Faith by Hearing
One of the admirable things about Jesus was His unerring focus on the real needs of people. In John 6, we read the account of His feeding a hungry crowd of at least five thousand out of one boy’s bag lunch. The next day, the crowd tracked Jesus down again and approached Him. He saw through their polite veneer of interest in Him and went straight to the point, saying, in effect, “You aren’t looking for Me; you’re looking for more food.”
In the ensuing discussion, they asked questions such as “What sign will You perform so that we may see it and believe You?” This was immediately followed up with the reminder that God had provided their ancestors with manna – bread from heaven. A broad hint, which left no doubt about their motives. Jesus quickly pointed out that they had already seen miracles and refused to believe.
Belief doesn’t hinge on seeing things. Even in Jesus’ time, magicians and illusionists could create the impression of reality that was, in fact, false. In our time, with our technology, we can create any kind of visual illusion we like.
Sit down some evening and flip on the television. Scenes of manufactured mayhem stun your senses. Bullets fly. Cars explode. Flames sear. Planes crash. You’ve seen it all before. Faces contort and victims cry out in surprise and pain. But you’re distracted, thinking about the bag of chips in the cupboard and at the next break you head for the kitchen. When you return, you won’t be thinking about the suffering you’ve just witnessed. It was fake – an illusion. You might be impressed with the technology that created it and the actor’s ability to produce a tear at the right moment. But that’s all.
Later, you watch the news. Scenes from war zones, pictures of natural disasters, images of the starving, the diseased, the deprived, and the forgotten replace the earlier images. These new ones are not fakes. The wounded soldier grimaces with real pain; the old woman sheds real tears as she points to the place where her hut once stood; the child with wispy hair and distended belly stares blankly while a fly seeks moisture at the corner of her eye. That last bit was somewhat gross. They shouldn’t show pictures like that to the public.
But you’ve seen all this before and it doesn’t really touch you. Tears don’t fill your eyes as you witness the suffering. You don’t grab pen and paper to pour your outrage on your local politician. You don’t write a cheque to buy the old woman some sheets of tin for a new place to live. You do return to the kitchen to grab a quick drink.
Later still, the religious programs start. You watch people get out of wheelchairs and walk, the deaf apparently hear, the possessed are delivered, a blind woman removes her dark glasses and reads a verse from the Bible, people are falling down, some in tears. It’s a great spectacle. You should be impressed, but two factors hinder that.
One is disbelief. Is this really any different from the drama you watched earlier? Anything can be faked. Is the Holy Spirit really at work or are the people manipulated? You wouldn’t accept that the actor you saw two hours ago could really land a disabled jumbo jet. Why would you accept that the man in the wheelchair couldn't walk until the man in the white suit touched his forehead and shouted at him to stand up.
The other thing working against you is desensitization. Even it is real, is it any more gripping than the soldier, the old woman, or the child you saw on the news? How does it affect your life? What difference does it make?
On several occasions, people asked Jesus to do one more thing to impress them so they would believe. He never did. He knew that their watching another miracle wouldn’t move them to faith. They needed to hear and understand and receive His teaching. The miracles had their place – they demonstrated His authority – but they did not produce faith. By the time of His crucifixion, the crowds had turned against Him, even after all they had seen.
Faith doesn’t spring up in response to what we see. It comes from hearing God speak to us. Sometimes His voice comes through another person, sometimes from the words we read in the Bible. Sometimes there is a visual component, but faith is not a response to sensory stimuli. Faith is born in the hearing, understanding, and accepting of God’s word.
There is an undeniable link between hearing and believing. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” (John 5:24 ESV). In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 ESV). Have you heard God's voice? Heard it and responded in faith?
Ron Hughes
© April 2008
