heavens.
If you hear God speak and you are not taking it seriously,
Then trust me you are not rightly discerning the situation.
God speaking is not a small thing.
And it should not be treated as a small thing.
If God’s Spirit is confronting your heart
And you are unmoved or unbothered and ultimately unmotivated to listen,
It’s only because you aren’t seeing properly.
Someday what happened at Sinai
Will happen throughout the heavens and across the entire earth.
God will one day remove both the earth and the heavens
And on that day the only thing that will remain
Is the kingdom He establishes.
His kingdom, and those in it, will be all that survives.
Like that story of the wise man who built his house on the rock,
That rock is the only thing that will survive the coming storm.
SO IT IS HERE.
GOD HAS SPOKEN.
· He is offering you a kingdom which will survive the judgment.
· He is offering you a home which will endure for eternity.
· You should not ignore that warning.
And that where the writer ends up.
(READ 12:28-29)
The point is clear.
Listen to God.
For one thing has not changed.
“for our God is a consuming fire.”
THE GOD OF SINAI HAS NOT CHANGED.
“Do not refuse Him who is speaking.”
And that is exactly what we are seeing here with Jesus.
· He is now preaching to people who will not listen
· He has given them a sermon they could not understand.
We said this morning:
#1 THE PROBLEM WITH TRUTH
Mark 4:1-9
If you hear it, but don’t listen, it can only bring judgment.
Jesus is binding these people up under their condemnation
And they don’t even see it.
Tonight let’s move on to the second point.
#2 THE PRIVILEGE OF TRUTH
Mark 4:10-20
Jesus ended His mysterious sermon with the phrase, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
In verse 10 we find out exactly who had ears.
(10) “As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.”
I hope you grasp the significance of their action.
When Jesus gave that farming illustration no one understood it,
Not even those who truly believed in Him.
You couldn’t understand it.
UNLESS you asked the One who gave it.
1 Corinthians 2:11-12 “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,”
Paul would go on to say that Scripture is “spiritually appraised”
And incomprehensible to the unredeemed or natural man.
Those in Jesus day could not have understood His parable
Any more than anyone else unless He explained it to them.
But Jesus’ followers knew exactly what to do with what they did not comprehend.
· Jesus said they should listen.
· They did, but they did not understand.
· So they approached Him for the answer.
THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT.
When you read the Scriptures and you do not understand
You go to the author and you ask for understanding.
· That does not mean there is not value in commentaries or other people’s
explanations, there certainly is.
· If those men have sought God’s explanation and learned of God they are very
helpful in our understanding, but only if they have also sought God.
This group goes to Jesus for an explanation.
HOWEVER,
Before Jesus gives them the explanation
He first makes sure they understand
That receiving His revelation is a privilege.
(11) “And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables,”
What a remarkable statement from the Lord!
“To you…”
· “You” is defined in verse 10 as “His followers, along with the twelve”.
These are the people who have believed.
· Christ chose them.
· They came to Christ.
· They conceded to all the truth about Him.
· They conformed to God’s will by believing in Christ.
· These are true followers.
· These are now citizens of the kingdom of God.
And Jesus says, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God”
That’s another way of saying,
“Yes, I will explain the parable to you.”
That explanation will come in a moment.
But first He says:
“but those who are outside get everything in parables,”
That is also quite the statement.
Not only does Jesus say they are “outside”,
But He also says they will not be getting a clear explanation of truth.
Jesus is intentionally discriminating against them.
· Now, that is NOT a sinful discrimination.
· That is NOT an unjust discrimination.
· This is justice for they have been unwilling to listen when He spoke clearly.
But Jesus is clear.
They are “outside” and they are only getting “parables”.
We think of:
Luke 13:24-29 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. “Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ “Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; depart from Me, all you evildoers.’ “In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. “And they will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.”
Or we think of the many times unbelievers
Are referred to in the New Testament as “outsiders”.
For example:
Colossians 4:5 “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.”
1 Thessalonians 4:12 “so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need.”
1 Timothy 3:7 “And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
We are reminded that you can’t be in both kingdoms at once.
· To be in the kingdom of Satan is to be outside the kingdom of God.
· To be in the kingdom of God is to be outside the kingdom of Satan.
Jesus said that those who have refused to listen to Him “are outside”
And they will “get everything in parables,”
CAN YOU SEE HOW TERRIFYING THIS IS?
Imagine you have a pain in your body that you are concerned about?
Imagine there is something physically wrong.
· You go to a doctor to be examined.
· You anticipate his diagnosis and his treatment.
· You want him to help you.
And he says, “You’ve got to be really careful planting your garden, the birds will eat your seed, I hope you’re hearing what I’m saying.”
You’d say, “No! I don’t understand at all. What’s wrong? What should I do?”
And he says, “Watch out for the sun too, it will kill your plant if there’s not enough water.”
You still look with dismay and he says, “Weeds will also choke out your plant. I hope you’re hearing me.”
You say, “No! I don’t understand!”
Then he opens the door and walks out.
You’d be devastated!
But that is what Jesus does here.
He does not owe them the truth.
Receiving truth is a privilege.
And then Jesus reveals WHY He will not give them a clear explanation.
(12) “so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.”
It is one of the most difficult passages to swallow in Scripture.
And yet, as I told you, it is the most quoted O.T. passage in the New.
Certainly we see it in Matthew, Mark, and Luke
As they recount this parable of the sower, but it reaches beyond just that story.
Mark 8:17-19 “And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you discuss the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet see or understand? Do you have a hardened heart? “Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember, when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They said to Him, “Twelve.”
John 9:39-41 “And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”
John 12:39-40 “For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.”
Acts 28:25-26 “And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, ‘Go to this people and say, “You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
Romans 11:7-8 “What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day.”
All of those instances are a quotation and a fulfillment of Isaiah 6:9-10.
That God sent His truth to Israel, and instead of saving them,
It only confirmed their blindness and sealed their condemnation.
WHEN JESUS QUOTES THAT PASSAGE,
It is more than an explanation of blind and deaf people,
It is a volitional judgment from the Lord.
Jesus ISN’T speaking here about people who refuse to hear.
They certainly are, and that is why they are in this predicament.
Saying they refuse to hear
· Would have been accurate after He preached in the synagogue,
· Or at the house where the paralytic was healed,
· Or any other place He preached the gospel.
At all of those locations they refused to hear
And proved that they were blind and deaf.
BUT HERE, their inability is NOT the result of their stubbornness,
It is the result of Christ’s sovereign refusal to speak clearly.
Here they don’t understand because Christ didn’t let them understand.
Why didn’t He let them understand?
· Because if they had understood they might have returned and been forgiven.
WAIT!
Are you telling me Jesus didn’t want them to return and be forgiven?
No, clearly He did.
· Why else did He come to them?
· Why else did He preach the gospel to them?
· Why else did He offer it over and over?
Clearly Christ wanted them to return and be forgiven.
But they rejected it and now they have been excluded from the kingdom.
FOR THIS CROWD, THEIR JUDGMENT IS SET.
NOW, you and I would never be able to see that or say that.
· As far as we can tell,
· They are alive and have the chance,
· And we must continue preaching to them.
It is impossible for us to have such knowledge.
· Surely we would have given up on Saul of Tarsus long before he was
converted.
· Certainly we would have given up on Nebuchadnezzar as a lost cause.
No, Paul said:
1 Timothy 1:12-16 “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.”
That is our mindset for every single lost person alive on the planet.
We remember that Christ saved Saul and we would say,
“If Christ can save him, then Christ can save anyone.”
And that remains our belief.
That remains our mission.
But Christ knows what we do not.
And Christ knew that judgment was sealed for this crowd.
· They were still physically alive.
· They would remain for some years.
· But their rejection of Christ had sealed their condemnation
· And Christ was no longer speaking truth to them plainly.
We might ask, what the purpose of that would be?
Why leave them alive?
That question is answered for us through Pharaoh:
Romans 9:14-18 “What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.”
· Pharaoh was also a rejecter of truth
· He was determined for destruction by God.
· And yet God allowed him to live and even come to power as Pharaoh.
Why did God allow that man to endure?
· Because God had a plan to use him for His glory.
· God preserved Pharaoh to reveal His power.
Even that hardened man served a purpose.
Can I remind you that this hardened crowd still has a role to play as well?
If we might fast-forward for a moment:
Mark 15:6-15 “Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he was aware that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify Him!” But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”
The crowd still has a role to play in God’s redemptive plan.
They are preserved for a moment in physical life,
But they have been judged in unbelief for their failure to listen.
That is what Jesus just announced to His followers.
This crowd, which has heard the truth and rejected it,
Is now excluded from the kingdom of God
And will no longer be capable of understanding the truth.
Again, it’s what was made even more clear in Matthew’s gospel.
Matthew 11:23-24 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”
THAT IS HORRIFYING!
But let me read it again:
Mark 3:28-29 “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”
Jesus wasn’t joking.
Listening is serious.
RECEIVING TRUTH IS A PRIVILEGE.
God doesn’t owe you revelation.
God doesn’t owe you an explanation.
His glory is clearly revealed in the heavens
Scripture says that the natural or general revelation is enough.
Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
THAT IS PLENTY.
In fact, a man with that, has enough revelation to be judged for rejecting God.
How much greater privilege is it then to have the gospel?
Listen to Peter:
1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.”
We can very easily say in our world today,
· That those of us who were born in Christian homes,
· Or even born in America where the gospel is readily available
· Are very fortunate.
Could you imagine having been born in a land
Dominated by Islam or Hinduism or atheism?
What a privilege we have over such nations.
But Peter speaks of our privilege even over Old Testament saints.
He says they would have given their right arm to know what we know.
They “made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.”
And yet, they were not told.
They didn’t get that privileged information.
Do you remember what Jesus said about John the Baptist?
Matthew 11:11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Regarding men born of women,
· There is none greater than John.
· He was a prophet of God
· And forerunner to the Messiah.
John was a great man.
But Jesus said, “Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
IT SPEAKS OF PRIVILEGE.
You know what even John didn’t know.
You have access to a complete gospel
That even John didn’t have access to.
· John never read the gospel accounts.
· John never read Romans or Ephesians or Revelation.
· John never took the Passover and contemplated the glories of the crucifixion of Jesus.
What a privilege you have received in the truth you have been given.
Do not waste that privilege.
Do not reject that opportunity.
TRUTH IS A PRIVILEGE.
It is a blessing that Jesus has allowed you to see it.
Matthew 13:14-17 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’ “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. “For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
If you have heard and understood the gospel
It is not because you earned the right,
It is because God showed mercy and grace to you.
Do not waste that opportunity.
· God does not speak for His own benefit.
· He expects to be listened to.
Hebrews 12:25-29 “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns from heaven. And His voice shook the earth then, but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heaven.” This expression, “Yet once more,” denotes the removing of those things which can be shaken, as of created things, so that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.”