Men Must Ensure That They Receive God's Truth While They May, Otherwise They Might Lose It (4:24-25).
Having spoken of God's truth as being like a lamp whose effectiveness depends on what men do with it, Jesus now stresses the need to take heed while it is still shining. And He does it in terms of an offer that is being made, which men must then decide whether they will accept or reject.
Analysis.
a And he said to them, “Be careful what you hear” (Mark 4:24 a).
b “With what measure you measure it will be measured to you” (Mark 4:24 b).
c “And more shall be given to you” (Mark 4:24 c).
b “For to him who has, to him will be given” (Mark 4:25 a).
a “And he who has not, from him will be taken away even that which he has” (Mark 4:25 b).
Note that in ‘a' they are to be careful what they hear, and in the parallel this is because if they do not accept what is offered they will lose even what they have. In ‘b' they will receive the measure from God (or from other people) that they measure out to others, while in the parallel the one who has what is worthwhile will receive more. Central in ‘c' is the thought that God gives more and more to those who are ready initially to receive.
‘And he said to them, “Be careful what you hear. With what measure you measure it will be measured to you, and more shall be given to you. For to him who has, to him will be given, and he who has not, from him will be taken away even that which he has.” '
‘Be careful what you hear.' Luke 8:18 has ‘be careful how you hear'. But the meaning is much the same. What Jesus is saying in Mark is that they must be discerning, they must ensure that they listen and respond only to the truth, that they must be careful what they hear, and to do this they will have to be careful how they hear.
‘With what measure you measure it will be measured to you, and more shall be given to you.' If they measure the words of Jesus genuinely and sincerely, receiving them, understanding them, appreciating them and fully responding to them, God will respond equally genuinely and sincerely. Indeed they will receive more than full measure. God will respond abundantly. To him who has will more be given. But if they do not receive and understand and fully respond they will lose even what they have, for it will be taken away from them. God is not satisfied with half measures and half response.