“Whoever has ears, let them hear.” – Matthew 11:15
Review
We want to hear God. For all sorts of reasons. To build up our relationship with the Lord, we strive to hear what Jesus will share. To make a choice or solve a particular problem, we ask God to reveal His will.
But do we know what we’re asking for? What does hearing God mean?
Throughout this series, I’ve addressed this topic by utilizing the cognitional theory of Bernard Lonergan. He posited that human knowledge consists of four stages: experiencing, understanding, judging, and deciding. Applying these to the issue of hearing God and modifying his vocabulary leads us to the biblical principles of sensing, listening, agreeing, and obeying. (Here are the links to posts one, two, three, four, and five.)
When we say we want to hear God, which operation do we intend? Sensing His voice, listening to His Word, agreeing with His will, or obeying Him? One of them, a combination of some? All the above? When we take time to think about it, yes, we benefit the most by pursuing the full range of these blessings.
But this appropriation comes at a price. In the words of German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, it’s the cost of discipleship.
Bonhoeffer is right; disciples sacrifice to follow the Lord. But those who reject the path of discipleship also pay a price. God wants everyone to hear Him, but not all will. Jesus demonstrated this in the parable of the sower.
The Parable of the Sower
“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop–a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9Whoever has ears, let them hear.’” – Matthew 13:1-9
The parable describes how seeds grow in four types of soil. The results vary from no growth to exponential multiplication. The first three scenarios are negative; the seeds are either eaten or hindered from growing. Only the fourth soil produced a crop any farmer would be proud of.
What does this parable mean? Isn’t that something we wrestle with when we seek to hear God? We don’t get what He’s telling us, so we need help.
The Explanation of the Parable
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” – Matthew 13:18-23
Jesus identifies the seed as the Word of God or as He called it, “the message of the kingdom” (vs. 19). As we stressed in the first post of this series, God is a communicator; He expresses His thoughts to people. He is capable of making His will known.
Since the Lord communicates, how do we respond to Him? Jesus lays out four options.
Jesus speaks to us and we must process what we’ve heard. We can lose what He teaches, wilt under pressure, get distracted, or bear fruit. The choice is ours.
Or is it?
Between giving the parable and explaining what it means, Jesus revealed the reason for parables.
Why Parables?
“The disciples came to him and asked, ‘Why do you speak to the people in parables?’ 11He replied, ‘Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.” 14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” 16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.’” – Matthew 13:10-17
This passage goes to the heart of the the issue of hearing God. The blessing Jesus wishes to award is the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God (vss. 11, 16). But this gift isn’t for everyone; it has a restricted audience.
Jesus promises revelation for His disciples (vs. 16). Those not in that group, be they Old Testament prophets or contemporary people who don’t follow Him, don’t receive this gift (vss. 15, 17). Like we said, Bonhoeffer is right to stress the cost of discipleship. But in this passage, Jesus describes the price of not following Him. And there’s no way to avoid the charge.
Jesus will speak to folks in such a way that if they don’t want to hear Him, they won’t. Christ uses parables–simple language, deep subjects.
To keep some people from hearing God’s Word, Jesus spoke to them. That doesn’t seem to make any sense. Why not stay silent? Why not keep His distance and never address them? But the Lord did the opposite; He communicated with all about the kingdom of God. And the results? His words deafened many and opened the ears of some.
Application
We hear God with our hearts. He will speak to our ears one way or another, but He aims for our hearts. It’s at this level that we make or break our commitment to Christ. Discipleship involves every aspect of our lives but it begins in our hearts.
Jesus speaks in parables (simple words, deep wisdom) to challenge us to follow Him. More than we need to hear His voice, we need Him, Jesus Himself! When we follow Him, He will teach us what we need to learn and help us grow.
What does it mean to hear God? In the final analysis, it means to follow Jesus. May we hear God speak today!
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