1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Read Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
One of the oddest and potentially most humorous things I believe Jesus could say comes at the close of one of His most famous parables. After finishing sharing the parable of the farmer scattering seed, Jesus makes the final remark, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (v. 9)
On one hand, this statement pushes those present to pay attention, but on the other hand, not all ears are equal. Some people can hear better, while other people are completely deaf. In this statement, is Jesus actually discriminating against those who might be deaf or hard of hearing, or is this a statement Jesus says to cause a big “group” healing so that everyone within listening distance would then have their hearing restored to 100% for the remainder of His message?
This statement is odd in my mind because if Jesus wanted the people to pay attention, He simply could have said, “Pay attention. This is important.” If this was a statement of healing, it would truly be unique because every other healing Jesus did was on a personal level. Also, none of the gospel writers include a statement following this that would/could prompt the thought that this prompted a miracle.
The way this statement sounds is humorous in my mind – and that may be why Jesus said it. It sticks out because everyone has ears, and because you and I have ears, we should hear what Jesus wants to tell us. But like I alluded to before, what about those who may have been deaf who were present?
If this event was like many of the others Jesus experienced, Jesus healed first and taught second. If someone arrived late and Jesus had already started teaching, He would pause what He was saying to heal the individual. Because of this, I would be surprised if any people were left in the crowd who were deaf. There may have been some people who used to be deaf, or who happened to have been deaf that morning prior to coming to see Jesus, and if that was the case, this parable would be among the first things they would hear following their healing.
Reading Jesus’ statement pushes me to a deeper truth that Jesus helped before He taught. Jesus met people’s needs before sharing deeper about God. This challenges me to be more intentional about meeting people where they are and helping them on a personal level before trying to teach or challenge their spiritual growth.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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