Do You Hear Me, Now?

 December 14, 2024

Saturday

Mark 4:9 (ESV) ⁹ And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

A cell phone company advertised with the question, "Can you hear me, now?" They were saying that you could be heard on their network and not on others. Essentially, Jesus is saying the same thing.

Nearly all of the people who were around Jesus' teaching had ears and could hear. If they were deaf, Jesus healed them. They could hear, but did they? As a preacher I am bombarded by people who will repeat the truisms of the world after I have preached the word of God that refutes that truism. Their past understandings drown out the word of God. So, they may have physically heard me but hearing is more than a physical response to sound waves. The hearing that Jesus speaks of involves the heart.

Jesus made this statement at least twice. We do not know how many times He may have said it without it being recorded in the gospels. He said it when speaking of John the Baptist. (Matthew 11:15) He told them that John was Elijah that had come. Most of the people evidently didn't hear Him because Jesus was plainly saying that made Him the Messiah.

The other time He said it was after the parable of the soils. He spoke of the seed being distributed on the path, on the rocks, in the weeds and on good soil. These were two times that people really needed to get what He was talking about. Too many times, someone will say, "That was a great sermon, preacher, " when they didn't understand a word of it. They interpreted it in their own way which may not have been the message that was intended.

People assume they will understand or that they won't understand. They do not recognize the effort that may be needed to really hear the message. If the message isn't understood, they will ignore it, explain it in their own terms or think it is about someone else and, therefore, doesn't concern them. I wonder how many times Jesus heard, "Too bad the people who really needed to hear your message today weren't here!" The people who need to hear the message are always here. They just don't always hear the message.

Sometimes the immaturity of people keeps them from receiving a message. Paul certainly addressed that when he told the Corinthians that they weren't able to handle the deeper teaching he would love to give them. In other words, Paul could teach it but they wouldn't hear it.

People who don't hear the message but attend worship leave the church building the same way as they walked in. Their main goals were to sing the songs that are familiar and see the people who are just as familiar. They think this is what the Christian life is all about. They gossip, backbite and hate in the name of Jesus. Thus, they prove they haven't heard the message.

"Your preaching to the choir, preacher!" Yes, I know. Those who have taken the time to read this blog are tuning their ears to hear. But think about this for just one moment: Is there more that you haven't heard and would hear if you stop and contemplated what was said? 

You just might find that you'll hear better, too.