There are at least 37 different parables that Jesus told. Some of these stories are repeated in three of the Gospels, but the book of John does not contain any of them. People can listen without hearing, but it’s impossible to hear without listening. When people truly hear someone, they take the words into their hearts. The words stay with them as they consider the meaning and absorb what was said. Really hearing someone involves a commitment.
The Pharisees listened to Jesus speak, but they didn’t really hear Him. Though they might have understood the literal meaning of His stories, they never grasped the deeper concepts about God and His kingdom. His words entered their ears but never made it to their hearts, perhaps because they had decided in advance that they would not believe what He had to say. Their hearts were hardened against Him.
After telling the story of the sower, Jesus explained to His disciples why He spoke in parables. He quoted a prophecy from Isaiah that was fulfilled by the attitudes of the Pharisees who were, by their own choice, spiritually blind and deaf.
God always desires people to turn from their sins and be forgiven. If the Pharisees had been willing to hear Jesus and take His words to heart, God would have been glad to accept them.
KEY BIBLE TEXTS
“And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.”
“And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:”
“That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.”
Mark 4:10-12