Matthew 13:9 kjv
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:9 nkjv
He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
Matthew 13:9 niv
Whoever has ears, let them hear."
Matthew 13:9 esv
He who has ears, let him hear."
Matthew 13:9 nlt
Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand."
Matthew 13 9 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Mk 4:9 | "He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” | Parallel call for spiritual hearing. |
| Lk 8:8 | “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” | Direct parallel within parable context. |
| Isa 6:9-10 | "...keep on hearing, but do not understand...lest they understand with their heart..." | Prophetic theme of hearing without understanding. |
| Jer 5:21 | "Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not; who have ears, but hear not." | Blindness/deafness to God’s word. |
| Ez 12:2 | "Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not..." | Similar rebellion despite sensory capacity. |
| Dt 6:4 | "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one." | Fundamental command to hear and obey God. |
| Mt 13:13-15 | "Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see...lest they understand with their heart and return..." | Explanation of limited understanding. |
| Mt 13:18-23 | The Parable of the Sower explained: types of hearers. | Various responses to God’s word, linking to understanding. |
| Mt 11:15 | "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." | Jesus uses this phrase after speaking of John the Baptist. |
| Mk 4:23 | "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." | Emphasis on active listening for kingdom truths. |
| Lk 14:35 | "...He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” | After the teaching on the cost of discipleship. |
| Jn 8:43-47 | "Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word." | Inability to understand due to lack of truth. |
| Jn 10:27 | "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." | True disciples hear and obey the Shepherd. |
| Rom 10:17 | "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." | Importance of hearing the Word for salvation. |
| Jas 1:22 | "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." | Calls for action, not just hearing. |
| 1 Cor 2:14 | "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God...they are spiritually appraised." | Natural vs. spiritual understanding. |
| Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22 | "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." | Repeated call to listen to the Holy Spirit's message. |
| Prov 20:12 | "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both." | God gives the physical faculties for discernment. |
| Prov 2:1-5 | Seeking wisdom and understanding as treasure. | Implies intentional seeking of knowledge. |
| Heb 4:7 | "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts." | Urgency in responding to God's current call. |
| 2 Tim 4:3-4 | "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled..." | Warns against desiring only pleasant, not truthful, hearing. |
Matthew 13 verses
Matthew 13 9 Meaning
This verse serves as a crucial call for spiritual discernment and attentive understanding of Jesus’ teachings, particularly the parables. It signifies that merely hearing the words with physical ears is insufficient; a deeper, spiritual capacity is required to truly grasp the profound truths of the Kingdom of Heaven. It acts as an invitation and a challenge for listeners to move beyond superficial perception into genuine comprehension and responsive faith.
Matthew 13 9 Context
Matthew chapter 13 is pivotal in Jesus’ ministry, often referred to as the “Parable Chapter” or “Discourse on the Kingdom of Heaven.” After being rejected by the religious leaders (Mt 11-12), Jesus shifts His teaching method to parables. These earthly stories with heavenly meanings both reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom to those with spiritual understanding and conceal them from those who are willfully unresponsive or spiritually hardened. The immediate context of verse 9 is following the telling of the Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:3-8), which illustrates different types of ground—representing different kinds of hearers and their responses to the "word of the kingdom." Jesus’ use of "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" acts as an exhortation at the end of the parable, calling listeners to self-reflection and urging them to discern their own spiritual condition regarding God's truth. It sets the stage for His disciples asking about the purpose of parables and His explanation of why some are given to understand while others are not (Mt 13:10-17).
Matthew 13 9 Word analysis
- He who: (Ho echōn - ὁ ἔχων). Refers to a specific individual. It indicates a personal responsibility and active posture for engagement. It distinguishes between the general crowd and those receptive to deeper truth.
- has ears: (ōta - ὦτα). Beyond physical auditory organs, it denotes a spiritual capacity for understanding, discernment, and receptivity. It implies a divinely given ability to perceive spiritual realities, distinct from mere intellectual grasp.
- to hear: (akouein - ἀκούειν). This signifies not just the act of perceiving sound but also of comprehending, internalizing, and obeying. It moves from passive hearing to active, spiritual listening leading to understanding and action.
- let him hear: (akouetō - ἀκουέτω). This is a strong imperative. It’s a direct command and a solemn admonition for active attention and spiritual reception. It implies that understanding requires intentional effort and responsiveness to divine revelation, indicating a moral urgency.
- "He who has ears to hear": This phrase establishes a prerequisite for understanding divine truth. It implies a readiness or given capacity. Not everyone who hears words possesses the spiritual ears to understand their true spiritual significance.
- "let him hear": This concluding imperative serves as a direct challenge. It distinguishes genuine listeners who respond to the Kingdom message from mere onlookers. It implies the need for spiritual attentiveness and active, prayerful discernment to grasp profound truths beyond their surface meaning. This phrase also suggests a boundary of revelation: divine truth is not openly available to all without distinction.
Matthew 13 9 Bonus section
This profound saying from Jesus appears multiple times across the Gospels, specifically after significant teachings like parables or truths about the Kingdom. Its recurring nature underscores its universal and perennial importance for discipleship. In the Book of Revelation, Jesus repeats a similar phrase seven times, addressed to each of the seven churches (Rev 2-3), "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." This further establishes the phrase as a consistent divine summons for spiritual vigilance and obedience across all dispensations. The repeated call to "hear" emphasizes that truth requires not just reception but profound assimilation and practical application, a discerning heart capable of perceiving spiritual realities that are hidden from the uninitiated or unwilling. It implicitly references a divine privilege to understand the "secrets of the kingdom" (Mt 13:11), and a human responsibility to engage with them.
Matthew 13 9 Commentary
Matthew 13:9 stands as a pivotal verse, acting as a spiritual litmus test immediately following the Parable of the Sower. It is not merely a concluding statement but a solemn imperative from Jesus, underscoring the vital distinction between physical hearing and spiritual comprehension. For those attuned to God's Spirit, the parables unveil the mysteries of the Kingdom; for others, they remain veiled. This command highlights that the reception of divine truth requires an activated spiritual sense—an "ear" given by God and an obedient will to truly "hear" by internalizing and responding. It points to both divine enablement and human responsibility. The verse charges the hearer to weigh the depth of their engagement with God’s Word, implying that failure to understand is not always due to divine concealment, but often a lack of spiritual receptivity. It beckons a personal and profound interaction with truth, inviting introspection into one’s spiritual condition as portrayed in the Parable of the Sower.Example: A person hears a sermon (the seed), but unless their spiritual "ears" are open to discern its relevance and call to action, it remains just words. If they genuinely "hear," they allow the Word to convict, challenge, and transform them.