What did Jesus mean when He said, "He who has ears to hear"?

As in the other epistles, we have, lastly, the proclamation and the promise. The proclamation is to every one that has an ear. So in the days of His flesh the Lord often cried, "He that hath ears to ear, let him hear"; that is, he that hath an inward ear, an ear opened by the Holy Spirit to listen to, and to receive, the communications made. Every one such is called upon to attend to "what the Spirit saith to the churches," and these divine messages are to sink into our souls, excluding man's thoughts, and to govern our conduct. It is to us individually, to you and to me, beloved reader, the Lord thus speaks, as He reminds us of our individual responsibility.

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches". Does that mean that we just sit mechanically and listen to what is being said and nothing more? That is not the meaning of the word 'hearing' in Scripture. The word 'hearing' in Scripture means the ear that hears and obeys. This is always so. Let me quote one scripture to prove it. In Matthew 18 if a brother has a fault against another then he has to go and see the brother concerned and, "If he hears thee thou hast gained thy brother". Now surely that does not mean that you go and tell him what the matter is and he hears it and the matter is settled, no, the brother hears, he does not close his ear to what is presented to him, he listens, he sees the truth of it, he obeys it, and then the brother is gained. I believe that is what is involved in the Spirit speaking to the churches, 'He that has an obedient ear, an ear that takes in the truth, that obeys and appropriates the message of the Spirit'. This is the kind of attitude that produces blessing and progress.

The first parable of this chapter is that of the sower, the seed, and its effects. Having uttered it He closed with the solemn words, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." The possession of hearing ears, or their absence, would indicate at once whether a man belonged to the "within" or to the "without." The mass of His listeners evidently thought it was a pretty story and pleasant to the ear, but left it at that, showing they were without. Some others, along with the disciples, were not content with this. They wanted to arrive at its inner meaning, and pushed their enquiries further. They belonged to the within.

This phrase was used by our Lord more than once, and in each case His accompanying utterance contained a meaning which did not, so to speak, lie upon the surface, but needed faith and love in the heart, as well as the Spirit's unction, for its true apprehension.

It is "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." An ear to hear. It is the very lowest qualification. It is not, Can you work? — can you do anything? Israel in the wilderness had no ear, and was overthrown; so will you be also if you have none. God says: Has my word any entrance into your hearts? Have you got blessing from anything I have ever said to you? Here is my challenge to you: "He that hath an ear, let him hear."

The term, "He that hath ears to hear" is, in principle, just answerable to "The sower went forth to sow," for, though addressed to Israelites, it is not addressed to them as such in a given position, but in the discrimination of gracious workings in their own minds and souls. "He that hath ears," for then was sowing a word to be received, and it was a solemn matter, for many would slight, and choke, and deceive the word or themselves. But then, in principle, whoever had ears, this being so, it applied to and was for profit too; and here any Gentile, or any, whose ear God opened, came in. And it is as a solemn warning on the sowing of the seed, saying: "All is ruined - God is acting in grace, taking this pains actively before judgment on the objects, 'He that hath ears to hear let him hear.'"

In this chapter the phrase occurs again (ver. 23), but it comes with special emphasis at the close of the parable of the sower. And this force appears the more striking when we connect it with the Lord's call for attention at the beginning of the parable. "Hearken," He said, and having portrayed Himself as the Sower, He added, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." It was a summons to the individual to free himself from the heedless mass. And as the Lord addressed this appeal to His earthly people, so was His cry reiterated to each of the seven churches in Asia; "He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Rev. 2. and 3). Amid general ecclesiastical declension, the Lord requires individual faithfulness in regarding His word and His warning.

But just as John the Baptist was cast into prison (a tremendous trial for a Jew who looked at him as a great prophet to usher in the Messiah in visible majesty), so He says here, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." It has to be received by the attentive ear of faith. How extraordinary it must have appeared to the disciples that the forerunner of the Messiah should be in prison, and the Messiah Himself afterwards nailed upon the cross! But before the outward glory comes, redemption through suffering must be effected. Hence, the least now who has this blessing of faith, who enjoys these astonishing privileges which the Holy Ghost is bringing out as the gift of God's sovereign grace, is greater than John the Baptist. For it is God's doing and giving and ordering. It is His joy by Christ to bless the man that has not the smallest claim upon Him. And such is His work now. But what would be the effect of this among the Jews? Our Lord compares them to capricious people who would neither do one thing nor another. If gladness is going on, they have no sympathy with it; neither have they with sorrow. John the Baptist called them to mourn: they had no heart for it. Then came Jesus, bidding them, as it were, to rejoice at the glad tidings of great joy: but they heeded Him not. They liked neither: John was too strict, and the Lord too gracious. They could not bear either. The truth is, man dislikes God; and there is no greater proof of his ignorance of himself than that he does not believe it. Whatever they might plead in the way of abuse of John the Baptist, or of Himself, "Wisdom is justified of her children."

In Matthew thirteen the Lord concluded the parable of the sower with the words, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear" (v.9). He also spoke of some who "seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (v.13). The Lord looks for those who have opened ears and hearts to hear and consider what the Spirit has to say to the churches. Such will, in communion with the mind of Christ, judge their state by the light of the written Word. This appeal would indicate that every believer is here made responsible to understand the state of things around him in the professing Church. The whole Assembly is addressed by this call to hear, but only the exercised individual with an opened ear will respond to it.

There were many who listened to the words of the Lord Jesus who did not hear His word. To hear His word there must needs be an ear to hear, and only those in whom God had wrought had this capacity. Such an one was Mary of Bethany, who "also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word" (Luke 10:39). Hearing His word is a mark of a true follower of the Lord Jesus; it is the evidence of valuing and seeking to know the substance, spirit and details of the divine revelation that has been brought to men in the Person of Jesus.