Once when Jesus was wrapping up a teaching, he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” What exactly does he mean?
Hear God from the Bible
In our culture, we often consider “the word of God” to mean the Bible. So the common understanding is we need to read the Bible and obey it.
However, the part of the Bible about Jesus (the New Testament) didn’t exist at the time, so he couldn’t have been telling the people to read and obey something that hadn’t yet been written.
Hear God from the Holy Spirit
But since Jesus is both man and God, he could have used “hear the word of God” as a euphemism to mean “hear me.” While we can’t directly hear Jesus today, we can hear from the Holy Spirit he sent to us.
So maybe Jesus means he wants us to hear the Holy Spirit.
For some people it’s easy hear God and for others it’s nonsensical, while for the rest this is feasible but difficult and confusing and infrequent.
Yet, we may need to pursue listening to the Holy Spirit if we are to truly “hear the word of God.” (Learn how to hear from God.)
[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Luke 10-12, and today’s post is on Luke 11:28.]
Read more about the book of Luke in That You May Know: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus from the Gospel of Luke, now available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.