Hear God's Voice

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

Good afternoon and welcome to the Panhandle. Well it looks like what ever was making everyone sick has finally run it's course, we will be back in school tomorrow. Boy we sure could use some moister here it getting pretty dry. The running joke around here is that when God flooded the whole earth we got an inch and a half of the rain.

Come on in open your Bibles and sit a spell. Today we are looking at Matthew 11:15 ~ He who has ears, let him hear, this expression is frequently used by Christ Jesus, he uses it at least six times in the gospels. In Matthew 13:9, Mark 4:9 and Luke 8:8, Christ Jesus uses this phrase after telling the parable of the Sower and the Seeds. It is a expression used to imply that the highest attention should be given to what was spoken be for it.

Each time it is used, those being addressed are offered a clear choice, consequences are foretold, and a commandment to understand is given. It is as clean cut a model as you’ll find anywhere in Scripture of the basis on which the Lord has determined to relate to us. Whether we’re a part of Israel, the Church, or the World, the underlying principle is choice. - Jack Kelley; Grace Through Faith

Christ Jesus closes His discourse (vs. 7-14) about John the Baptist and is about to change gears and speak on another subject of importance (v. 15). He that hath ears to hear, let him hear; basically Christ Jesus is saying, “You have just heard me tell you that if you will believe it, John was Elijah. So listen up prophecy has been fulfilled.” But that's not all, Christ Jesus uses the same phrase, “He that has ears to hear, let him listen,” as a bridge into His next discourse about Himself (vs. 16-19).

When those listening to these two discourses heard them I'm sure there was some confusion, and Christ Jesus knew what He was saying might be hard to understood, and they needed pay close attention. Christ Jesus was not talking just to hear Himself talk but telling those gathered something of great concern and consequence.

The Words of God the Father should be of great concern for everyone. If you don't hear anything else and you have ears to hear, hear what Christ Jesus has said and is still saying through the Holy Spirit. God requires those to hear that have ears, those to use their reason that have reason. So if people are ignorant, it is not because they lack the power to hear, but because they lack the will to hear; therefore they do not hear, because they stop their ears.¹

The leaders of Christ Jesus' day refused to honor John, and this proved their unbelief and hardness of heart. Instead of being childlike and humbling themselves, the leaders were childish and stubborn, like children pouting because they could not have their own way. The parable in Matthew 11:16–19 revealed the spiritual condition of the leaders, and unfortunately it also reveals the hearts of unbelievers today.²

Ultimately the consequences of our choices is a matter of eternal life or eternal death. We will either say to Him, “Lord, Thy Will be done” and accept His offer of eternal life with Him, or He will say to us, “mankind, thy will be done” and send us to a place where we’ll never have to hear His voice again. So you who have ears to listen, listen up. God does not wish anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).

Well that's it for today, thanks for hanging out and may our Lord and Saviour bless you and your greatly.

Biblesurfer

1 Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1667). Peabody: Hendrickson.

2 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 41). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.