Jesus said, “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. Listen then….”
According to the Jewish calendar, almost 4000 years had passed prior to Jesus’ first appearing. During that time, every prophet in the Old Testament except John the Baptist was born, lived and died. They did not see the appearing of the Messiah. Every righteous King and every righteous man and woman for generation upon generation looked forward to the appearing of Messiah, but they did not see it.
For four hundred years after Malachi the people of God had no prophet at all – they could not hear the Word of God apart from their own prayer lives and the Scripture. God in His grace knew that such was enough for them. Such is enough for all of us, even if we long for more. So to be given more is to know God’s extraordinary grace. To open our eyes and gaze on the Son of Man and to turn and hear His Words is a special privilege that falls on only some since the fall.
We live in this in-between time. The age between His first appearing and His return. And we long to see His return in glory and power. For we know that in that day we shall be free of our sin forever and all the world shall be put right. All the earth will worship God Most High and we will reign with Him. Yet for over two thousand years, good people have longed for that event. Christians world over have hoped and looked, but to them the honor of being ‘that generation’ has not fallen. Whether we are ‘that generation’ or not remains to be seen. Perhaps we will be, and perhaps we will not. One thing is certain; While we wait for our physical eyes to see Him and our physical ears to hear Him, we can all the same see Jesus, and all the same we can hear Jesus. We are not without spiritual sight and spiritual hearing. For the first to come is the spiritual. The physical always follows.
As that blessing is not given to all, we who do have it have a particular responsibility to use it. We must seek Jesus’ face, and we must listen carefully to His Spirit speaking to us. We must not cover our spiritual ears by blasting them with the mundane things of the world, and we must not obscure our spiritual vision by clouding our sensitivity to His Spirit by the foolish things of the world. To those who have much, much is expected. We have much. We know Jesus, the pearl of great price. We have much, much more than most!
Knowing that, Jesus says, “Listen then…” He is still speaking. He is telling us the wonders of His Word. He is instructing us in His Mission. He is imparting to us knowledge that will help us bring the Good News to those He puts in our circles of influence. So let us listen!
Everything changes when God opens his mouth. It is impossible to hear God’s voice and remain the same.
Roger Barrier
APPLICATION: Intentionality
Listen then! God is yet speaking. What is God saying to you today?