Bible Strands
Matthew 15:10
Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses a gathered crowd immediately after quoting Isaiah regarding vain worship and human traditions. He summons them to pay attention before delivering a teaching on ritual purity.
The words — The Greek term προσκαλεσάμενος (proskalesamenos) literally means having called to or summoned, indicating a deliberate gathering. The imperative ἀκούετε (akouete) translates as do hear, emphasizing active auditory engagement rather than passive background noise.
The thread — This structural pattern of calling a crowd to listen appears in Mark 7:14, while Luke 20:45 records Jesus speaking publicly to his disciples in the hearing of the multitudes. The focus on attentive hearing recurs in Colossians 1:9 where believers are prayed to be filled with knowledge.
Why it lands — The verse demands that listeners suspend their assumptions and process the coming instruction carefully. It requires readers to examine their own attention before evaluating spiritual claims.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
Cross-references
- Mark 7:14 Once again Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “All of you, listen to Me and understand:
- Luke 20:45 In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples,
- Colossians 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
- Luke 24:45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
- 1 Kings 22:28 But Micaiah replied, “If you ever return safely, the LORD has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Take heed, all you people!”
- Isaiah 6:9 And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear and come to Me; listen, so that your soul may live. I will make with you an everlasting covenant—My loving devotion promised to David.
- Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
- Matthew 24:15 So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),
- Ephesians 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him.