9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
This is another chapter with quick hitting action. It pops from one story to the next. This chapter always confuses me a little bit. I can wrap my head around the above verse. Those who are seeking him, and willing to hear his message....will hear it. But, this perplexes me....
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;?
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
Could be the implied meaning within the translation. But, it sounds to me like the real meaning is being hidden so that everyone won't hear it and be forgiven. Isn't that what God wants? It probably means that we need to pursue it. We need to make it our priority. We need to struggle to understand it. This shows our true love for him...? What do you think?
tp
I had the exact same confusion when I was reading in the NIV, so I switched to the Message. So this version makes more sense to me but I'm never sure if I should trust this translation completely. Here is is saying Jesus speaks in parables to help people better understand and become open to what he is trying to tell them. That makes more sense to me than the NIV but is that accurate?
ReplyDelete9 “Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
10-12 ...“You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. But to those who can’t see it yet, everything comes in stories, creating readiness, nudging them toward receptive insight. These are people—
Whose eyes are open but don’t see a thing,
Whose ears are open but don’t understand a word,
Who avoid making an about-face and getting forgiven.”
knut