How You Hear
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Have you ever gotten to the end of a conversation and realized you don’t remember a single thing the other person said? Somewhere between hearing the words and actually receiving them, something got lost. Pastor Nick Gatzke reveals why so many people who gathered to listen to Jesus, failed to understand what He was saying.
As we listen to God’s word, as we read it or heard it taught or even hear it preached, do we allow God’s message for us to go in one ear and out the other? Do we hear God’s word without allowing it to transform us? It’s not just a problem for us. It’s been a problem since the very beginning. And in Mark 4, Jesus addresses the reality, of how we hear. And he continues to give us both warning and encouragement as he explains the nature of the kingdom of God to his disciples and to us.
And so follow with me as we read Mark chapter four, starting at verse one. This is what it says. It says, “Again, he, Jesus, began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him and so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables. And in his teaching, he said to them, listen, behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil and immediately it sprang up since it had no depth of soil.”
“And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seed fell into good soil, and it produced grain, growing up and increasing, yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. And he said, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, those around him with the 12 asked him about the parables. And he said to them, To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.”
“But for those outside, everything is in parables. So they may indeed see, but not perceive. They may indeed hear, but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven. And he said to them, Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word, and these are the ones along the path where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes it away, and the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground, the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, and they have no root in themselves. but endure for a while. Then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among the thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil who it hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty fold, sixty fold and a hundred-fold.”
Jesus was teaching again. Everywhere he went, he would engage with people, proclaiming the truth about the kingdom of God. And now it appears the crowd had gathered, and it was so large indeed that he needed to create some space. So he and a few disciples got onto a boat. They pushed a few yards offshore, and he sat there and taught while the shore was lined with people. But did they hear him? I mean, the space was adequate. The distance wasn’t too far. They could physically hear him.
But did they really hear him? Did they understand? That seems like a bizarre question until you see that Jesus spoke to them in parables, and he told his disciples that for some, he didn’t want them to understand. This is a parable about two things. It’s about the growth of the word of God, and it’s a parable about the soils of people’s hearts. And in the middle of that is how they hear.
Now, before we get any explanation of the parable, we see the reason why Jesus taught in parables, and it might be a bit unsettling for some, at least at first glance. He says in verses 11 and 12, a quotation from all the way back in Isaiah chapter 6. Seems like there’s some similarities that are happening. “To you have been given the secret of the kingdom,” he says, “but to those outside, everything is in parables, so that the reason being they may indeed see but not perceive, they may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.” That’s pretty shocking at first glance. The parables are given, so that some won’t perceive, won’t understand, won’t repent, and won’t be forgiven. That’s what the text says. Others who are around him will perceive, they will understand, they will repent, and they will be forgiven. There’s two groups of people. Some on the outside and some on the inside. And we just saw in the previous section that just because it looks like you are on the inside with the things of God doesn’t make it so. In fact, Jesus just asked the question of his very own family. Really, who are my mother and my brothers? Not the ones that look like they are, but the ones who do the will of God.
Those are strong words. Sobering words, convicting words, words that make us look in the mirror and say, am I on the inside or the outside? And the setting of Isaiah helps us to understand why Jesus quotes the prophet with this sort of desire that he does. Because you see in Isaiah 1 through 5, the prophet is recounting all of the ways that God’s people Israel, have rejected God and turned away from him. And their rejection results in judgment, a powerful judgment. And this particular judgment is that they will hear something, but they will not know what it means. They have spiritual deafness. And as a result, they won’t be healed.
And Mark, the exact same thing is happening. Jesus, the king, has come. The religious leaders of the day, the ones that are supposed to be on the inside, the Pharisees and the scribes, have accused him of blasphemy. They’ve now accused him of even being possessed by an evil spirit. And his own family is calling him crazy and trying to stop him from… what he is called to do.
And so there is a repeated rejection of God and God’s chosen king as he’s taught and done miracles and even forgives sins. And now, as Jesus teaches, those who refuse to recognize him as king are on the outside. They will hear, but they won’t understand. And Jesus’s true followers will indeed hear and Understand. Another way to think about the difference between allegories and parables is this. Allegories can be understood from the outside. It’s usually about somebody else. But parables can only be understood from the inside. When you, a person, places themselves in the middle of the parable, you see its radiance. You see its good news. You understand how to act upon the command.
And so we all know that Jesus wants us to hear and to understand. And as we do, we place ourselves right in the middle of the parable and say, what is the soil of my own heart?
Now, let’s get to the meaning of the parable. He teaches about three types of soils. The soils represent varying conditions of the human heart. Jesus is a sower who sows the seed, and the seed is the word of God. God’s word is truly the best of all seeds, capable of yielding a profound crop. And the condition of a person’s heart determines how receptive they are to God and his truth. Satan is working against the human heart and against the expanse of the kingdom, against the sowing of God’s word. But for those who hear the truth and do not act upon it, the truth is taken away from them. For those who hear the truth and act upon it, they receive more truth. And so this is a parable about how your heart hears, and what you do with it. It’s a parable that describes the mystery of the kingdom. And you see this in multiple exhortations. Verse three, listen. Verse nine, he who has an ear, let him hear. Later on in the chapter, verse 23, if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. Verse 24, pay attention to what you hear. This is about how your heart The first seed is the seed that falls on the path. Verses three and four, the sower went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it as he sowed the seed. In Mark 4, verse 15, Jesus explains those first couple verses. These are the ones along the path. You can picture him. He’s probably pointing to some people in the crowd. These are the ones over here on the path. where the word is sown. And when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. The fields in the ancient Middle East had paths that ran throughout them. And these paths became so packed down through foot traffic and hooves of animals and wheels of carts that any seed that would fall on the path would simply bounce off of it. just like a seed would bounce off of the concrete sidewalk outside if we were trying to sow there. And this represents the hardened hearts of some people who hear the word of God, and it just bounces off. Their own self-absorption, their own busyness of life, they take little or no interest in God or the things of God.
Some may have opposed God. Some may be just generally apathetic to spiritual things. But I think that the idea of busyness, being so busy that you don’t have any care for what God says is the main emphasis of the metaphor. And you could see how that could be true in your life, and I could see how it could be true in my life. Busyness is, for many of us, one of the defining markers of our time. We’re busy because of our own ambition or drive or anxiety, because we’re addicted to busyness, and because we dread what we might have to face in its absence. Are you too busy to think about the meaning of your life? Are you too busy to care about the details of what God says, not just the general, but the detail. This is not too far afield for many of us to struggle with today. Even those who profess Christ struggle with this, but know this, how you hear, how receptive your heart is to the word of God is related to how you manage your time and allow for busyness and stoke your desires and your affections. The word is take care, and how your heart hears. If you’re too busy for God, the truth will bounce off your heart and you will receive no benefit from it as Satan snatches it away. The second type of seed is the seed in the rocky soil. Jesus says in verse five, other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil and immediately it sprang up and since it had no depth of soil and when the sun rose, it was scorched. And since it had no root, it withered away. And he goes on to explain later on in the chapter in verse 16, these are the ones, the ones sown on rocky ground, the ones when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while. And then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. Why do some people seem to respond? to Christ in a wonderful, dramatic response.
But then in just a few short years, they go back to living like the world lives. The answer is shallow soil. A shallow and maybe emotional response. A response that doesn’t actually integrate the truth of God. into the heart and the mind, but rather it functions merely on experience and emotion. And when the emotion runs out or the experience becomes difficult, especially when it becomes difficult because of what the word says, when the truth gets hard, the emotion runs out and there’s nothing left to hold on to. Emotional response to Jesus is not true conversion. emotion is definitely part of conversion how could it not be but true conversion is proven as one not only hears, but also responds to the truth of God’s word and integrates it into their life. And so the question is, how are you hearing?
Don’t just hear, but not respond in action. The third type of seed is the seed that falls among the thorns. Verse seven says, “Other seed fell among the thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.” And Jesus explains in verse 18 and 19, “These are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
So you can see how this might happen. The seed is cast onto the ground, into the soil. The thorn bushes are mixed in, and they might not even be on the surface. Their seeds might be under the surface, not visible. But as both plants grow, the thorn bushes are stronger than the crop and they choke out the good seed. And Jesus says that the thorn bushes are a love for the world. This could be the common big three, if you would. And he focuses on one of them. It could be status, could be power, could be sex, could be money. And the love for these things stand in direct contradiction to a love for God, and they represent a heart that’s divided. A divided heart is not a heart that believes.
Jesus points to the difference, especially as he mentions here about money. He mentions in Matthew 6, “No one can serve two masters. They will either hate the one and love the other or they’ll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Let the soil of your heart be singularly focused on the things of God and his word. The parable concludes with those who do hear a heart that bears fruit. Verse 20 says, “There are those where sown on good soil, and the ones who hear the word and accept it bear fruit, 30-fold and 60-fold and 100-fold.”
And the real surprise in the parable is here. It’s not that people don’t hear. It’s the ones that do hear, the type of yield that is given. The yield of those who receives God’s word and act upon it is infinitely more than we could imagine. 30, 60, 100 fold. What you receive from the Lord bears a harvest in you, in your life, and it bears a harvest in the lives of those around you. And this harvest is mysteriously and disproportionately large. It bears fruit. It bears the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control. It bears purpose for you. It bears resolve in you. It bears a vision for the temporary, and it bears a vision for the eternal, and it bears joy.
This is the mystery of the kingdom. It grows. as the word of God takes root in good soil. The kingdom does not grow through force. It does not grow through material wealth. It doesn’t grow through coercion. It’s a mysterious thing that the entire kingdom grows through the word. And against that kingdom, nothing will stand.
And so for you, for me, pay attention to how you hear God’s word. Listen, verse three, “He who has ears, let him hear.” Verse nine, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Verse 23, “Pay attention to what you hear.” Verse 24. Take care in how your heart hears. Don’t be too busy for God and his word and see that word bounce off. Don’t be shallow in your reception, expecting and valuing nothing but experience. Don’t be in love with money or the things of the world, lest that word get choked out in you.
The Lord Jesus died that you might live. He forgave that you might be restored. He’s enthroned that you might follow him. And in following him, find your true life, your best life, your most fulfilling life right now and forever. He sowed the seed that you might enjoy the bountiful harvest. So pay attention to how you hear. Don’t be the person who hears but doesn’t respond. Take care in how your heart hears, and you will enjoy the harvest of God in your life.
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** This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy, but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.
