Ears

Ears are a wonderful gift from the Lord.  Ears let us hear the beauty of music and the joyous sound of singing birds.  Ears let us be soothed by the patter of gentle rain or the gurgling of a stream.  Ears make our hearts grow warm when we listen to the laughter of children or catch whispered words of love.  Ears remind us that we’re not alone when mother’s voice eases our fears, or we are reassured by listening to the Word of God.

But although we have ears, we don’t always use them.  Most children have the skill of ‘selective listening’—they can tune out things they don’t want to hear.  When deep in thought or involved with a project, there are many times when we don’t hear what’s going on around us.  And sometimes we hear what other people are saying, but it just doesn’t penetrate—it doesn’t make sense to us, or we don’t want to accept the message.

One noteworthy example is Judas.  In exchange for money, he had agreed to betray Jesus to church leaders who were unhappy with Christ’s earthly ministry.  Our Lord was very popular, and the church leaders feared a riot if they arrested Him in public.  So Judas agreed to notify them when Jesus could be taken in relative secrecy.  The time came on Thursday of Passover Week; after eating dinner, Jesus and His small group of disciples were going out to a quiet garden for an evening of prayer. 

As Judas ate with the group, he decided that this would be the night—in just a little while, he would slip away and lead the Temple guard to their target.  The other disciples had no idea what Judas had in mind—but Jesus was not fooled.  The Son of God can see every thought that passes through our minds.  He was fully aware that Judas had become Satan’s tool.  But our Lord loved Judas—He had personally selected the man to be one of His disciples.  So as they sat down for this final meal, Jesus used the opportunity to try and turn Judas away from his despicable plan.  First, Jesus washed everyone’s feet.  When He had finished, He said “you are clean, though not every one of you."  For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean (John 13:10-11).  Judas should have felt concern at that remark, but he did not.  So after Jesus resumed His place at the table, He said the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.  The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him (Luke 22:21-22).  At this point, Judas had to have realized that Jesus knew what he was planning.  But Judas still did not change His mind, so the Lord reached out to him a third time: His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant…"Lord, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot (John 13:22-26).  Sadly, Judas rejected this last offer to change his mind—he left the fellowship and went off to arrange the betrayal.

Three times, Jesus warned Judas that he was making a terrible decision, one that would lead him to eternal punishment in hell.  If Judas had been willing to listen, he could have changed his mind and Jesus would have forgiven his treasonous thoughts.  But for Judas, the jingling of coins drowned out everything else.

Noise can be distracting.  It’s hard to pray when the TV is on.  It’s hard to read the Bible when the phone keeps on ringing.  It’s hard to hear Jesus’ words when people fill our ears with talk of money and alcohol and sex.  When you go to a noisy party, it’s hard to catch what’s being said.  Either we listen to whoever is loudest, or we gravitate towards the most interesting conversation.  But people don’t talk loudly about good things, and the most fascinating conversations are full of sinful gossip. 

God knows that we have trouble with our ears.  Through Isaiah the Lord said, your ears are open, but you hear nothing (Isaiah 42:20).  Jeremiah got frustrated with so many people ignoring God’s message: To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it (Jeremiah 6:10).

The sad truth is, we hear what we want to hear.  No one wants to be a pitiful charity case, so when God says that we are saved exclusively through Jesus’ sacrifice, we don’t like the message.  We’d rather hear someone tell us that while Jesus opened heaven to us, it is our job to believe and do good works so that we are worthy of entering.  Talk of hell makes us uncomfortable; we all know nice people who are not Christians.  When Jesus says that He is the only way to heaven, we would rather hear someone tell us that all good people are welcome in paradise, regardless of what they believe.  Paul had it right when he warned, the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

When we apply selective listening to God’s word, we make Him angry.  Zechariah wrote, they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and stopped up their ears.  They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry (Zechariah 7:11-12). Making God mad is not a smart thing to do—not if we want Him to listen to our cries for help: If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable (Proverbs 28:9).  Nor do we dare turn a deaf ear to others in their time of need: Scripture says if a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered (Proverbs 21:13). 

Jesus said, "He who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15). When our Lord speaks, He expects us to pay careful attention.  Hearing involves more than just listening to words—it also requires that you think about what’s being said.  Proverbs 23:12 says, apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.  Listening to God’s word is critically important; the Lord says Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live (Isaiah 55:3).  God’s words are forgiveness and they are life; without them, sin will make us miserable and land us in hell.

Listening requires concentration, and listening requires patience.  Yet so often when we listen, our mind wanders to other things.  When we get into discussions, we invest so much thought into what we want to say that we miss what other people are trying to communicate.  We act like our opinion is the most important one in the room.  The trouble is, our opinions are always flawed by sin.  We don’t have all the facts; we don’t consider every option; we can’t accurately predict how a decision will turn out.  We need to evaluate everything we hear in light of God’s word.  As a friend of Job observed, the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food (Job 34:3).  If something tastes bad, you spit it out to avoid getting sick; we should be careful listening to sinful ideas in the same way.  Before making a decision, we should first listen to what God has to say.  We should pray with confidence, as David did: I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer (Psalm 17:6).  The Lord has promised, Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear (Isaiah 65:24). 

God hears everything. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry (Psalm 34:15).  You can be confident that He is listening when you pray, O Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy (Psalm 130:2).  By the same token, it is foolish to think that we can keep any shameful words secret; Jesus said There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.  What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the rooftops (Luke 12:2-3). Insults, nasty gossip, racial slurs, curse words—Jesus has heard every bad thing that you’ve said. 

During His 33 years walking the earth, Jesus heard all sorts of ugly things directed His way.  People lied about Him and twisted His words.  They gossiped about Him and insulted Him.  They made demands of Him and made fun of Him.  They boasted about themselves, as if He should be impressed or feel humbled.  Jesus listened to it all with incredible patience.  Sometimes He offered correction, other times He answered them not a word.  Jesus showed how patient He is when we open our mouths without engaging the brain.

The Lord wants us to listen so that He can bless us through His words.  Proverbs 18:15 says, The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge; the ears of the wise seek it out.  We are to listen as Isaiah did: The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back (Isaiah 50:5).  God said some things that Isaiah did not really want to hear.  God spoke about human sin and the judgment that sin demands.  God also spoke of how the Savior would be made to suffer and die to free us from God’s judgment.  All this talk of evil and suffering was unpleasant to hear and unpleasant to pass along, but Isaiah did not rebel against God’s words or pull away from them.  The truth sometimes hurts, but to avoid truth is to embrace falsehood.  We need to know about our sin and God’s forgiveness offered through Jesus’ blood. 

Doctors tell us that when a person is dying, their sense of hearing stays active right up to the end.  All over this sick world, people are dying because they don’t know Jesus.  Their bodies may be young or old, healthy or failing—but in every case, their souls are black, shriveled things that are rotten with decay.  They need the light of life than only Christ can give them.  Although they are dying, their ears still work.  So we must heed Jesus’ command to take His words with us wherever we go: What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops (Matthew 10:27). We have Good News to share, words that the dying need to hear so they might live eternally.  Him who has ears, let him hear.