Having Ears to Hear

“He Who Has Ears to Hear” — The Greatest Obstacle to the Kingdom of God

1. The Central Problem Jesus Faced

One of the most striking realities in the ministry of Jesus was not ignorance, but resistance. The primary challenge He faced was the hardness of human hearts. Again and again, He declared, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This repeated appeal shows that many people physically heard His words, yet spiritually remained unchanged.

The issue was not lack of religious knowledge. Many of His listeners were deeply familiar with Scripture and tradition. The deeper problem was an unwillingness to truly listen.

2. What Does It Mean to “Hear”?

In the biblical sense, hearing is more than sound perception. It means:

Understanding

Accepting

Responding

Obeying

This call to genuine hearing appears repeatedly in the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, and Gospel of Luke. Jesus was not seeking passive listeners but transformed lives.

True hearing involves openness to change. Without that openness, even the clearest truth cannot penetrate.

3. Isaiah’s Diagnosis: Seeing but Not Understanding

To explain this spiritual resistance, Jesus quoted from the Book of Isaiah:

“Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”

The problem was not intellectual inability. It was spiritual resistance. People believed they already knew what needed to be known. Certainty replaced humility. Familiarity replaced receptivity.

4. The Parable of the Sower: The Condition of the Heart

The Parable of the Sower provides a vivid picture of this reality. The seed represents the word of the Kingdom. The determining factor is not the seed but the soil — the condition of the heart.

Jesus describes four types of soil:

The Hardened Path — The word cannot penetrate.

The Rocky Ground — Initial enthusiasm without depth.

The Thorny Soil — Growth choked by anxiety, wealth, and distraction.

The Good Soil — Receptive hearts that bear lasting fruit.

The message of the Kingdom is powerful, but it requires a receptive heart to produce transformation.

5. The Danger of “I Already Know”

A hardened heart often hides behind confidence. It says:

“I already understand.”

“I have heard this before.”

“There is nothing new here.”

This attitude blocks growth. When a person believes there is nothing more to learn, spiritual development stops. Religious familiarity can dull sensitivity. Knowledge without humility becomes an obstacle rather than a blessing.

This was the core issue Jesus encountered. It was not lack of religion, but lack of openness.

6. Why Hearts Become Hard

Several factors contribute to spiritual hardness:

1. Familiarity

Repeated exposure to truth without response leads to indifference.

2. Pride

Confidence in one’s understanding closes the door to correction.

3. Fear of Change

True listening requires transformation, and change can be uncomfortable.

4. Pain and Disappointment

Wounds can create defensive barriers around the heart.

5. Religious Self-Satisfaction

External observance without inner surrender.

Even sincere believers can gradually develop this condition if vigilance is lost.

7. Childlike Openness: The Antidote to Hardness

Jesus taught that one must become like a child to enter the Kingdom of God. A child listens with trust and openness. A hardened adult often listens defensively.

The Kingdom requires:

Humility

Repentance

Trust

Willingness to change

Without these, the message of the Kingdom remains outside the heart.

8. The Greatest Obstacle to the Kingdom

The greatest barrier to entering and remaining in the Kingdom of God is not lack of information but lack of openness. The seed is good. The message is clear. The question is whether the heart is receptive.

Spiritual stagnation often begins when listening stops.

9. How a Hardened Heart Can Become Soft Again

The good news is that hardness is not permanent. A heart can become receptive again through:

Humility

Admitting, “I may not fully understand.”

Silence

Creating space to truly listen.

Repentance

Turning away from self-rule toward God’s rule.

Obedience in Small Steps

Acting on what is already known.

Prayer

“Lord, give me a hearing heart.”

10. A Question for Self-Examination

Before exploring deeper themes of the Kingdom, we must ask:

Am I truly listening?

Do I resist truths that challenge me?

Have I become spiritually passive?

Is my heart still soft before God?

The Kingdom of God cannot take root in hardened soil. Only receptive hearts bear fruit.

Conclusion

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

This is not merely an invitation. It is a warning and a promise. The warning is that truth can be heard yet resisted. The promise is that those who truly listen will be transformed.

Before discussing the Kingdom, we must cultivate the heart. For only those who truly hear can enter. And only those who continue to listen can remain.

Walking the Narrow Gate: A Personal Reflection

 

 Tom Thomas

This study has been deeply beneficial for me. It has helped me reflect more carefully on the different ways in which a person may come to faith and live out that faith.

One way is the path of confessional faith — a faith grounded in creeds, doctrines, dogmas, and established rituals. This is the most visible and common expression of Christianity for many believers. Indeed, not only in Christianity but in most religions, faith is often structured around defined beliefs and formal practices.

What you have done, however, is to invite us into a different kind of journey — an exploration of how Christianity developed historically. You began by examining the social and political conditions prior to the birth of Jesus. Then you introduced Jesus within that context and focused on his own teaching.

Jesus proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is not merely a future hope but a present reality. According to him, seekers may enter the Kingdom here and now through repentance, trust in God, and loving action. I found his teachings challenging — even demanding. I reflected on what might be called the “narrow gate of transformation” as opposed to the “broad gate of translation.” It is easier to reinterpret or explain away difficult teachings than to allow ourselves to be inwardly transformed by them.

I was also troubled by what seemed to be the needless and excessive suffering of Jesus. Yet this was presented not as meaningless tragedy, but as transformation. His life reveals how pain, rejection, and suffering can be borne and transfigured from within, leading ultimately to glory. Jesus did speak of giving his life as a ransom and of shedding his blood for many. In this study, such statements were understood within the larger framework of his proclamation of the Kingdom of God, while recognizing that more elaborate theological doctrines about atonement were developed later by others.

For this reason, I feel that our study has been a sincere inquiry into the historical reality of Jesus rather than simply a reinforcement of inherited beliefs. I now see more clearly how doctrines, creeds, and theological systems developed after his death.

Take the example of the Eucharist.

• One church affirms the real presence of Christ in the bread and wine.
• Another speaks of a mysterious or spiritual presence.
• Another understands it symbolically.
• Some say the Eucharist is essential for salvation.
• Others regard it as a memorial.
• Still others question its necessity altogether.

The diversity of interpretation continues almost endlessly.

Beyond confessional and doctrinal faith, there is another dimension of faith that is deeply meaningful to me — the experiential dimension. Through contemplation, meditation, silence, and reflection, one may encounter God in a direct and interior way. This path differs both from formal confessional structures and from purely historical or analytical inquiry. A glimpse of the divine energies, the light of Tabor, or the Love at the heart of all reality can move us to love others beyond the boundaries of creed, denomination, or tradition.

Peace to all, and thank you for allowing me to share these reflections.

I hope this study continues, and that we may explore the teachings of Jesus and Paul with the same spirit of openness and careful inquiry that has guided us thus far.

This information came out of a group whatsapp study in 2025-26