For the last few days, your pastor and I have been thinking and talking a lot about preaching — the power of it, the privilege of it, and the preparation of it. So, it seemed fitting that I should speak to you this morning about hearing preaching. That’s why I chose this text.

Notice that in the second half of verse 10 it says, “. . . so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’” Verse 12 says, “The ones along the path are those who have heard.” Verse 13 says, “And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy.” Verse 14 says, “And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked.” And look especially at verse 18, which is like a summary conclusion: “Take care then how you hear.”

I think that’s the point of Jesus’s teaching here, and that’s the point of my message: Take care how you hear. Watch out, lest you hear badly. Watch out, lest you hear passively. Watch out, lest you twist what you hear. Watch out, lest what you hear goes in one ear and out the other and never becomes a transforming force in your life. Watch out, lest you simply don’t hear at all. Many bad things can be said of preachers, and many bad things can be said of hearers. Many glorious things can be said of preachers, and many glorious things can be said of hearers. So, take care, Christ Covenant Church, how you hear.

Sobering Parable

This is a very sobering text for preachers, because it does not hold out the prospect of huge success in terms of numbers of people who are lastingly affected — one in four, perhaps (like the soils), if you take the text that way. I doubt that the proportion should be pressed to mean that we can always, or only, expect a 25 percent lasting response. But surely, Jesus is at least warning us preachers from being cocky, lest we think we can change people easily, or lest we get discouraged if there are many hearers who do not respond with lasting change.

Sometimes people will say that the day of preaching is over because it is not an effective way of changing people. The answer to this is that it has never been very effective statistically — nor has any other form of communication. The reason is not in the method of communication. The reason is Matthew 7:14: “The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” It’s because there is so much deceitful snatching, rocky superficiality, and word-choking worldliness. That is why Jesus said in Luke 13:24, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” That is another way of saying that, when the word is preached and the way to life is shown, take heed how you hear. Strive to enter.

That’s what this text is about. It’s about hearing and yet not hearing — seeing and yet not seeing. It’s about those who think they have heard but have not heard. And so, it is all about how to prepare to hear preaching and how to respond to preaching.

Sower and Seed

Let’s start in Luke 8:5, with the beginning of the parable. Jesus begins, “A sower went out to sow his seed.” Then in verse 11 he interprets: “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.” So, he is telling a parable about the preaching and hearing of the word of God. The sower is the one who preaches the word.

Then there are four responses to this preaching of the word — four kinds of soil. What we want to notice especially is that Jesus interprets each of them explicitly as four ways of hearing the word. It’s mainly about hearing.

Verse 5 says that, first, some seed — some word — “fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.” Then in verse 12 he interprets: “The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” That’s one kind of hearing.

Verse 6 says that “some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.” Then in verse 13 he interprets: “The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.” That’s a second kind of hearing.

Verse 7 says that “some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.” Verse 14 interprets: “As for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.” That’s a third kind of hearing.

Finally, verse 8 says, “Some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” And verse 15 interprets: “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” That’s a fourth kind of hearing.

Then, at the end of verse 8, Jesus makes sure we got the point about hearing and says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” That means it’s not enough to have ears on the side of your head. Everybody has those. But there is another kind of ear that only some people have. And those can hear. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” There is a spiritual ear — a heart-ear. It’s just like how Paul says the heart has eyes (Ephesians 1:18). So, Jesus implies, the heart has ears. There is an ear that hears, in the preaching of the word, more than mere words. There is a beauty and a truth and a power that these ears hear as compelling and transforming and preserving. That’s the kind of hearing Jesus is calling for. That’s what this text is about. Take care how you hear!

Hearing Without Hearing

Then, to stress the issue of hearing even more, Luke tells us how Jesus explained the purpose of parables in his situation. In Luke 8:9–10, it says, “His disciples asked him what this parable meant.” Before he gives them the interpretation, he says this: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’” This is a shocking word. To those whom Jesus has chosen — his disciples — the mystery of his kingdom is opened, and he gives them the gift of understanding. Verse 10 says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God.” Understanding the kingdom of God is a free gift of God for those whom Jesus has chosen as his disciples.

“Prepare your mind to hear God’s word by turning from worldly entertainments.”

But then he says that, for the others, the reason for his parables is “so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’” Again, the issue is hearing. That means there are two kinds of hearing: one with the physical ears of the head and one with the spiritual ears of the heart or mind. “Hearing [with the physical ears], they do not understand [with the spiritual ears].” And this, he says, is one of the reasons he uses parables: “so that . . . hearing they may not understand.” In other words, the parables are part of Jesus’s concealing and hardening ministry as well as part of his revealing and saving ministry. There is salvation in these parables, and there is judgment in these parables.

This hard word — the word of judgment — is a quote from Isaiah 6:9–10, where God tells Isaiah his ministry to Israel will not only be saving for some but hardening judgment for others. God says to Isaiah,

Go, and say to this people:

“Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
     keep on seeing, but do not perceive.”
Make the heart of this people dull,
     and their ears heavy,
     and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
     and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
     and turn and be healed.

In other words, time had run out for these people, and the word of God was no longer effective to save them but was only effective to render their hearts insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim.

God’s Judgment in Preaching

This teaches us something very important about preaching. Even when preaching the word of God does not soften and save and heal, it is not necessarily ineffective. This preaching of the word may be doing God’s terrible work of judgment. It may be hardening people and making their ears so dull that they will never want to hear again. There is a judgment in this world, not just in the world to come. And oh, how we should flee from it while we can!

Paul said of his own ministry,

We are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? (2 Corinthians 2:15–16)

There is a point of resistance in the human heart where God may give a person up and hand them over to their own corruption. Romans 1:24 says, “God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.” Romans 1:26 says, “God gave them up to dishonorable passions.” Romans 1:28 says, “God gave them up to a debased mind.” And John says in 1 John 5:16, “There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.”

All of this underlines Jesus’s point in our text: “Take care . . . how you hear” (Luke 8:18). Don’t be cavalier in the hearing of God’s word week after week. If it is not softening and saving and healing and bearing fruit, it is probably hardening and blinding and dulling.

More Given to a Good Heart

Now, notice the reason given in the rest of Luke 8:18 for why we should be so vigilant over how we hear. It says, “for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” Now, what does that refer to? There are two parts: the positive (“whoever has, to him more shall be given”) and the negative (“whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him”). Take the positive first: “whoever has, to him more shall be given.”

This refers first back to the fourth soil, the good heart that hears and bears fruit. Luke 8:15 says, “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” Whoever has — that is, has a good heart — to him more will be given. They “bear fruit with patience.”

But now look at the negative half of verse 18: “From the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” What does that refer to? It refers to the other three soils and the failure to hear with a good heart and with true spiritual ears. In each of the first three soils (verses 12–14), there is a hearing of the word of God. But in each case, what they think they have is taken away from them.

In the first soil (verse 12), they think they have the word, but the devil snatches it away. In the second soil (verse 13), they think they have the word and true spiritual faith and joy, but they have no root. So, when the trial comes, what they think they have is taken away. Finally, with the third soil (verse 14), they think they have the word of God, but when the worries and riches and pleasures of life come, what they think they have is taken away, and they fail to bear fruit.

So, the point of verse 18 is to interpret what was happening in the four soils. Three times the warning comes true: “From the one who has not [the good heart], even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” And one time — the fourth soil — the opposite comes true: “To the one who has [the good heart], more will be given.” If you hear with “an honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15), then more will be given to you, and your fruit will be a sweet confirmation that your heart has been made new.

Bearing Fruit for Others

The most puzzling thing about this passage is the fact that Luke 8:16–17 (about the lamp) comes between the interpretation of the parable of the soils in verses 9–15 and the conclusion to that parable in verse 18. What’s the point of verses 16 and 17?

It says, “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.” I think what Jesus is saying is that a good heart that bears fruit for others to see and taste is like lighting a lamp. Good deeds are sometimes described as fruit and sometimes described as light. Matthew 5:16 says, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

So, the point is that when the word of God takes root in your good heart and bears visible fruit in your life, don’t put it under a bed because the purpose of it is so that others would find their way into the kingdom by it. The point of bearing fruit and lighting a lamp is to help others find their way to Jesus. That’s why we preach and why you hear.

Then comes a warning in verse 17: “Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” I think that means the other three soils are sooner or later going to be exposed for what they are. At first, they look like they have the word. But there is a deep, hidden unbelief that will not remain hidden. Sooner or later, what they thought they had will be taken away by the devil, by trials, and by the pleasures of this world.

Take Heed How You Hear

Then the main point of the text follows in verse 18: “Take care then how you hear.” To the one who has, more will be given. Do you have ears to hear? Do you have a new heart?

There is a hearing that defeats the devil, endures trial, scorns riches, and bears fruit unto eternal life. That is the hearing we want, which means we need a new heart, a heart that’s different from the first three soils. This is why Jesus died and rose again. Jesus said in Luke 22:20 that his blood secures the new covenant. And at the heart of the new covenant is this: “I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

So, “take heed how you hear” means, first, turn to Jesus and receive a new heart that welcomes the word preached and bears fruit with patience. You are a blessed and very fortunate church because, among other things, you are well fed by Kevin.

Meditate on the word of God before you hear the word of God. Eat an appetizer of the word Saturday night to whet your taste for Sunday morning. Prepare your mind to hear God’s word by turning from worldly entertainments. They do nothing to help you hear with a good heart and might choke it. Get a good night’s rest on Saturday night because, of all mornings of the week when you should be alert and not sleepy, it is Sunday. Come hungry and teachable. Desire the words of God more than you desire riches or food, because

more to be desired are they than gold,
     even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
     and drippings of the honeycomb. (Psalm 19:10)

May God make you a people who hear the word of God with a good heart and bear fruit a hundredfold so that the lamp of your lives will be on a lampstand, giving light to all who enter the kingdom of God. Take heed how you hear! Amen.