hear

Listen to Me

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15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” – Matthew 11:15 ESV

9 “He who has ears, let him hear.” – Matthew 13:9 ESV

43 “He who has ears, let him hear.” – Matthew 13:43 ESV

22 “For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” – Mark 4:22-25 ESV

14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand…” – Mark 7:14 ESV

8 As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” – Luke 8:8 ESV

18 “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.” – Luke 8:18 ESV

35 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” – Luke 14:35 ESV

Listening seemed to be a high-priority topic for Jesus because He brought it up regularly. He expected His disciples to hear what He had to say and to treat His words as authoritative. But Jesus didn’t suffer from an overinflated sense of self-worth or a desperate desire for the spotlight. Jesus wasn’t out to garner attention or impress others with his linguistic skills. He was simply delivering the message He received from His Heavenly Father.

“My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies.” – John 7:16-18 NLT

“I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father.” – John 8:38 NLT

“I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.” – John 12:49 NLT

“The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me.” – John 14:10 NLT

“…for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.” – John 17:8 NLT

In a sense, Jesus only spoke when spoken to. He delivered what He received from His Father and expected all those who heard His words to listen carefully and consider the full import of the message. God displayed this expectation of attentiveness on the part of His people throughout the Old Testament. He constantly called the people of Israel to hear and heed His words.

“Listen to me, O Jacob,
    and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; I am the first,
    and I am the last.
My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I call to them,
    they stand forth together.

“Assemble, all of you, and listen!” – Isaiah 48:12-14 ESV

“And so, my children, listen to me,
    for all who follow my ways are joyful.
Listen to my instruction and be wise.
    Don’t ignore it.
Joyful are those who listen to me,
    watching for me daily at my gates,
    waiting for me outside my home!” – Proverbs 8:32-34 NLT

“Listen to me; listen, and pay close attention.” – Isaiah 28:23 NLT

When God speaks, He expects His people to hear and obey. His words carry weight because He is holy and righteous in all that He says and does. His words are truth and deserve man’s full attention and complete obedience. So, when Jesus spoke on behalf of His Father, He always added the command to listen. He wanted His audience to take in what they heard as if it had come from God on high. His words were not the rambling rhetoric of an itinerant Rabbi from Nazareth; they were divine teachings from the throne room of God in heaven.

In Mark’s gospel account, he records an occasion when Jesus addressed a large crowd sitting on the seashore while he sat in a boat just offshore.

And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen!” – Mark 4:2-3 ESV

Jesus prefaced His talk with the command to listen, and throughout His parable-infused lecture, He reminded them to hear what He had to say.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” – Mark 4:9 ESV

“If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.” – Mark 4:23-24 ESV

Inferred in thes statements is the fact that one can hear and not really listen. Anyone with small children can attest to the reality of that fact. And yet Jesus seems to be demanding much more than listening ears. His real point of emphasis is understanding or comprehension. When discussing the mystery of the Kingdom of God, He told His disciples that they had been given permission to understand what He was saying.

His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables,

For they look, but they don’t really see.
    They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.

This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,

‘When you hear what I say,
    you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
    you will not comprehend.
For the hearts of these people are hardened,
    and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
    so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
    and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
    and let me heal them.’

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.” – Matthew 13:10-16 NLT

That is why He took time to explain to them more fully the meaning behind His parables. Jesus knew that most of those who heard His words would not understand or obey them because the prophets had said that would be the case. God knew that His words would fall on deaf ears. The people would hear and even listen intently, but they would fail to understand, and as a result, they would fail to believe.

One of the parables Jesus told the crowd that day was about the sower and the soils. In this metaphor-rich story, Jesus painted the picture of a sower sowing seeds that fell on various soils. As He later explained, the seed was the message of the gospel, and the soil was the hearts of those who were exposed to that message. In each case, the soils represent individuals who hear the same message but whose responses are directly influenced by the condition of their hearts. The spiritual state of their hearts has a direct impact on the viability and success of the seed. For some, their hearts are like hardened footpaths where there is no place for the Word of God to take root. They hear, but the Word simply sits on the surface, where it soon disappears. Others hear the message gladly, and it seems to make a difference, but their problem is that their hearts are shallow, and there is no way for the Word of God to establish a firm hold on their lives. At the first sign of problems or persecution, they give up. And some hear, but their hearts are filled with the cares and worries of this life. They are enamored by materialism, wealth, and the things of this world, so the message is slowly crowded out and, eventually, forgotten. But there will be those few who hear, listen, and understand. Their hearts provide a fertile soil in which the message can take root, grow, and produce fruit in their lives.

Jesus implores His audience to “Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive, and more will be added to you. For whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” (Mark 4:24-25 NET). He is telling them to judge what they are hearing Him say carefully. They must not measure or judge His message by the old standard of the Law. He is warning them to listen intently because He is presenting them with new information regarding the Kingdom of God and how they might have a place in it. The old message of inclusion based on inheritance is no longer valid. Just being born a Jew was not enough. Being a descendant of Abraham was not a guarantee of a place in God’s Kingdom. If they would listen to what He was saying and discard their preconceived notions of what it means to be included in the Kingdom of God, they would be given even more understanding. They would receive even more insight into the mysteries or secrets of the Kingdom. But for all those, like the Pharisees, who refuse to listen and understand because they’re using the wrong standard of measurement, “even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them” (Mark 4:25 NLT).

From our vantage point this side of the resurrection, so much of this makes sense to us. But we must remember that this was all new information to the disciples. It was radical and revolutionary and did not align with their understanding of God, His Kingdom, or the coming of the Messiah. It wasn’t what they had been taught growing up as young Hebrew boys. Everything Jesus said seemed to be controversial and contradictory to what they had been taught to believe. But He encouraged them to listen. He told them to give up their old standard of measurement for belief, to hear what He was saying, and to understand the truth for the first time in their lives.

While much of this made no sense to them, Jesus told them that His Kingdom would grow. Like a farmer who plants his seed and then waits for harvest, the disciples would learn that the message they heard would take root in the lives of others and grow – all because of the work and power of God.

But it all begins with listening, hearing, and understanding. The more intently they listened, the more they understood. The more eager they were to understand, the more carefully Jesus explained everything to them. This begs the question, how well are we listening to His words and understanding what He is trying to teach us? Are we willing to hear but not obey? As His disciples, do we fail to believe that His words come from the Father and carry weight that is worthy of our attention and obedience?

James would have us remember that hearing without obeying is the characteristic of a fool, not a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. – James 1:19-26 NLT

Hearing can be difficult. There are so many distractions and so much noise that make it almost impossible to hear what Jesus is saying. Yet, there are also times when we hear but fail to listen. He speaks, but I we’re too busy listening to other voices. Even in those times when we do listen to Him, we can easily fail to understand because what He says does not fit in with what we want to believe. We use the wrong standard of measurement and end up judging His words by the world’s standards. We desire pleasure and happiness when His desire is for our holiness.

Jesus still calls His disciples to listen and hear. Our prayer should be that the Spirit would give us ears to hear, listen, understand, and obey. We should constantly ask the  Spirit to soften our hearts so that God’s Word, as delivered by His Son, would always find fertile ground in which to take root, grow, and produce fruit in our lives.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

A Divine Hearing Aid

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1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 

10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that

“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
    and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”

13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” – Mark 4:1-20 ESV

For whatever reason, Luke records this event as taking place before Jesus’ mother and brothers showed up to see Him. Matthew and Mark place the telling of this parable after their arrival. This is not an example of a contradiction in the Bible, as much as it is an example of the gospel authors arranging the events of Jesus’ life in order to drive home the point they are attempting to make. Each of them places a different emphasis on the various aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry because they are chronicling the story from their own personal perspective and with a specific audience in mind.

But all three authors of the Synoptic Gospels include this parable. Over the centuries, it has been referred to by many names, including the parable of the seeds, the parable of the sower, and the parable of the soils. But regardless of what you call it, this parable is a classic example of a teaching style that was common in Jesus’ day. Parables were extended metaphors that attempted to communicate difficult truths through the use of comparison. Jesus utilized this teaching method frequently, especially when addressing large crowds. But as we will see illustrated in this passage, Jesus would often take time to explain the meaning of the parable to His 12 disciples.

Matthew records that Jesus told this parable on the same day His mother and brothers had come to see Him.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables… – Matthew 13:1-3 ESV

It is important to remember what Jesus had said earlier that same day.

And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” – Matthew 12:49-50 ESV

The next scene reveals Jesus sitting in a boat just off the shore of the Sea of Galilee, as a large crowd gathers on the shoreline to hear what He has to say. Mark indicates that Jesus began “teaching them many things in parables.” As usual, His audience would have included all types of people, including His faithful followers, the simply curious, those hoping to be healed, and the ever-present Pharisees and scribes. It is likely that HIs mother, Mary, and his half-brothers were also in attendance that day. The diversity of His audience will become increasingly more important as the parable unfolds.

Jesus told a story about a farmer who went out to sow. This imagery would have been very familiar to His audience because they lived in an agrarian culture where this scene was commonplace and uneventful. But in His story, Jesus describes the farmer’s valuable seeds falling onto four different surfaces: A well-worn path, rocky ground, a thorn-infested patch of land, and finally, a field that had been properly prepared for seeds.

The mostly rural audience to whom Jesus addressed this parable would have immediately guessed the outcome of the story. You didn’t have to be a farmer to understand that many of the seeds had been scattered in places that would prove to be inhospitable and unfruitful. Those seeds would have been wasted. And Jesus confirms this conclusion by describing the seeds as being eaten by birds, scorched by the sun, and choked out by thorns. In a few cases, the seeds took root but failed to produce fruit.

This story would have resonated among people who were heavily taxed by the Romans and who saw poverty and deprivation all around them. For many of them, just making ends meet was a daily struggle, and the thought of valuable seeds being sown so carelessly would have gotten their attention. It’s likely that the people began to draw their own conclusions as to the meaning of the story. They were familiar with the use of parables and would have known that there was some hidden lesson to be learned. Some probably assumed that Jesus was pointing out the carelessness of the farmer. His haphazard scattering of the seeds was meant to illustrate the need for good stewardship. Others might have focused their attention on the seeds themselves, noting that some of the seeds were quickly consumed, while others sprouted, but failed to produce fruit. Maybe Jesus was illustrating the need for good works. The farmer had intended for all the seeds to produce fruit, but most did not. And in the works-based environment of Judaism, it would have been easy for some in the crowd to assume that Jesus was promoting the need for the faithful observance of the law.

And Jesus makes no effort to explain His story, but simply concludes it by stating, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9 ESV). The NET Bible provides a bit more forceful rendering of Jesus’ words: “Whoever has ears to hear had better listen!”

This wasn’t just a story. It was an important lesson that was to have real-life implications. So, Jesus warned them that hearing what He had to say would not be enough. He expected them to listen and learn. His lesson behind His story was meant to be apprehended and then applied.

But the people were confused. Mark indicates that some of Jesus’ followers approached Him asking for an explanation.

…those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. – Mark 4:10 ESV

Matthew adds that the 12 disciples had a more specific question for Jesus.

“Why do you speak to them in parables?” – Matthew 13:10 ESV

And Jesus revealed to His closest followers the purpose behind His use of parables.

“To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables…” – Mark 4:11 ESV

In a sense, Jesus was revealing that the 12 disciples had been set apart by God to receive knowledge that was unavailable and inaccessible to everyone else. They were being given the privilege of knowing divine truths concerning the kingdom of God of which the scribes and Pharisees were ignorant. The religious leaders of Israel were famous for their knowledge of the Mosaic Law and their encyclopedic understanding of the Hebrew Scriptures. But they were ignorant of what God was doing. Jesus would later say of these men:

“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” – John 5:39-40 ESV

And even these learned men were unable to grasp the meaning of the parable Jesus told. Jesus said it was hidden from them. He quoted from Isaiah 6:9-10, explaining that it is God who chooses to reveal hidden truths and, according to His sovereign will, He sometimes blinds the eyes and deafens the ears of some so that they might not turn and be forgiven.

“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
    and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” – Mark 4:12 ESV

What Jesus was saying was that the ability to hear and understand the deep truths concerning the kingdom of God comes from the Father. He alone can open the eyes and ears of the spiritually blind and deaf to perceive the truth. The scribes and Pharisees spent years studying the Scriptures but were oblivious to the truths revealed in them. Despite their knowledge, they were ignorant of what God was doing in their midst. And unless God opened their eyes, they would remain blind to the truth regarding Jesus. Unless God opened their ears, they would hear but never understand the message of the gospel.

In the Gospel of John, we have a record of Jesus’ powerful words concerning the inability of men to understand the ways of God.

“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe me.” – John 6:63-64 NLT

And He went on to reveal man’s complete reliance upon God for salvation.

“That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.” – John 6:65 NLT

Which brings us back to the parable. Jesus knew that His disciples had not yet grasped its meaning, so He explained. The seed represented the word or the message He had come to proclaim. And don’t forget what that message was. Mark described it this way:

Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” – Mark 1:14-15 NLT

It was the good news of the King and His Kingdom. The Messiah had come. But while John the Baptist and Jesus had proclaimed that message near and far, it had fallen on deaf ears. There were many who had heard it and begun to believe that Jesus might be the long-awaited Messiah, but they had begun to have their doubts. Their initial faith got choked out by the cares and concerns of this world. There were others who heard the word and simply refused to believe at all. They rejected it wholeheartedly. Insert the scribes and Pharisees here. Then there were others who heard it but allowed the threat of ex-communication by the religious leaders to drive them away.

But Jesus describes the fourth group: “the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold” (Mark 4:20 ESV). They are those, like the 12 disciples, whom God has chosen to understand the truth concerning the King and His Kingdom. The Word concerning the Son of God has fallen on them and taken root and, in time, it will produce much fruit. But their ability to hear and accept the Word of God concerning the Son of God is the result of the Spirit of God. Because “the Spirit alone gives eternal life” (John 6:63 NLT).

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Hear and Obey!

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1 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” – Deuteronomy 6:1-9 ESV

God had given the people of Israel His commands, and every single one of those divine regulations were to be treated with reverence and fear. They were not up for debate and were to be protected from any form of tampering or alteration. And God had given ample incentive for the people to keep His commands. If the Israelites would obediently and faithfully follow them, they would enjoy the blessings of God. If they chose to disobey them, they would experience very real and painful curses. The very kinds of curses God brought on the Egyptians would fall upon the people of God.

But God’s commands, while holy, righteous, and just, were nothing more than a set of rules if the people of God refused to hear and obey them. The long list of God-ordained imperatives that Moses had shared with the people was passive and, for the most part, powerless. God’s commands could not change anyone. They were intended to regulate human actions and attitudes but were powerless to change the human heart, from which all human behavior flows. The book of Proverbs has much to say about the heart.

Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. – Proverbs 4:23 NLT

Listen, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right course. – Proverbs 23:19 BSB

Laws, even those given by God, exist outside the human heart, and while they can influence and motivate a man’s actions, they cannot alter the true condition of his heart. Jesus Himself painted a bleak image of the condition of the fallen human heart.

“But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. These are what defile you.” – Matthew 15:18-10 NLT

Notice that each item on the list Jesus provides lines up with one of the commands of God. While God had clearly placed prohibitions on murder, adultery, immorality, theft, and lying, it had not resulted in their eradication. Man’s sin problem is an internal one, and cannot be controlled by externally based rules. No amount of regulations and restrictions on human behavior will ever remedy the problem of sin.

God would later say of His own people:

“These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

They knew the rules. They could even quote them from memory. But they had a heart problem. And, hundreds of years later, Jesus would use this very passage to level a charge of hypocrisy against the religious leaders of His day. He accused them of corrupting the clear commands of God by watering them down with their own set of man-made regulations.

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’” – Matthew 15:7-9 NLT

So, as Moses continued his preparation of the people of Israel to enter the land of promise, he reiterated the necessity for them to treat God’s commands with reverence. And he seemed to understand that, while he could not change their hearts, he could give them ample motivation to obey God’s laws.

These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. – Deuteronomy 6:1-2 NLT

If they wanted to enjoy long and prosperous lives, they were going to have to obey God’s commands. Moses was making an appeal to their hearts. He was attempting to speak to them as parents and to get them to understand that their decisions, whether to obey God were going to have long-lasting implications.

Two different times in these verses, Moses states, “Hear therefore, O Israel.” The Hebrew word he used is shama` and it carries the idea of hearing or listening, but with the intent to obey. Verse four begins with the same phrase, “Hear, O Israel” and then continues with the words, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Verses 4-9 came to be known as the Shema prayer and was prayed daily by the Hebrew people. In fact, on one occasion, Jesus was approached by a scribe who asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” (Mark 12:28 ESV). And Jesus responded by quoting the Shema prayer.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” – Mark 12:29 ESV).

Hearing and obeying are inseparable partners when it comes to God’s laws. It is not enough to hear what God commands. He demands obedience. And notice that God expects that obedience to flow from the heart. It is to be an obedience based on love and obeisance. There is to be an obedience that flows from a reverent awe of God and a passionate desire to please Him for all He has done.

And Moses made it clear that the law of God was not to be seen as some external list of rules regulating behavior, but he told the Israelites “these words that I command you today shall be on your heart” (Deuteronomy 6:6 ESV). 

They were to become a permanent part of their daily lives. The Israelites were to teach them to their children. They were to surround themselves with God’s commands, allowing His holy code of conduct to permeate every area of their lives. While men tend to view all laws as restrictive in nature, the Ten Commandments were to be seen as coming from a loving God who knew what was best for His children. He wasn’t trying to be a cosmic kill-joy, arbitrarily limiting the behavior of His people. He was providing them with a divine list of carefully crafted rules that were meant to improve their lives, not inhibit their joy.

Moses wanted the people to hear what God was saying. But more importantly, he wanted them to apply the words of God to their hearts so that their behavior would flow from the inside-out. When Moses said, “Hear, O Israel” he was calling them to carefully discern the intent behind God’s laws and to see them as expressions of His love for them. If the people of Israel could grasp just how much God loved them, they would be more prone to return that love with all their heart, soul, and might.

But if all they heard was a list of restrictive rules, they would tend to respond in disobedience or, at best, a heartless obedience lacking in love and marred by hypocrisy.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG) Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

 

 

 

Day 44 – Mark 4:1-34

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How’s Your Hearing?

Mark 4:1-34

“If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!” – Mark 4:23 NET

As in Matthew’s account of this same event, Mark records the words of Jesus carefully. And there is a special emphasis placed on listening and hearing. Jesus even starts off his first parable with the command, “Listen!” Then two separate times He uses the interesting phrase, “If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!” Inferred in this statement is the fact that one can hear and not really listen. Anyone with small children can attest to the reality of that fact. And yet Jesus seems to be demanding much more than simply listening. His real point of emphasis seems to be understanding. When talking about the mystery of the Kingdom of God, He tells His disciples that they have been given permission to understand was He is saying. Which is why He takes time to explain to them more fully the meaning behind His parables. But then He quotes from the writings of the Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, and says about the others who have heard Him speak, “When they hear what I say, they will not understand” (Mark 4:12 NLT). They will hear and, more than likely, listen intently, but they will fail to understand, and as a result, they will fail to believe.

It is interesting to note that in His parable about the seeds and the soils, in each case, they all represent individuals who hear the same message. But the condition of the soils, or their hearts, has a direct impact on the viability and success of the seed. For some, their hearts are like hardened footpaths where there is no place for the Word of God to take land. They hear, but Word simply sits on the surface, where it soon disappears. Others hear the message gladly and it seems to make a difference, but their problem is that their hearts are shallow, and there is no way for the Word of God to take root. At the first sign of problems or persecution, they give up. And there are those who hear, but their hearts are filled with the cares and worries of this life. They are enamored by materialism, wealth, and the things of this world, so the message is slowly crowded out and, eventually, forgotten. But there will be those few who hear, listen, and understand. Their hearts provide a fertile soil in which the message can take root, grow, and produce fruit in their lives.

Jesus implores them to “Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive, and more will be added to you. For whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” (Mark 4:24-25 NET). He is telling them to judge what they are hearing Him say carefully. They must not measure or judge His message by the old standard of the Law. He is warning them to listen intently because He is presenting them with new information regarding the Kingdom of God and how they might have a place in it. The old message of inclusion based on inheritance is no longer valid. Just being born a Jew is not enough. Being a descendant of Abraham is not a guarantee of a place in God’s Kingdom. If they will listen to what He is saying and discard their preconceived notions of what it means to be included in the Kingdom of God, they will be given even more understanding. They will receive even more insight into the mysteries or secrets of the Kingdom. But for all those, like the Pharisees, who hear, but refuse to listen and understand, because they are using the wrong standard of measurement, “even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them” (Mark 4:25 NLT).

From our vantage point this side of the resurrection, so much of this makes sense to us. But we have to remember that this was all new information to the disciples. It was radical and revolutionary. It did not gel with their understanding of God, His Kingdom or the Messiah. It wasn’t what they had been taught growing up as young Hebrew boys. Everything Jesus said seemed to be controversial and contradictory to what they had been taught to believe. But He encourages them to listen. He tells them to give up their old standard of measurement or belief and to hear what He is saying and understand the truth for the first time in their lives. And while so much of this makes no sense, Jesus tells them that His Kingdom will grow. Like a farmer who plants his seed and then waits for harvest, the disciples will learn that the message they have heard and soon will share with others, will take root in the lives of others and grow – all because of the work and power of God. But it all begins with listening, hearing, and understanding. The more intently they listened, the more they understood. The more eager they were to understand, the more carefully Jesus explained everything to them. Which begs the question, how well are we, as His disciples in this generation, listening to His words and understanding what He is trying to teach us?

Father, hearing can be hard sometimes. There are so many distractions, so much noise. And there are times when I am hearing, but not listening. You are speaking, but I am too busy listening to other voices. But even in those times when I do listen to You, I can easily fail to understand because what You say does not fit in with what I want to believe. I am using the wrong standard of measurement. I am judging Your Words by the world’s standards. I want pleasure and happiness, and Your desire is for my holiness. Give me ears to hear, listen and understand. Soften my heart so that the Word always finds fertile ground in which to take root, grow and produce fruit in my life. Amen.

Ken Miller

Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org