Hearing vs. Listening

I had a student ask recently, "Why did Jesus speak to people using parables?" Here is a quick response. Hope it helps!

As we are looking at Matthew 13 and the use of parables, verse 10 brings up the exact question as to why Jesus doesn't just speak to the people plainly. Before we go into this more in depth, let me ask you all something. How many times do you listen to a sermon and remember all three main points (or however many there are) the next week? Always? Frequently? Occasionally? Never? Most of us would probably say occasionally or never. Here's the next question. How many times do you remember a particular story or illustration that the preacher uses to get his/her point across in a sermon? Is it more often or less often than how often you remember the main points? Probably more often right? Why is that? I think Jesus is brilliant (ok, I KNOW He's brilliant :) ) because He knows that story is the most powerful tool both for teaching and for evoking emotion. If I speak and tell you not to do drugs, you'd HEAR me but most likely you wouldn't truly LISTEN. It would go in one ear and out the other. But if I share a story with you about my friends in high school who were enslaved by their need to get high to the point that it destroyed countless other areas of their lives (which is true by the way), you'd probably pay more attention. Why? Because the power of story. This is what Jesus does with His parables. He teaches in a way that grabs attention, keeps attention, and evokes emotion so as to bring the LISTENERS to a greater truth. The context of the parable is that Jesus is speaking to an audience used to living as farmers in an agricultural society. These farmers would definitely be affected by a story of a sower who scatters seed but doesn't see the plant grow. It would be heart wrenching for them to go through so much effort with no fruit to show for it. If you notice, most of the parables in Matthew 13 are tied to the idea of farming (the sower, the mustard seed, the weeds, etc.). Jesus uses the power of story to bring the LISTENERS into a place of being open to learning.

But that doesn't completely answer the question as to why He speaks to the people in parables. This is response in verse 13, "This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.'" Then He continues to say that there are so many people that will HEAR God's Word but not truly LISTEN and take it to heart (verses 14-15; see also Isaiah 6:9-10). Is it just me or does it seem like God divides those who just HEAR what He says from those who are willing to take the time to LISTEN and then apply what He says to their lives? It's almost like God is playing hide and seek, and wants us to pursue Him until we find Him. This idea shows up in Jeremiah 29:13 and Matthew 7:7. So perhaps parables/stories are unclear because that is the way in which He determines who HEARS but just thinks that it was a "nice story" and who LISTENS and wants to experience the power of the story in their own lives and in doing so find the One for whom they seek.

The difference between HEARING and LISTENING goes back to the Hebrew word for "listen" in the Old Testament. This word is "shema" and it means not only to LISTEN but to also OBEY. In our culture, when we say we "listen" to a message there is no distinction between whether we are HEARING or LISTENING. In the Old Testament to LISTEN WAS to OBEY. They went hand in hand. Perhaps that is why in His explanation of the parable He compares the bad types of soil who only "hear the message" (v. 19) and the good soil who "hears the word and understands it" (v. 23). The good soil is when we don't only HEAR the word, but when we LISTEN and OBEY what it says. Then and only then will we be the good soil that is ready for the Word to change our lives.

What do you all think? Do you agree? Disagree? Does it make sense? Let me know! I'd love to hear your perspectives!