To whom was Jesus referring when He said, ‘He who has ears to hear…’?

from the old testament

• The first use of the phrase “ears to hear” is found in Deuteronomy 29:4. Moses was rebuking the rebellious Israelites by saying, “But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.” He was not referring to physical hearing, but to those who lacked the ability to understand and obey God’s commandments.
• This phrase is also found in Jeremiah where God declares that the House of Jacob, whom He was about to send into captivity, were “senseless people.” He referred to them as those “who have eyes but do not see; who have ears but do not hear” (Jeremiah 5:21).
• God also repeated this idea to Ezekiel before the captivity, saying, “you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 12:2). Therefore, the phrase “ears to hear” (and “eyes to see”) is used when referencing rebellious people who have the commandments but refuse to obey them. Specifically, they are spiritually dead, incapable of obeying.
• Notice how much that description fits an idol. Psalm 115:5–7 says, “They have mouths, but they cannot speak; they have eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but they cannot hear; they have noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but they cannot feel; they have feet, but they cannot walk.” In short, an idol is a senseless block of wood. The next verse, however, shows us why God used this expression of the unbelieving Israelites: “Those who make them will become like them, everyone who trusts in them” (Psalm 116:8). Those who worship God become like Him, but those who commit idolatry become like the idols they worship. They become mute, deaf, and dumb. The Israelites worshiped everything but God, and this is why they had “ears to hear but do not hear.”

from the new testament

• In a reversal from the Old Testament usage, Jesus referred to those who could hear, that is, “he who has ears to hear.” He used that expression because much of His teaching was intentionally designed to prevent the unbelieving Jewish leaders from understanding the message of salvation.
• We see that particularly in Matthew 13. The context is that the Jewish leaders had just accused Jesus of being helped by Satan and, in response, Jesus starts talking in parables. The disciples asked Him why He was doing that, and He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted” (Matthew 13:11). That is, parables were an intentional obscuring of the truth to hide it from those God did not want to understand.
• Jesus continued, “I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:13). He then said that lack of understanding fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of judgement against them (Matthew 13:14–15). That is, God was withholding the ability to hear and be saved from the unbelieving Jewish leaders.
• But Jesus then said, “blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear” (Matthew 13:16). Though the truth was obscured by parables, because God brings understanding, Jesus was saying that He had blessed the disciples with the ability to understand despite the use of parables.

implications for today

The Word of God is patently clear, particularly when it comes to truths about who God is, who Jesus is, and how we are to be saved. This is referred to as the doctrine of “perspicuity” (clarity). However, despite its clarity, many do not understand it.

That is because the Scriptures require spiritual insight to understand, and those without the Holy Spirit—unbelievers—are unable to fully understand it (1 Corinthians 2:14). Most people do not have ears to hear. It is not because they need more evidence but because God needs to graciously open their ears. Or, as Jesus put it, no one can come to Him unless the Father first draws them (John 6:44).

Prior to salvation, everyone is dead and unable to respond (Ephesians 2:1), “But God, being rich in mercy” makes people alive. He gives men and women the ability to see and hear and understand. While we cannot make people understand, we have a role to play—we are to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19–20). We are to do our best to make the gospel as clear and as understandable as possible. However, after we do that, we are to then leave salvation to God. We know that, when He desires, He will “open their ears” and bring people from darkness into light (Acts 26:18), and then they won’t be able to help but hear and respond correctly to spiritual things!