Mark 4:9-12
"Let anyone who has ears to hear listen."
It's such a strange thing for Jesus to say. Everyone listening had ears. But Jesus wasn't talking about physical ears — He was talking about something deeper. Something most of us are terrified to admit.
In Mark 4, right after telling the Parable of the Sower, Jesus says something that stops us in our tracks. He tells His disciples that the "secret of the kingdom" has been given to them, but to those outside, everything comes in parables "so that they may indeed look, and yet not perceive; they may indeed listen, and yet not understand."
Wait. What?
Is Jesus saying He doesn't want some people to understand? Is He hiding the truth on purpose?
Pastor David Baalbergen takes us verse by verse through one of the most difficult passages in the entire Gospel of Mark. This isn't a message you breeze through. It's one that will challenge you, maybe even make you uncomfortable. But stick with it. Because what you'll find on the other side is not a harsh, exclusive Jesus — but a Savior who cuts down religious pride to make room for anyone who will humbly come to Him.
This is about the ax at the root of the tree. The fresh stump. The grafting in of sinners — Jew and Gentile alike — into the family of God by grace through faith.
If you've ever stumbled over the idea that salvation isn't something you earn, that it's not about your bloodline or your good works or your ability to figure it out on your own — this message is for you.
If you've ever been terrified that maybe you don't have ears to hear — this message is for you.
Because the truth is, none of us do. Not on our own. But God, in His mercy, gives what we cannot manufacture. And once you're in, you're in — grafted onto the tree, part of the family, secure in the One who started the work and will finish it.
"Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."
— 1 Peter 2:10 (CSB)
Come sit with us. Bring your questions. Bring your doubts. There's room at the table.
📍 East Brainerd Baptist Church
1047 Graysville Rd, Chattanooga, TN
🕙 Sundays at 11:00 AM
Whether you've been walking with Jesus for decades or you're just trying to figure out if any of this is real — you're welcome here. Come hear the Word. Come ask questions. Come as you are.