Mark 4:24

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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(24) With what measure ye mete.—See Note on Matthew 7:2. The proverb furnishes a good illustration of what has just been said as to our Lord’s method of presenting the same truth under different aspects. In the Sermon on the Mount it appears as the law of retribution, which brings pardon to those who pardon, judgment without mercy to those who show no mercy. Here the law works in another region. With the measure with which we mete our knowledge, God will. in His bounty, bestow more knowledge upon us. The old maxim, Docendo disces (“Thou wilt learn by teaching”), becomes here more than the lesson of experience, and is one with the divine law of equity.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

4:21-34 These declarations were intended to call the attention of the disciples to the word of Christ. By his thus instructing them, they were made able to instruct others; as candles are lighted, not to be covered, but to be placed on a candlestick, that they may give light to a room. This parable of the good seed, shows the manner in which the kingdom of God makes progress in the world. Let but the word of Christ have the place it ought to have in a soul, and it will show itself in a good conversation. It grows gradually: first the blade; then the ear; after that the full corn in the ear. When it is sprung up, it will go forward. The work of grace in the soul is, at first, but the day of small things; yet it has mighty products even now, while it is in its growth; but what will there be when it is perfected in heaven!

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Take heed what ye hear - Or, consider well what you hear. Make a good improvement of it.

With what measure ye mete ... - You shall be treated according to the use you make of your opportunities of learning. If you consider it well, and make a good improvement of what you hear, you shall be well rewarded. If not, your reward shall be small. This is a proverbial expression. See it explained in the notes at Matthew 7:1-2.

Mete - Measure. With what measure ye measure.

Unto you that hear - To you who are "attentive," and who improve what you hear.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

24. And he saith unto them, Take heed what ye hear—In Luke (Lu 8:18) it is, "Take heed how ye hear." The one implies the other, but both precepts are very weighty.

with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you—See on [1430]Mt 7:2.

and unto you that hear—that is, thankfully, teachably, profitably.

shall more be given.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Ver. 24,25. Whoso considereth the connection of these words,

with what measure ye mete, &c., with the first words in the verse,

Take heed what ye hear, and compares the former with the parallel texts, Matthew 7:2 Luke 6:38, will wonder what the force should be of the argument. For in both the parallel texts the latter words in this verse seem to be used as an argument to persuade them to justice and charity towards men, from the punishments of the violations of the law concerning them, by way of retaliation. Nor are there any sins so ordinarily as those of that kind so punished. But they can have no such force here, following those words, Take heed what ye hear. But, as I said before, there is nothing more usual than diverse applications of the same common saying, or proverbial expression. The saying is true, whether it be understood of men or of God, As we deal with God, so will God deal with us.

Take heed what ye hear. Luke saith, how ye hear. Take heed what ye hear; as much as, Take heed to what you hear, that you may receive the word not as seed by the way side, or in thorny or stony ground, but as in good ground. This seemeth rather to be the sense of our Saviour, than to give a caution by these words to men to examine what they hear, searching the Scriptures whether what they hear doth agree with them, though that also be the duty of all conscientious persons, as appeareth from Acts 17:11 For saith our Saviour, God will deal with you as to his providence as you deal with him. If you allow the word of God but a little hearing, you shall reap from it heard little profit and advantage; this appeareth to be the sense from the following words.

And unto you that hear shall more be given; that is, unto you that hear, so as you attend, understand, believe, hearken, and obey, God will give further knowledge of Divine mysteries.

For he that hath, to him shall be given, &c.: another general proverbial expression; See Poole on "Matthew 13:12", See Poole on "Matthew 25:29".

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he said unto them,.... At the same time, though he had said what follows at another time, still continuing his discourse with his disciples:

take heed what you hear: diligently attend to it, seek to understand it, and lay it up in your minds and memories, that it may be of use to you in time to come, and you may be useful in communicating it to others:

with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you; a common proverb among the Jews, used on various occasions, and to different purposes; See Gill on Matthew 7:2. Here it seems to intimate, that if the disciples carefully hearkened to what they heard from Christ, and studiously laboured to understand it, and faithfully dispensed it to others, in return, a larger measure, and greater degree of spiritual knowledge, would be bestowed upon them: for it follows, and

unto you that hear, shall more be given; that is, that hear so as to understand, keep, and make a good use of what they hear, more shall be communicated to them; they shall have an increase of knowledge in the doctrines of grace, and mysteries of the Gospel.

Geneva Study Bible

{3} 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.

(3) The more liberally that we share such gifts as God has given us with our brethren, the more bountiful God will be toward us.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Mark 4:24-25. Comp. Luke 8:18.

βλέπετε] Be heedful as to what ye hear; how important it is rightly to understand what is delivered to you by me!

ἐν ᾧ μέτρῳ κ.τ.λ.] A ground of encouragement to heedfulness. It is otherwise in Matthew 7:2. In our passage the relation of heedfulness to the knowledge thereby to be attained is described. Euthymius Zigabenus well says: ἐν ᾧ μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε τὴν προσοχὴν, ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ μετρηθήσεται ὑμῖν ἡ γνῶσις, τουτέστιν· ὅσην εἰσφέρετε προσοχὴν, τοσαύτη παραχεθήσεται ὑμῖν γνῶσις, καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ τοσαύτη παρασχεθήσεται ὑμῖν γνῶσις, καὶ οὐ μόνον ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ μέτρῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλέον.

Mark 4:25. Reason assigned for the foregoing καὶ προστεθήσεται. The application of the proverbial saying (comp. Matthew 13:12; Matthew 25:29) is: For if ye (through heedfulness) have become rich in knowledge, ye shall continually receive still larger accession to this riches (that is just the προσ τεθήσεται); but if ye (through heedlessness) are poor in knowledge, ye shall also lose even your little knowledge. Euthymius Zigabenus erroneously refers δοθήσεται only to the γνῶσις, and ἔχῃ to the προσοχήν. So also Theophylact.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Mark 4:24. βλέπετε, etc., take heed what you hear or how (πῶς, Lk.), see that ye hear to purpose.—ἐν ᾧ μέτρῳ, etc. = careful hearing pays, the reward of attention is knowledge (ἐν ᾧ μέτρῳ μετρεῖτε τὴν προσοχὴν ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ μετρηθήσεται ὑμῖν ἡ γνῶσις, Euthy. Zig.). In Matthew 7:2 the apothegm is applied to judging. Such moral maxims admit of many applications. The idea of measuring does not seem very appropriate here. Holtz. (H. C.) thinks Mark 4:24 interrupts the connection.—προστεθήσεται implies that the reward will be out of proportion to the virtue; the knowledge acquired to the study devoted to the subject. There shall be given over and above, not to those who hear (T. R., τοῖς ἀκούουσιν), but to those who think on what they hear. This thought introduces Mark 4:25, which, in this connection, means: the more a man thinks the more he will understand, and the less a man thinks the less his power of understanding will become. “Whoso hath attention, knowledge will be given to him, and from him who hath not, the seed of knowledge will be taken. For as diligence causes that seed to grow, negligence destroys it,” Euthy.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

24. with what measure ye mete] According to the measure of your ability and diligence as hearers, ye shall receive instruction, and be enabled to preach to others.

Bengel's Gnomen

Mark 4:24. Βλέπετε τί ἀκούετε, See [take heed], what ye hear) The seeing organ, which is the more noble sense, directs and modifies the impressions of the hearing: it is the eye, not the ear, that can move itself.—τί, what) We are hearing the word, which is the word of God; account that as a high privilege: Or else the what is to be resolved into the how of Luke: see to it, what kind of a hearing you render to the word.—ἐν ᾧ μέτρῳ, with what measure) The measure alluded to is the heart, with its capabilities, desires, anxiety to impart blessings received to others, and obedience.—προστεθήσεται, it shall be added [more shall be given]) That ye may be not only hearers, but partakers.—τοῖς) as concerns the hearers;[39] comp. on Romans 2:8, as respects such datives. [Engl. Vers. makes the dat. follow προστεθ., “more shall be given to you that fear.”]

[39] The margin of both editions had left the reader to decide as to the omission of this clause, τοῖς ἀκούουσιν. The Gnomon and Vers. Germ. retain it.—E. B.

BCDGLΔc Vulg. omit it. However A, with Rec. Text, supports it.—ED.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 24. - Take heed what ye hear. Attend, that is, to these words which ye hear from me, that ye may understand them, and commit them to memory, and so be able to communicate them effectually to others. Let none of my words escape you. Our Lord bids us to pay the greatest attention to his words, and so to digest them that we may be able to teach them to others. With what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you: and more shall be given unto you. Our Lord's meaning is clearly this: If you freely and plentifully communicate and preach my doctrine to others, you shall receive a corresponding reward. Nay, you shall have a return in far more abundant measure. For thus the fountains, the more water they pour out below, so much the more do they receive from above. Here, then, is great encouragement to all faithful teachers of the Word, of whatever kind; that by how much they give to others in teaching them, by so much the more shall they receive of wisdom and grace from Christ; according to those words of the apostle, "He that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6). Mark 4:24