Having Ears to Hear

By Mike Oppenheimer
Let Us Reason Ministries

Having ears to hear. This was a common saying of Jesus.

Ears to hear is Jesus telling us to listen carefully to the truth so we can change our minds and the wrong direction we are going in (i.e., repent) to fix the error of our ways.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 11:15)

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13: 8-9)

And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Luke 8:8)

Those who have understanding of what they hear are fruitful; those who do not understand do not have the seed; the devil rips the seed off in various stages.

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 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 13:41-43)

These were appeals for the listeners to understand His spiritual teachings.

If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. (Mark 4: 23-25)

When the people continually refused to hear, Jesus fulfilled Isaiah’s warning as John states, they became blind and hardened.

He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. (John 12:40; also Mt.13:15; Acts 28:27)

Isaiah spoke of this in Isaiah 6:9-10: 

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. (Isaiah 44:18)

This is like Pharaoh who continually heard and refused to change, so the Lord caused it that he no longer had a choice in the matter. (God hardened his heart.)

There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable. (Mark 7: 15-17)

Meaning, understand what I am saying on this matter—that we have sin resident within us, and it is expressed by what we do and say.

As for the Church, “Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”  (Luke 14:34-15)

Here Jesus tells us, salt can go bad and can become totally useless. In other words, one can be salt at the beginning and later change. When we stop hearing the Word, we stop doing the Word. This is what the Bible says the church will be like in the last days.

Even in the Old Testament, this saying is used for Israel by the Lord.

Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. (Deuteronomy 29:4)

Therefore, thou son of man, prepare thee stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and thou shalt remove from thy place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house. (Ezekiel 12:3)

Yet the Lord promised through Jeremiah:

For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart. (Jeremiah 24:6-7)

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

This is said to the churches seven times in His discourse for the churches in Asia. Jesus is showing us that the Spirit of God directly conveys what the church needs to hear. Do we have open ears to allow His words to enter our hearts today?

Author: Mike Oppenheimer is the founder and director of Let Us Reason Ministries—www.letusreason.org, which began in 1994. He has been researching and writing about spiritual deception in the church for many years. His website has extensive information, articles, books, and DVDs. Mike was brought up Jewish, later spending many years in the New Age movement. He became a born-again Christian in the mid-’80s. You can read his testimony at: http://www.letusreason.org/testim.htm. Mike lives in Hawaii with his wife and son. Visit www.lighthousetrails.com to obtain Mike’s booklets and lecture DVDs.