Those Who Have Ears, Hear

The last 4 weeks have been about what Jesus said the kingdom of heaven was like. 

This week I am going to focus on one chapter in particular... and a couple of the parables Jesus seemed to emphasize maybe a bit more than the others. 

He repeats 9

"Let him who has ears ..hear" once after telling a parable and once after explaining one.

I am going to have the whole scripture reference first and then look at a few of the specifics. (Coming from the New King James Version NKJV)

📖 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”   Matthew 13:1-9

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”   He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 

 📖  13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not  hear,  or do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:  ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,   And seeing you will see and not perceive;  For the hearts of this people have grown dull.  Their ears are hard of hearing. And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,  So that I should heal them.’   But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares    

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;  but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’  He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”    

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven                                                                                                                 Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and the Parables                                                                                                                       All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:    “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.

📖 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”  He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!  Matthew 13:  36-43

First of all He says in Matthew 13 verse 13 that there are those who have ears but do not hear. They may listen but they will not comprehend or understand; "their hearts are dull"  But blessed are those who hear and see what comes from the Lord.

He is speaking in parables this whole chapter.  Telling one right after another.  Trying to say it in a way that would "click" for them....that they could not possibly miss what He is saying.   He even explains a couple of them.

The first parable He tells is about the sower of seeds and the type of ground in which the seeds fall on.

He ends the telling of it with the phrase "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!". 

I feel He didn't just say "Listen up!" Which could be what He meant...but I wonder...

If you have ears....

we all have ears...there is a saying..."it fell on deaf ears"  meaning that the hearer did not hear what you intended, did not understand the meaning...did not "get it" and most of all did not follow the instruction.

What I think Jesus was saying "those who have the ears to hear"...make sure you listen...but not just physical ears....those  believers listening...ears that are tuned to Gods word. 

In other words, "Believers, pay attention, this is important to your spiritual well being!"

AND THEN it was so important that they understand that in verse 18 He begins to explain what the Parable of the Sower means.  

I pray I have/you have "ears to hear and eyes to see" that it is important when we hear the Word of God that our spiritual condition, the condition of our heart needs to be ready and prepared (humble and repentant).

He goes on to tell several other parables and tells the people listening that in speaking parables He is fulfilling the prophecy from the old testament.

Then Jesus sends the multitude away.  I love this statement.  He isn't just telling a few people or passers by on a street corner these parables, there are a "multitude" of ears listening to Him.  

But with His emphasis on what He was saying it suggests, to me, that not everyone in the crowd was there listening with humble, hopeful hearts. 

Once the disciples had Him alone....the ones we would think would completely understand the man they were following....they asked Him to explain one of the parables He just told.

Verse 37 He begins to break it down, point by point, explaining so they could understand.

Again, I pray that we "hear" the meaning of this parable as well.

Once the seed (the message of the Kingdom) is planted in the good soil (the hearts of believers), forming good strong roots and bearing much fruit, it is ready when the harvest comes and all that is not of God is burned away, the children of God bask in His glory!

That is why this is so important....it is explaining our salvation, our growth and our part in spreading the gospel to as many "ears" as we can, and the glory that will be ours.

🙏SO I pray all who read this have the "ears👂 to hear and the eyes 👀to see" and the hearts💓 to understand the message that Christ has for each of you. ❤💜🙏💜❤