Sign in
MARK 4:24 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Mark 4:23Mark 4:25
“And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.”
Consider carefully what you hear, he continued. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you — and even more — the principle of reciprocal measure is applied here not to judgment (as in Matthew 7:2) but to the reception of teaching. The quality and quantity of attention you bring to hearing determines the quality and quantity of understanding you receive. Consider carefully what you hear: the hearing requires active attention, critical engagement, the willingness to sit with the teaching until it opens. Even more — God is not stingy with understanding; those who bring full attention receive more than they bring. The principle encourages the disciples to invest maximum receptive effort.

Church Fathers on Mark 4:24

Or else the candle is the discourse concerning the three sorts of seed. The bushel or the bed is the hearing of the disobedient. The Apostles are the candlestick, whom the word of the Lord hath enlightened.

Pseudo-Jerome · 5th century

Or else the Lord warns His disciples to be as light, in their life and conversation; as if He said, As a candle is put so as to give light, so all will look to your life. Therefore be diligent to lead a good life; sit not in corners, but be ye a candle. For a candle gives light, not when placed under a bed, but on a candlestick; this light indeed must be placed on a candlestick, that is, on the eminence of a godly life, that it may be able to give light to others. Not under a…

Theophylact · 11th century

Or, because the time of our life is contained under a certain measurement of Divine Providence, it is rightly compared to a bushel. But the bed of the soul is the body, in which it dwells and reposes for a time. He therefore who hides the word of God under the love of this transitory life, and of carnal allurements, covers his candle with a bushel or a bed.

Bede · 8th century · in Marc., 1, 20
Read all 9 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!