Ears to Hear
Jesus said, “He who has ears let him hear,” seven different times in the Bible. Anytime Jesus speaks we need to listen.
It was not physical ears that Jesus was referring to, but spiritual ears. He who has spiritual ears (understanding), understand. It means let him (or her) who has a teachable spirit receive what is being taught.
When Jesus taught using parables it worked the same way. Those who could spiritually see and hear his stories would understand but the spiritually deaf and blind were left scratching their heads.
Last Sunday, at the assisted living community where I lead Bible study I had a glimpse of what Jesus was talking about when I was introduced to Bob (not his real name). Bob parked his wheel chair at the entry way of the Chapel and curiously looked in as we began our study. I invited Bob to join us, but was told by one of the attendees he was very hard of hearing. They were right; he could not hear a thing, at least physically. But I wheeled him in anyway. Bob sat quietly through the service and was able to partake in communion.
I couldn’t help but wonder if anything we were talking about was getting through to Bob. But, as Jesus would say, “He who has ears let him hear.” At the end of the service Bob blurted out, “Boy we sure covered a lot of territory today.” He nodded and winked at me and I wheeled him to the dining room. Physically Bob could not hear a thing but spiritually his ears and eyes were wide open.
