Ears That Refuse To Listen

They kept asking Jesus who He was. How much more evidence did the people need? They had witnessed blind people being able to see, paralysed people walking, sick people healed, demonised people released from Satan's bondage. They had heard Jesus speak about God in a way they had never previously understood, and they knew that He was good and kind. He had compassion on despised people and was willing to forgive sinful people. Yet they did not get the message that Jesus was God, the One who was promised to be the Saviour of the world.
 
The reason was that they did not really want to belong to God. Yes, they were intensely religious but they had no real appetite to submit their hearts to their Creator. They used their religion to feel good about themselves and support their proud hearts. But they did not want Jesus to be greater than them and show them up. And so, even though the evidence was overwhelming, they refused to hear the truth, even though they asked Jesus to tell them plainly who He was. His sheep were listening for His voice, but these people were not really interested in hearing the truth from Jesus.
 
It is the same today. Many religious people like to feel good about themselves; but those who are willing to listen to Jesus know they are sinners who need a Saviour. That is why many people do not want to hear Him; they know that when they do they will be convicted of sin - and they would rather cover it up. But when people do want Jesus to sort out their hearts, then they will be eager to hear what He has to say. We have no right to decide who we think will or won't respond to Jesus; so our job is to tell everybody about Him, and then those who do listen will know He is calling them into His sheepfold.