When speaking to a crowd about John the
Baptist Jesus said …For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked
forward to this present time. And if you are willing to accept what I say, he
is Elijah, the one the prophets said would come. Anyone with ears to hear
should listen and understand! To what can I compare this generation? It is like
children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,
'We played wedding songs, and you didn't dance, so we played funeral songs, and
you didn't mourn.' For John didn't spend his time eating and drinking, and you
say, 'He's possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and
drinks, and you say, 'He's a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax
collectors and other sinners!' But wisdom is shown to be right by its
results." Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where He had done so many
of His miracles, because they hadn't repented of their sins and turned to God. Matthew
11:13-20
Wisdom. The source of wisdom is Jesus. God has united you with Christ Jesus. For
our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He
made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. 1 Corinthians 1:30. In
this Matthew 11 passage Jesus is telling people about John the Baptist—that John
was Elijah. Glory! Wisdom is shown to be right by its results.
John was the voice of one calling in the wilderness—preparing the way for
people to come to Jesus, telling them to repent. But people…this crowd of Jews
that Jesus was addressing…didn’t believe John…or Jesus. Jesus also said… Anyone with ears to hear should listen and
understand! That was a recurring statement after several parables that Jesus
told… "If
anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." Mark 4:23 NASB. Listen. Listen…and
understand. What does it take for us to listen?
We have to focus our attention on someone else…use self-control so that our own
thoughts don’t get in the way…or take us off on a tangent. Focus. Listen.
Understand? To understand is to comprehend what was said…or read, putting
things together to make sense. Jesus explained some of His parables to His
disciples using that phrase about understanding. And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of
the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so
that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY
HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE
FORGIVEN." Mark 4:11-12 NASB.
Do we understand what Jesus said in His
parable…in His teachings? Listen and understand. Wisdom will reveal to us whatever
it is that Jesus is teaching. Ask for wisdom before you read His Word.
Prayer
~ Lord, give us wisdom that we would listen and understand whatever it is that
You are teaching. Open our eyes to see, our ears to hear and our hearts and
minds to understand.
© 2016 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT)
unless otherwise noted.
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