NOTES for Mat 13:9

At the end of the parable of the sower, the Lord says, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" These words of Christ immediately remind us of chapter 6 of the prophet Isaiah, where, calling Isaiah to preach, the Lord says with grief: "with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, that I might heal them" (Isa. 6:10). In referring to this passage from Isaiah, the Lord says that right now, when He is addressing us, this critical moment has come, and we must either hear or not hear.

The point is that we justify ourselves by saying that we do not hear God's will, do not feel or see His presence and action. This is how our psychology works; it is the ordinary reaction of a sinful person. This is exactly what the prophet Isaiah wrote about. But if we listen attentively to the parable of the sower, it will be completely clear that the harvest depends on nothing other than the soil. And the sower in the parable is not to blame; on the contrary, he could have refrained from sowing where nothing would grow anyway. Nevertheless, the Lord sows His word, giving us the possibility of accepting it or not accepting it.

Children, when parents or teachers nag them, often listen obediently and wait, not counting on the unfortunate educator to stop and give them a chance to say or do something. They are used to us being this way. But God's pedagogy is different: after the Gospel, after the death and resurrection of Christ, there is simply nothing more to say to us, because in Christ the whole fullness of the Godhead has been revealed bodily. The matter now does not rest on discussions and interpretations, but on our answer: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."