Mark 4:10-12 – The call to act upon the Word

 In line with His call to ensure a receptive heart for the deposit of the Word, the Lord now gives a chilling warning concerning not acting upon what is heard. This is one of those true north principles that cannot be violated. First, the Lord established the need to hear and receive. Now He is establishing the need to act on the Word that one has heard and received. 

Among the variety of people who were present listening to the Lord, some clearly understood what He was saying. But there were those who were baffled.  Even some of His followers, apart from the disciples, had no clue what He was saying.  So they came to Him asking about the parable. And our Lord’s answer to them was a difficult one to understand.

He said, “To you has been given the mystery of the Kingdom, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing they may not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.” What was Jesus saying? Was it a deliberate attempt on Christ’s part to hide the truth? At least these verses seem to imply that the concealment was deliberate.

Fortunately, we have the parallel passage in Matthew and his reckoning to help to clarify the issue. Matthew 13:12-13 say, “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

Essentially. Jesus was telling them in a veiled way, that their ability to receive the truth is dependent on the condition of one’s heart.  With the scribes, the Lord had been very candid in His teaching but they had rejected it. So they would ultimately miss the truth for it would be taken away from them. To people who received the truth and act upon it, more will be given. Those who reject the truth lose whatever little they have. Isn’t this so true in life. We often lose the ability to do something that we are gifted in, when we repeatedly failed to exercise that gift.  

Hence, in Psalm 95:8, we are warned not to harden our heart when God is speaking, as the children did in the day of their wilderness wondering. God spoke but they had repeatedly refused to respond and missed out on the promise land.   

Let’s make sure that we are spiritually pliable. Learn to hear carefully, respond appropriately and act swiftly. Let’s not miss out on what God wants to do in our life.