See How You Hear (Lk. 8:16-25)
An old man thought his wife was losing her hearing, so he called the doctor to ask for some advice. The doctor told the man that he could do a little experiment to determine the severity of his wife’s hearing problem, "Ask her a question from the next room in a normal tone of voice, and keep asking while coming closer until she can hear you. That way you know the range of her hearing."
That night, he's sitting on his easy chair in the living room while his wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner. He estimates he's about 30 feet away. In a normal tone of voice, he says, "What's for dinner?"
She doesn't respond, so he gets up and walks to the kitchen doorway, about 20 feet away, and asks, "What's for dinner?"
She still doesn't respond so he walks 10 feet closer and asks, "What's for dinner?"
She still doesn't say anything, so he gets right up beside her and asks, "What's for dinner?"
She says, "For the fourth time we're having chicken!"[1]
The normal range for hearing lies somewhere between 0-25dB. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hearing loss affects billions of people globally. Roughly 430 million people suffer from disabling hearing loss, which is hearing loss of greater than 35dB, and requires some form of rehabilitation to address this problem, about 34 million of those are children.
This number is expected to almost double by the year 2050, reaching approximately 700 million people requiring rehabilitation for disabling hearing (1 out of 10).[2]
This study includes many of you listening to me today.
Thanks to the invention of the hearing aid and cochlear implants, doctors, engineers, and audiologists have made it possible to fix many of the hearing problems people suffer with today.
Last Sunday Pastor Mike shared Jesus’ emphasis on sowing the seed of God’s Word. In the parable of the Sower (Lk. 8:4-15) and the parable of the lamps (Lk. 8:16-18) Luke uses two different examples to drive home the same point. Imagine these stories as one piece of fruit, a peach for example. If we were to open that peach, at its center we would find a seed. Comparatively, the seed at the center of these parables is hearing God’s Word.First, as ministers of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18), we learn from this parable of the Sower, to be generous with the Word of God. We are to scatter it far and wide. Second, the soil into which that seed is sown matters a lot. Finally, we are to allow the light of God’s Word to illuminate our lives and the lives of those around us.
In the parable of the Sower, Jesus teaches His disciples the importance of what to hear.
In the verses that we will cover today, Jesus teaches His disciples the importance of how to hear.
Open your Bibles and go with me to Luke eight and let’s start at verse sixteen.
Luke 8:16–25 NKJV
16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.
17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.
18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.
20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”
21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out.
23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.
24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
Good Light (Lk. 8:16-17)
Light is a very useful tool. It helps us to see, and it also helps us to purify, cook, and forge metal, among other things.
At verse sixteen Jesus switches metaphors. He goes from talking about what is hidden or buried, the seed of God’s Word, to now talking about what is exposed and revealing, the light of God’s Word. The two examples work very well together.
If we will hide God’s Word in our hearts as the psalmist says (Ps. 119:11), then we will be able to clearly see the things of God (Ps. 119:105).
Luke 8:16–17 NKJV
16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.
17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.
Absurdity #1
A few things stand out to me from these verses. First, Jesus points out the absurdity of lighting a lamp only to cover it up. What happens when you do that? You extinguish the light, right? It goes out. Or you minimize its effectiveness. For example, sometimes when I get up to go for a run and Alicia is still asleep, I’ll use my cellphone flashlight to find my gear, but since I don’t want to wake her by shining light into the room, I’ll cover the light so that it’s not so bright that she sees it.
When we do that with the light that we have been given from God, we become ineffective in ministry and prevent others from being exposed to the life-changing light of the Gospel.
Jesus said,
Matthew 5:16 NKJV
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
The light in us, is used by God to illuminate the hearts and minds of those living in darkness inspiring them to glorify God based on what they have seen in us.
The apostle Paul said,
2 Corinthians 4:3–4 NKJV
3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
Satan often uses our refusal to shine brightly for God as a way of deepening the darkness people are already in. We can cover the light of God’s Word when we are ashamed of the Gospel. When we are negatively concerned about what others will think of us as Christians instead of sharing the hope that we have in Jesus. We cover the light of God’s Word by not living out our faith in front of other people.
Luke 9:26 NKJV
26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
When we hide the light God has placed in us, in a sense, we are contributing to the very darkness Jesus calls us to confront. Hiding what God means for our lives and the wonderful works He has done in our lives, to a degree, makes us responsible for the darkness that other people find themselves in.
Leviticus 5:1 NKJV
1 ‘If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt.
Our transparency is not just a matter of personal expression, but a spiritual responsibility to reflect God’s grace to a world in need of clarity and truth. How we do that matters tremendously.
Absurdity #2
Jesus points out a second absurdity. He says that no one lights a lamp just to shove it under a bed. Why is that a problem? Beds during the time of Jesus were probably made of highly flammable hay or straw. So, imagine placing a burning flame under a bed made of straw. What’s going to happen to that bed? It’s going to catch fire.
Light illuminates and reveals, making us aware of what has been concealed in the darkness, but it can also burn.
Here’s what we can learn from this parable. A lamp covered up is extinguished or ineffective, but a lamp placed under a bed damages. It burns out of control and does more harm than good. I’m not talking about getting your feelings hurt because the Word of God has cut you so deep that you are left to grapple with the awfulness of your sin. I’m talking about misusing the Bible and leading people off a cliff, leaving them completely opposed to the kingdom of God, or deceived into thinking that they are going in the right direction when they’re not.
This is why Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees hypocrites in Matthew’s gospel.
Matthew 23:15 NKJV
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
The apostle Peter talked about how
2 Peter 3:16 NKJV
16 untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
How many stories have we heard about where this sort of thing has happened? Too many! This is why Peter continues,
2 Peter 3:17 NKJV
17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;
Timothy reminds us of the purpose and function of God’s truth.
2 Timothy 3:16 NKJV
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
When the light of truth is intentionally obscured or misapplied, it ceases to be a guide and becomes a hazard instead. This often happens when Christians misuse Scripture to manipulate, exclude, or condemn rather than to illuminate and restore. For instance, instead of the Word of God being a lamp unto one's feet, it’s used as a torch to ignite divisions within a community. This destructive application can drive seekers away from the faith, leaving them disillusioned and resistant to the message of the Gospel.
The light of God’s Word, that should expose us to the sin in our lives that separates us from a holy and righteous God, and furthermore, reveals to us the way of salvation through Jesus Christ, often burns wildly out of control as many in the church have weaponized it against people they disagree with.
Don’t place your light under a bed where it can burn everything down.
Good Hearing (Lk. 8:18)
So then, how can we avoid covering up our light or letting it burn uncontrollably? The way that you can prevent this is by paying close attention, not only to what you hear, but also how you hear what you hear.
Erik Weihenmayer is an explorer and mountaineer. He has kayaked the Grand Canyon and various other places around the world. One of his greatest accomplishments is that he has summited the tallest mountains on every continent. In 2001 Erik became the first person ever to climb Mt. Everest and he did it totally blind!
At the age of 14 Erik lost his eyesight due to retinoschisis (reh-tin-oh-SKEE-sis). Because Erik can’t see, he has to rely on his hearing to get him through the day. With the use of echolocation, Erik responds to the sounds he hears bouncing off other objects and this is how he has learned to get around in life, by paying attention to what he hears and then obeying the sound.
The same applies to our spiritual lives. How we hear the truth of Scripture guides us through this sinful world.
Luke 8:18 NKJV
18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
This verse is so important for those of us who desire to live our lives for the glory of God.
Jesus’ warning for us to pay attention to how we hear, recalls the words of Dt. 6:4
Deuteronomy 6:4 NKJV
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
The Shema is an ancient Jewish prayer of faith and commitment to the one true God, Yahweh. The word shema doesn’t just mean to hear or listen, it means to listen with a readiness to obey what you have heard; to do what the Word of God tells you to do. This echoes what Jesus’ younger brother James told us in his letter.
James 1:22–25 NKJV
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
One thing that we are not short of at this church, is the true and Biblical teaching of God’s Word. Almost any day of the week you can find a group to study the Scriptures with, but if all you do is gather information and never apply what you learn to your life, it will not benefit you one bit.
You can’t just sit up here and listen to us teach God’s Word, you have to do what it says.
If the Word says repent, then repent. If it says serve, then serve. If it says give, then give. If it speaks of suffering, suffer well. When you read where God says to love your neighbors and love your enemies, love them well. Forgive according to the Word. Rejoice in trials. Hope in God. Endure until the end. Confess your sin and believe on the Name of Jesus for the saving of your soul.
New Testament scholar, Daniel K. Eng, says
One who does not carry out the commands is cutting off the process that produces righteousness and brings salvation (James 1:20-21).[3]
Pay attention to how you hear what you hear from God’s Word.
Jesus said,
Luke 8:18b NKJV
18 For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
This is like being trapped in a cave and seeing a thin beam of light breaking through the cracks. If you follow that light, it grows brighter, and eventually it leads you out of that cave. In the same way, the more we respond to the light of God’s Word, the more light and understanding we receive leading us out of the darkness of sin and the deception of Satan.
Family Hears (Lk. 8:19-21)
According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus’ family thought He was crazy.
Mark 3:21 NKJV
21 But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, “He is out of His mind.”
We also know from passages like John 7:1-5, that Jesus’ family didn’t believe in Him and therefore they would not follow Him. Now, that’s all going to change once we get to the book of Acts where Luke presents Jesus’ family members as devoted followers and even leaders within the church (Acts 1:14).
But John gives us a little background into the skepticism of Jesus’ siblings.
John 7:1–5 NKJV
1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him.
2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.
3 His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing.
4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.”
5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
Luke uses two different events to further emphasize our responsibility to be good hearers of God’s Word. First, he tells us about how Jesus’ earthly family came to Him but couldn’t get to Him because of the crowd that had formed.
Luke 8:19–21 NKJV
19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.
20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”
21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
The expectation here is that those who belong to Christ will actually do what He says. That was John’s point in his first letter.
1 John 2:3–6 NKJV
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
Kinship, within the kingdom of God, depends on our obedience to the Word of God.
Creation Hears (Lk. 8:22-25)
The second event Luke uses to emphasize our responsibility to be good hearers is found in verses 22-25. Jesus and His disciples were out on the lake, Jesus fell asleep in the boat and sometime later a huge storm rolled in. The wind was blowing hard. The waves were crashing over the side of the boat filling it with water. The boat was starting to sink. The disciples were terrified. In a panic, they woke Jesus up.
Here’s how Luke tells it.
Luke 8:24–25 NKJV
24 And they came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Then He arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water. And they ceased, and there was a calm.
25 But He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who can this be? For He commands even the winds and water, and they obey Him!”
We’ll talk more about this next time, but for now, I just want to show how this connects to the theme of hearing. If how you hear is about your response to what you’ve heard, then Luke hammers home this point with one final example.
Even creation obeys the Word of God.
When God said let there be light, light broke forth.
The psalmist tells us,
Psalm 33:6 NKJV
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
Psalm 33:9 NKJV
9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
Yahweh commanded the ravens to feed His prophet Elijah and they did (1 Kgs. 17:2-16).
He told the giant fish to swallow Jonah and it did (Jonah 1:17).
He told the lions not to touch Daniel while he was in the pit and they refused to bite (Dan. 6:10ff).
Yahweh declares by the mouth of the prophet Isaiah,
Isaiah 55:11 NKJV
11 So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.
When Christ commanded death to let go of Lazarus, he got his life back (Jn. 11:43-44).
And when Jesus spoke to the storm, the winds and waves obeyed Him (Lk. 8:22-25).
Understand something and let it fuel your commitment to faithfully obey the Word of our Lord.
Creation never argues with God.
Creation never negotiates with God.
Creation never delays in obeying the Word of God and neither should we.
Respond
Let me leave you with this final thought and challenge.
The late professor and pastor, Fred B. Craddock, said
Being dull of hearing, blind, and stiffnecked need not be a permanent condition.
Those who lean forward to hear, who invest trust and commitment, who come to the altar of the word seeking, asking, hungering - these are the ones to whom ‘more will be given.’[4]
Here’s your challenge - saint and sinner alike - pay attention to how you hear what you hear from God’s Word.
For those of you who are not Christians, it begins by trusting in Jesus for the salvation of your life. You have heard the Gospel, Jesus has been presented to you, will you humble yourself and believe in Him?
For those of you who are Christians, will you be faithful in following God’s instruction to you today? What has He spoken to you personally? Is there some sin to confess? Confess it. Is there someone to forgive? Forgive. Whatever He has told you, do it and the light you have will increase.
Tré Clark
Britton Christian Church
6/4/2026
[1] Hearing Problem Jokes - 26 Hilarious Hearing Problem Jokes; https://upjoke.com/hearing-problem-jokes
[2] Deafness and hearing loss - https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss
[3] Daniel K. Eng, The New Testament in Color, p642
[4] David Garland, Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: Luke, 350
