One wonderful opportunity I’ve had in life was studying the Bible full-time in seminary. It was an undeserved privilege. My wife and I were married in December of 2007, and the day after we returned from our honeymoon, we moved to Louisville, KY, where I attended seminary. One of the most challenging and rewarding parts of seminary was learning to read Koine Greek, the language in which the New Testament was originally written.

Now, a significant part of learning to read a new language is memorizing vocabulary words. You elementary, middle, and high school students who are learning Spanish or French know what it’s like to memorize vocabulary. One helpful technique is called “association,” which connects the word you’re trying to memorize to something familiar or funny. Association is a powerful memory tool. For example, it has been over fifteen years since I finished my master’s degree, but there is a key word in a key verse in our passage that I still remember in Greek because of a funny association I learned in seminary. It’s the Greek word βλέπω. The word is usually translated as “look” or “see.” The way I remember βλέπω is that it sounds like the word “blimp.” “See” or “look, a blimp!” helps me remember that βλέπω means “look” or “see.”

Now, the interesting thing about βλέπω is that it can be used either literally or figuratively. It can mean, “See! A blimp,” or it can mean, “see how you hear the word of Christ.” It’s used in that second sense in perhaps the most important verse in our passage. After the Lord Jesus told the parable of the different kinds of soils—illustrating the various wrong ways people hear and respond to the word of Christ, and the one right way—notice what he says in Luke 8:18: “Take care then how you hear, 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.” Jesus is literally saying, “See how you hear.”

Since there are many wrong ways to hear and only one right way, we must see how we hear. More than you see to your grades, your career, your finances, your dating relationship or marriage, your children or grandchildren—see how you hear the word of Christ.

And that brings us to the big idea of our passage this morning: Take care how you hear the word of Christ. See how you hear.

Our passage provides four reasons why you should take care how you hear the word of Christ:

1. The word is spreading (vv. 1–3)
2. There is only one right way to hear (vv. 4–15)
3. The stakes are eternal (vv. 16–18)
4. True hearers are family (vv. 19–21)

THE WORD IS SPREADING

Look with me at Luke 8:1: “Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him.”

The “good news of the kingdom of God” that Jesus proclaimed—and “the word of God,” as he calls it in the parable of the soils—are the same thing. The kingdom of God refers to God’s rule and reign. The arrival of God’s rule and reign through the Messiah was promised throughout the Old Testament. However, when Jesus arrived, he proclaimed that the time of waiting was over. Jesus is the King in God’s kingdom, and he came to bring God’s rule and reign near.

Now, I want to tell you something incredibly important: the mere announcement that God’s King and his kingdom have come near is not, in itself, good news. In fact, it is bad news for spiritual rebels like us, because the arrival of God’s kingdom means judgment and exclusion.

However, Jesus came proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The good news is that Jesus the King came not to wear a crown, but a cross. He did not come into the world to condemn us—we were condemned already. He came to save us. That’s the good news of the kingdom: the King laid down his life to take the just and eternal penalty that our rebellion deserves. And all who receive and rest in the Lord Jesus Christ—all who repent and believe in him—are welcomed into God’s kingdom now and will be welcomed into his physical and eternal kingdom forever when he returns.

The good news of the kingdom—the word of God—is what we call the gospel: the wonderful news that God forgives and adopts rebels like us into his kingdom now and forever, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

And the first reason to take care how you hear that word is that the word is spreading. The word is spreading and eventually it will fill the whole earth. Nothing can stop it. Jesus said that God’s kingdom is like leaven that eventually works its way through an entire lump of dough. Two thousand years ago the word first spread from Jesus to the twelve apostles, and since then approximately 8-12 billion people have heard and held fast to it with honest and good hearts. It’s spreading and if you take care how you hear the word of Christ, if you receive and hold fast to it, then you get to be part of its unstoppable spread. There is nothing greater! 

How does the good news of the kingdom spread? Well, notice that in our passage there are proclaimers and patrons that together spread the word. Luke 8:1-3 – Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, [2] and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, [3] and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. 

The Lord Jesus and the twelve apostles went through cities and villages proclaiming the good news of the kingdom full-time. This ministry was made possible by a group of women—and others—who served as patrons, providing for Jesus and the apostles out of their financial means. That’s how the word spreads: gospel-proclaimers and gospel-patrons working together.

As the Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 9:14: “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.” But how can those whom the church sets apart to proclaim the gospel full-time have the means for food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and even good things to enjoy, so that they can devote themselves to proclamation? Those set apart as gospel-proclaimers are supported by gospel-patrons.

Galatians 6:6 says: “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.” Every Christian is called to be both a gospel-proclaimer and a gospel-patron. I am not exempt from being a gospel-patron—giving a genuinely sacrificial portion of my income to the advance of the gospel through our church—simply because I am a full-time proclaimer.

However, I want to speak especially to those of you who are more on the gospel-patron side. I want to speak directly to those whose primary calling is to be a gospel-patron by working a job, earning income, and leveraging that income for the advancement of the church. I want to speak to those who may also have the spiritual gift of giving or contributing—those who have the faith to go well beyond typical sacrificial generosity in their support of gospel ministry.

I want to speak directly to you because, at Citylight, we talk often about being gospel-proclaimers. This ministry year, we set and exceeded a goal of training 200 of you to proclaim the gospel. However, we have not done a single intentional training this year on how to be a gospel-patron.

So let me tell you one simple thing: you are not second-class in the spreading of the word—the good news of the kingdom. The women mentioned in our passage provided for Jesus and the apostles out of their means, making their gospel proclamation possible. What could be more significant?

If the Lord has given you the ability to build wealth, he has done so so that you can be a gospel-patron—someone who makes gospel proclamation possible so that the good news of the kingdom can spread like yeast. That is not second-class; it is deeply significant.

So be as intentional as a gospel-patron—leveraging your resources to advance the church—as I am intentional to leverage my preaching for the advance of the church.

That’s the first reason why we must take care how we hear the word of Christ: it is spreading, and if we hear and respond rightly, we get to devote our lives to being part of that spread as gospel-proclaimers and gospel-patrons.

THERE IS ONLY ONE RIGHT WAY TO HEAR

On one occasion, as the Lord Jesus Christ was going through villages and cities proclaiming the word, a large crowd gathered. Like any great and godly preacher, when large crowds gathered to hear him, Jesus went out of his way to ensure that they heard the word rightly—because there is only one right way to hear.

To help the crowd take care how they heard, the Lord Jesus told a parable about a sower who went out to sow seed. The seed fell on three types of bad soil and did not grow. However, the seed also fell on one good type of soil, where it grew and yielded a hundredfold. Jesus concluded the parable by saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Jesus used a familiar image—a sower scattering seed—to make a spiritual point, and those who have ears to hear should hear it. His parable raises two important questions: first, why did the Lord Jesus use a parable to instruct the crowds? Second, what is the parable’s lesson or point?

Why did the Lord Jesus use a parable to instruct the crowds? Was he simply doing what all good teachers do—using an illustration to make a point? No, there was more to it than that. Luke 8:9–10 says: “And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, ‘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.”’”

Jesus did not speak in parables merely to illustrate, but to reveal or conceal. As one study note explains, God sovereignly uses parables either to harden a person’s heart so that he or she will be unable to respond, or to draw a person to seek understanding, ask for explanation, and receive the truth. As it is written in Romans 9:18: “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”

This leads to our second question: what is the parable’s lesson or point? The point is that there are many wrong ways to hear the word of Christ, but only one right way.

Let’s first consider the wrong ways.

The first wrong way to hear is to hear the word but never truly believe it. Luke 8:12: *“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.”

The second wrong way to hear is with the kind of faith that has no roots and, therefore, withers under trial. Luke 8:13 – And 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.

The second wrong way to hear is with the kind of faith that has no roots and, therefore, withers under trials. One of the saddest experiences I’ve had as a pastor was seeing this happen to a dear couple in our church. They received the gospel with joy, but they had no true roots. Then suffering came into their lives, as it does for all of us. The testing proved that the husband loved health more than Christ, so when his health and comfort were taken away and testing came, he turned his back on Christ. The wife tried to endure for a season, but soon joined her husband in abandoning Christ. Their faith had no roots, which is what the Bible calls “faith that cannot save.” Friends, take care how you hear the word of Christ. Take care that you don’t love and treasure anyone or anything more than Christ because if you do, when that person or thing is taken away in a time of testing, you’ll fall away because you had unrooted faith, which is no faith at all.

The final wrong way to hear is probably the most common one I’ve seen in the church. The final wrong way to hear is with faith that is slowly choked out by the cares, riches, and pleasures of life such that the fruit of faith does not mature; choked out by the world. Luke 8:14 – And 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.

Most people don’t hear the word of Christ, receive it, and then have it choked out the next day or in some dramatic fashion, as in the case I just shared. No, faith is more commonly choked out over time, subtly, by the cares, riches, and pleasures of life. In The Screwtape Letters, which is a satirical Christian novel by C.S. Lewis in which a senior demon, Screwtape, teaches his nephew Wormwood how to corrupt a person, Screwtape writes, “Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.”

The most common road to Hell is the gradual road of reading God’s word less, praying less, going to church less, and obeying less because you are gradually becoming more worried about life, sports, wealth, progress, and pleasure than Christ. The result will be that your faith is fruitless, which is no faith at all. Oh friends, if that’s the way you’re hearing now, if you’re living like one of the bad soils, then make a U-turn.

Take care how you hear because there is only one right way to hear. The right way: Hear with perseverance.

Luke 8:15 – 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.

The person who hears the word of Christ rightly, represented by the good soil, is the person who receives the word with joy, puts Christ before them and the world behind them, and perseveres. The right way to hear isn’t complicated or fancy. It is hearing and holding fast to the word when testing and temptations come. It is hearing, holding fast, and turning back to Christ again and again. And as you persevere through the trials of life and the temptations of the world, like a plant, you slowly but surely show the beautiful fruit of true faith. This is the only kind of hearing that is truly hearing and the only kind of believing that is true believing. Is this how you’re hearing the word of Christ? Take care how you hear because there is only one right way to hear. That brings us to the third reason why we must take care how we hear:

THE STAKES ARE ETERNAL

The third reason why we must take care how we hear is because if we do not, the consequences are truly dire. Listen to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 8:16–18 – “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. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, 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.”

When the Lord Jesus says that nothing hidden will not be made manifest, he is talking about the final judgment. Darrell Bock correctly captures the eternal stakes of taking care how we hear the word of Christ: Luke 8:16–18 calls people to respond to the light because of the dire consequences of not doing so. Jesus’ message is portrayed as light. He notes that one does not light a lamp to hide it, but to make its light available by placing it on a lampstand. The function of light is to make visible that which was previously hidden in darkness. So it will be with Jesus’ message. Everything that is hidden will be made known, and all secrets will be brought to light. One must therefore listen with care, since we are all accountable. There is much at stake, for whoever has, in terms of responding to revelation, will receive more. On the other hand, those who do not have because they refuse to respond will lose what they seemed to have, ending up with nothing.

Friends, the stakes could not be higher. Only those who hear the word of Christ with a sincere heart of faith and bear fruit with patient endurance to the end will be saved on the judgment day. Take care that you hear with perseverance. The stakes are eternally high, and if you hear with perseverance, the blessings will be abundant. That brings us to the final reason why we must take care how we hear:

True hearers are family (vv. 19–21).

Our passage concludes with a most remarkable scene. The Lord Jesus Christ’s mother and brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. Have you ever seen something like this on TV? You’re watching highlights from a professional sporting event and they show the player’s family trying to get to them after the player helped their team win the big game. But the crowd size and strict security make it so that a player’s own family cannot get to them to celebrate. If you’ve ever seen something like this on TV, what you’ll typically see happen is that the player will tell security, “Hey, that’s my mom and brothers—let them through,” they are joyfully reunited, and it makes for great television.

The Lord Jesus Christ did the exact opposite of that. The Lord Jesus’ mother and brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because Jesus’ popularity had grown so much and the crowds had swelled so large that his own family could not get to him. Now watch what Jesus did!

Luke 8:20–21 – And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

The Lord Jesus Christ’s true family is not those who are his flesh and blood, but those who take care how they hear. His family is made up of those who hear the word of God and do it. Wow! If you take care how you hear, if you hear the word and do it, Jesus says to you, “We are family.”