Experienced teachers know they have to repeat things more than once if they expect their students to actually “get it”. And from the opposite perspective, experienced students know that if they hear a teacher repeat something several times, they’d better include it in their notes. Having had exposure to both sides of that bit of pragmatic classroom wisdom, we should understand that Jesus’ frequent use of an unusual sounding phrase when closing out a teaching session was clearly meant to stand out as something not to be ignored. 

Digging Deeper ~
And as we mentioned last week, there is a peculiar phrase Jesus used that is repeated verbatim, no less than 15 times in the New Testament. That kind of frequency suggests that there’s more involved than we might notice at first glance. So, with last week’s post, we began an effort to dig a little deeper into this peculiar phrase to see what we might be able to learn. We begin today’s discussion by pointing out that example from Mark’s Gospel, in which he closed out his account of Jesus’ parable of the sower and the soils like this: 

And He [Jesus] said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Mark 4:9 NKJV)

Jesus’ primary intention, of course, was to encourage those in attendance to focus their attention on the words He had just spoken. But as we suggested last week, Jesus’ admonition to hear Him can extend beyond the words He spoke because words alone were never the only way Jesus spoke, and we need to have ears to ‘hear’ the messages He sends in other ways, as well.

A Parting Request ~
So, today we’ll take a brief look at some of the ways Jesus spoke to His followers that didn’t involve words – and suggest that He hasn’t changed His methods. Just as it was during His earthly ministry, some of the most powerful messages Jesus delivers today aren’t relegated to the red letter sections of our Bibles alone. John records an exchange between Jesus and the disciple, Philip, that highlights how important it is not to miss those divine communications that transcend spoken words. After hearing that his beloved Rabbi was about to be taken away, Philip made what might be considered a parting request which went like this:

Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” (John 14:8 NKJV)

Faced with the trauma of losing the One who had been everything to him and being left leaderless in an oppositional and very dangerous world, Philip may have been feeling the need for some major spiritual reinforcement. Who else could they turn to? Who was left to guide and defend them? Perhaps this unseen Father that Jesus taught them to pray to could somehow step in and help. Maybe a more direct and personal introduction to Him would help them adapt to the loss of their Rabbi. Whatever response Philip may have been expecting, we can be pretty sure that he wasn’t expecting to hear what he heard.

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? (John 14:9a NKJV)

What a sobering question for Philip – and what a challenging question for us. After all, if Philip could be that close to Jesus for all that time and not really know Him, what does that say about you and me and our relationship with Him? We can feel the disappointment in Jesus’ voice as He continued His response to Philip.

He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. (John 14:9–11 NKJV)

More to the Message than just the Words ~
Since the day Philip responded to Jesus’ call to follow Him, he had continually been in the presence of the express image of God the Father. Philip lived and worked with One who spoke just like the Father speaks, Who did things just like the Father does, Who always went where the Father would go. He spent years with One who felt the same pain and grief that the Father feels, and Who shared the Father’s joy and laughter with them every day. And most of all, they were with One who loved them like the Father loved them. Jesus had already fulfilled Philip’s request, but though the young Galileean had listened attentively to Jesus’ words, he didn’t get the whole message because . . . he hadn’t been ‘listening’ with his ‘eyes’. 

Earlier, Jesus highlighted the issue of wordless communication during a skirmish with religious leaders following a healing episode on the Sabbath. When they challenged His authority, Jesus called on a witness to speak in His defense, but the testimony of that witness was visual, not verbal. Jesus pointed to what they had seen Him do, not just what they heard Him say.  

But I have a greater witness than John’s;  for the works which the Father has given Me to finish—the very works that I do—bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. (John 5:36 NKJV)

Living Definitions ~
Obviously, Jesus’ words are vital and eternally significant, and we need ears to hear them. But as Philip learned, what Jesus does gives powerful and living definition to His words, and we need to listen with our eyes, as well. Consider just a few examples like these:

• • What was He saying when He violated every social and religious restriction to reach out and touch an unclean leper and restore him to wholeness and social acceptance? 
  • What did their minds and hearts hear when they watched a crippled beggar leap and dance with joy because a nod from Jesus sent strength into his lifeless legs?
  • What did their eyes declare to them as the fish and bread just kept coming until Jesus had fed thousands of people with a single boy’s lunch? 
  • What message was proclaimed when He stopped a funeral procession and they witnessed a grief-stricken, destitute widow experiencing unspeakable joy and astonishment as she watched Jesus raise her dead son back to life?

Bringing It Home ~
For us here and now, it comes down to this. As Jesus’ followers we have been commissioned to also be His emissaries. Obviously, the world needs to hear with their ears what our beloved Lord has had to say, but it also needs to hear Him with their eyes, and we’re the only ones they have to look at. The One who spoke like no one else is still speaking, and the One who did things no one else could do is still doing them. Words proclaiming His promise of love, forgiveness, freedom, and life that never ends are indeed wonderful, but when Jesus’ Spirit goes to work in someone’s life, He speaks with power that mere words alone cannot convey. For instance: 

• • Words like “hope” are proclaimed in ways that surpass speech when we see someone smothered by depression and despair respond to Jesus’ promise and find new purpose and joy in living. 
  • Our eyes hear what deliverance means when we watch someone discover that faith in Jesus can break the chains of addiction that had kept them bound for years.
  • Can words alone describe what the work of the Good Shepherd looks like better than the actual scene when a praying mother’s wayward son “just happens” to show up at church? 
  • Does love one another find any clearer definition than watching people who, while re struggling themselves, step up to sacrifice what resources they have to help those who have lost everything?  

So, as we read Jesus’ words, listen to moving sermons, and sing our praise and worship songs, let’s also strive to know Him better by listening with our eyes to what the Spirit of God is doing around us every day. Then remember, too, that the words we don’t speak audibly are sometimes the most powerful witnesses that ever testify to what, who, and Whose we really are.

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • • “Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?” (John 14:9a NKJV). What a sobering question for Philip. We can feel the disappointment in Jesus’ voice as He continued His response to Philip. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?” (John 14:9a). If Philip could be that close to Jesus for all that time and not really know Him, what does that say about you and me and our relationship with Him? @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • What did the disciples’ minds and hearts hear when watching a crippled beggar dance with joy because a nod from Jesus sent strength into his lifeless legs? What did their eyes declare as fish and bread kept coming until He fed thousands of people with one boy’s lunch? @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • Words proclaiming His promise of love, forgiveness, freedom, and life that never ends are indeed wonderful, but when Jesus’ Spirit goes to work in someone’s life, He speaks with power that mere words alone cannot convey. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  

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