Ears to hear.
Notes
Transcript
Ears to hear.
John 8:37-47
February 25, 2024
CONTEXT review as they turn in the Bibles:
Where: Temple Who: Jewish leaders (Pharisees); slavery to sin and now this sermon is like a part 2 to last week!
READ TEXT: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”
I would challenge you when you are truly bored to sit down and do a word history study. Look at how words have changed meanings throughout the years and you can’t help but laugh at how to use a word from the 18th century today would get your audience to giggle or even worse, a quick punch in the nose.
For example,
1. Flirt: Some 500 years ago, flirting was flicking something away or flicking open a fan or otherwise making a brisk or jerky motion. Now it involves playing with people’s emotions (sometimes it may feel like your heart is getting jerked around in the process).
2. Naughty: Long ago, if you were naughty, you had naught or nothing. Then it came to mean evil or immoral, and now you are just badly behaved.
3. Silly: Meanwhile, silly went in the opposite direction: in its earliest uses, it referred to things worthy or blessed; from there it came to refer to the weak and vulnerable, and more recently to those who are foolish.
Speaking of silly, today we are seeing some words go through a change. There are words that their meanings and how to use them are culturally no nos. Matter of fact, these words are turning into almost curse words in front of our eyes. Any guess what they are? Man, Woman, Good, Evil and worst of all, Truth.
That last word, in my opinion, is the cornerstone for understanding it all. When that word, “truth” is changed, all the words in our vocabulary, all the actions we perform, all the standards we teach our children are now suspect. Without “truth” the foundation is altered while the building has been standing for generations. Without truth, good is now evil, evil is now celebrated, and everything is redefined.
Without truth, ears are closed, eyes are covered, and sin wins in the hearts of man. Without truth, people stop listening and stop seeing reality.
Today our Lord shares truth to closed ears and hope to those who hear. Jesus is showing us today that there are people who can hear the Word of truth and respond while others are not hearing the truth even though it is right in front of them. In our text today, Christ asks two powerful questions, not looking for answers but showing that there are those who just don’t hear.
In our passage today we see contrasts going back and forth. Our text does not flow sequentially but there is a comparison from those who can hear and those who have redefined truth. We will look first at those who can’t hear.
1. Those who don’t have ears to hear.
There are some serious traits for those who do not have ears to hear the truth. They conduct themselves in ways that it is obvious that they have no desire to be confronted with the fact that their views of reality are wrong. As we discussed last week, when we are locked at the slavery of sin, we are self-deceived making it impossible to see truth and I would argue, it makes the person want to kill the truth:
Vs 37 “I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. ALSO, Vs 40 He again says “But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.”
Jesus is recognizing a physical link between Abraham but it means nothing. Genetic code in the blood is not what Jesus came to discuss and to be honest, it is completely pointless spiritually speaking. God always recognizes spiritual brotherhood over blood brotherhood. Our religion is not a blood religion, it’s a heart religion and that is exactly what Jesus is trying to get them and us to see.
When he calls them out on their desire to kill him, He is pointing them to their true father, the devil. Abraham’s heavenly Father would NEVER condone what they are trying to do. And yet, they are still deaf to this warning.
This is an important time for all of us to remember WHO the truth is:
John 14:6 (my favorite verse in the entire Bible):
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. [1]
The Jews were literally looking truth in the face. Jesus was and is truth personified in the flesh. Can a “being” be truth?
1 John 5:20:
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life[3]
The confusion of the Jews shocks me but really, considering being a slave to sin, it should not. Even when “truth” was in the flesh, they (those locked in the slavery of sin) are seeking to kill it. Interesting how that trend has not changed over the many years. How is truth treated today in our culture? Not much different from when Christ walked the earth. The truth was eventually murdered on a Roman Cross.
I find the most interesting interaction with “the truth” not from the Jews though. As a result of the Jews attempting to kill Him, Christ stands before Pilate who asks Him, are you a king? To which Jesus responds:
John 18:37,38
37 … “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” [4]
How desperate are those last three words in the heart of a lost soul. It is very safe to assume a sarcastic tone from the man who condemned Christ to die. The very question he asked is still asked daily by unbelievers. Never understanding that truth is real. Simply put, truth is reality and Jesus Christ demands that you and I recognize and realize Him as true on both sides of life. Either here when you can or there where He will command it.
That truth is always present even when those who reject it are seeking to kill it. Being unable to hear the truth means that the truth is not in them. It seems so obvious but not to them.
Vs 37 “you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. Vs 43 “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.”
Jesus is not asking the question because He is wondering why they are not understanding. In two locations Jesus uses a method of rhetorical questions to get the audience (the Jews and the readers of John’s Gospel) to understand that the principle of closed ears is the point that He is proving.
Look closely at verse 43: “you cannot bear my word.”
Means: you can’t listen, hear, or pay close attention to, and respond in conformity”
In short, Jesus is clearly saying, your ears are not getting what I am saying, you can’t listen to it, and it is having no effect on you. You can’t “bear” it and it is not IN you. I want to go back to verse 37, the phrase “my word finds no place in you.”
The words that Jesus was saying were finding no rest in the hearts of the Jews. His words “have no room for”, means: find friendship with.” Meaning, there is no room for truth in their hearts and minds. They cannot hear these truths and there is full resistance to it.
Vs 45 “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.”
This polarizing statement proves Jesus’s point. If Jesus had spoken lies, (the native language of the evil one and his offspring), they would have welcomed Him with open arms as long as it served their agenda. Notice even today, no one cares if you speak lies. In some conditions, you would be applauded for doing it! But speak the truth and see what that gets you.
Why didn't they have ears that could hear these truths? What was happening? The sad truth is that their spiritual family tree keeps them from hearing. Look closely at verse 38 and 41:
Vs 38: “I speak what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father. “ and 41: “You are doing the works your father did.”
He just called them out for their intent to kill Him (an act of the Devil) and they still do not see the genetic link is a spiritual link NOT to Abraham. And then in verse 44 He comes out and just says it,
“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth…”
The Jews are acting according to their natures. They are acting according to their heritage, their genetic makeup, and the example they live under. They may say, we are the children of Abraham, but they are not acting like Abraham. Abraham was a friend of God, a man of righteousness and faith, not a murderer. They were actively seeking to kill the truth all the while claiming to be the offspring of God. The two cannot go together.
You know, we may not be seeking to kill Jesus today physically. But we do a great job painting the Pharisees like they are the “bad guys.” We may be saying, I wasn’t there and if I was, I would be on team Jesus. Well, would you? Would we? Allow me to run this by all of us together. How many times have we changed the identity of Christ to fit a narrative? How many times have we changed the truth to make it convenient for ourselves? Or, maybe you are here today and would say, I didn’t kill Jesus so it doesn’t matter to me.
Here is the deal. If we can honestly say that we have taken part in some of those thoughts, our sin puts us on the Titanic (kids a giant boat that was supposed to be unsinkable. Yea, it sank and killed 1500 people). Our sin and our justification is like we are organizing the furniture on the titanic as it sinks. Our sin is still sin. If we are not hearing the Truth, taking the Truth into our hearts and souls, we are on that sinking ship of sin while our father the devil is driving it directly into the iceberg of doom. Let’s jump ship before it’s too late! Let’s hear the words of Truth!
2. Those who have ears to hear.
If you caught it when I finished reading our passage today, I prayed, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This was no accident. It is a sincere prayer and hope of mine that we all have ears to hear. It is my prayer today that God opens the ears of the congregation spiritually here and those who listen later. It is an act of grace from God that we hear what Jesus has to say for what He says never lacks in response. He said, that:
Isaiah 55:11
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to meempty,
but it shall accomplish that which Ipurpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. [5]
God’s Word spoken through His Son and in His written Word never returns empty. As His children, they hear the truth, and that truth finds a home in the heart and mind of the child of God and it produces a return on that investment. That return is the fruit of the relationship.
Vs 39 “…If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did…Vs 42 “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here…”
As I stated earlier, our genetic makeup is not what Jesus is talking about. The Jews bring up Abraham and even use him as an insult when they say they had one father, Abraham. Experts say that they may be taking a jab that He was the son of a woman who was pregnant out of wedlock. But, Jesus walks past the insult with His own agenda that He is trying to get them and us to see.
As I said, our religion is a heart religion, not a physical one. Jesus is pointing to the fact that IF you were a child of Abraham. Even us non-Jewish Americans should be inspired by this man. How many people in the word of God are canonized for all eternity as a “friend of God?”
James 2:23
“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God.[6]
Abraham:
a. Believed: pisteuo means to have faith; put one’s trust in something (something meaning God and His faithfulness)
b. Counted: logizomai means to be reckoned to someone’s (financial) account
c. Righteousness: dikaiosyne a that satisfies the moral requirements of God’s character
Look at that relationship with God and one of His special children. The result of this relationship of belief, counted, righteousness but by the end the clinching word is one that draws me in. I do not have a lot of these and for God’s Word to include it should give us pause:
d. Friend: philos A person you know well and regard with affection and trust.
Oh to be counted as one of these! A philos or friend of God would NEVER seek to kill, slander, or ignore the truth. A friend only echo’s and shares the Truth to others and shows the lost to the Truth. They love the truth so much that no matter the situation, they will live for and even die for it.
Vs 42 “If God were your Father, you would love me.”
Love: agapao (ihoupou) to have a great affection or care for or loyalty towards.
This is a familiar love, not the type of love reserved for the Father to the Son, this is a love that points us to the relationship between two friends with endless loyalty and affection. It is appropriate that Abraham is used in this passage as a friend of God. This is the differing attributes between those who have ears to hear and those who do not. Those who hear, become lovers of Christ. It is a fruit of His Spirit to ours. It is a special and amazing relationship that is fruit-bearing.
Some may be looking at their lives and saying that you would not describe yourself as a loyal, friend with or in love with Christ. I am going to direct you to my final point today.
3. Respond to the Word of the Father. HP
Vs 47: “Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
This entire passage has been a contrast. Back and forth. Those of the devil, those of the Father. Those of God and those of Satan. Jesus may be discussing directly to the Pharisees as it was recorded by the apostle John but it is written so that you and I can understand that there are two polarized position. On one side you have Satan, the king of the age who is roaming the face of the Earth looking for those whom he may devour.
Unbeliever:
On the other side, the One option of salvation from being devoured. He, God, is saying that if you can hear His voice, His Word, and love Him, you can be free from Satan’s grips. You may be saying that this picture is a little excessive or extreme. Well, actually it’s not extreme enough. There is absolutely no middle ground. The passage today does not afford a middle ground for the undecided. If you have yet to “decide” what side to be on, you just did and it’s not the side that will save you from destruction. To not decide, is to commit to Satan.
Vs 47 is clear, whoever is of God hears the Words. Those Words say, Love the Father! Love the Son (vs 42)! What does it look like to do that?
1 John 5
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? [7]
A. Keep His commands: “to conform one’s actions or practice; to keep to guard to watch and protect! (look at the relationship)
B. “burdensome”: severity or arbitrary behavior; fierce
We are, like a friend, to watch and guard ourselves to keep His commands that are NOT severe or fierce. Instead, we view them as loving, guiding and something to write on our hearts day and night.
Psalm 119: 33, 34
“teach me, O LORD to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.”
This is why Jesus says in John 10:14, 27-28, “my sheep know my voice and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
Look at that relationship to the one who responds to that voice church! Look at the difference between the one who ignores to the one who follows. Look at the one whose ears are open! They hear, follow, and are never plucked from His mighty hand. What a relationship with the Son and the Father. A true friend of God will hear, follow and obey His voice.
Application:
I want to go back to our introduction. We all have a little pharisee in us. We all like to change the words of truth to suit our situation. We all have natural defense mechanisms to self-protect at all costs. But, when we do that, we are tampering with the truth. That is what we demonstrate when we alter God’s commands.
But, a true sign of an unregenerate (un saved soul) is in their nature to suppress the truth.
Romans 1:18
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
The word “suppress” literally means to STOP something; it is an act of violence toward truth that they hate.
When we are doing this we are engaging in horizontal comparison (well at least I am not trying to kill Christ like the Pharisees. Church, that does not float with God (has no value). It is like we are on the sinking ship arranging the furniture to make it look good before we sink into the ocean.
Vertical comparison changes our perspective quickly! When we compare ourselves to God, we see quickly that the Word of Truth stands to convict our hearts and we must never compromise or give in to the sins that we try to justify. Even good-meaning believers like to think that they can have their foot in both camps (the world’s) and God’s. This is a true compromise and something that God dose not value.
RC Sproul: “It’s not the wickedness of the pagan that breaks my heart. It’s the compromise of the Christian that grieves my soul.”
It is my prayer today that we all have ears to hear. Ears to hear are a gift directly from God. When Jesus’s disciples asked why He spoke in parables, Jesus’s response is very important to us. Look church, there are people who are going to have ears to hear. There are those who will not. Listen to what Jesus says to His disciples:
Luke8:10
10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’[8]
This statement is a fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy in chapter 6 of Isaiah. It is a beautiful and powerful passage. It is God who grants the ability to hear. It is God who opens the deaf ear, the blind eye. He is laying it out to us today and my desire is that we all hear that we must respond to the Truth. Open your ears today to Truth!
CONCLUSION:
Those who do not hear the truth, change the truth, alter the truth to fit their agenda, gain, and lifestyle must hear the words of Truth. That truth is the Truth of God. That Truth is that Christ, is a perfect representation of the Father. He is the way the truth, and the light. Now, our action is to open our ears and hear these words of Truth. In so doing, we lovingly follow His commands in obedience, and they are not burdensome to us. Rather, they are our life, our direction, and our relationship with Him. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”