Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’ And he said, ‘Let anyone with ears to hear listen!’ (Mark 4: 4-9)

How can we be as good soil? How can we receive the understanding needed to empower our growth?

Jesus begins this and other parables with the instruction to listen. The Greek is akouo.

We cannot be sure precisely what Jesus said, probably using Aramaic. But it is interesting that the Hebrew scriptures most often use two words which we would translate as listen.

Shama' is the most common. Qashab is less common. Both can accurately be translated as listen. But there is a subtle difference of meaning.

For example, Isaiah 32 begins with: "See, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule with justice. Each will be like a hiding-place from the wind, a cover from the tempest, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed, and the ears of those who have hearing will listen."

Those who have shama' will qashab. Those who can hear will actually listen. They will pay attention, they will use their ability fully and for the purpose it was intended. They will not be distracted, divided, or deterred.

I expect Jesus was telling us to qashab.