Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Matthew 11:15 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 15. 15He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Calls the person with ears to hear.
Read It With
- Matthew 11:7–11:19
Read Matthew 11:15 with 11:7–11:19. In isolation, this verse's contribution—calls the person with ears to hear—can be detached from its speaker, audience, narrative or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: Jesus asks the crowds what they sought in the wilderness, names John more than a prophet and Elijah-like messenger, speaks of kingdom force, and compares the generation's rejection of both John and Jesus.
Why This Verse Appears Here
Calls the person with ears to hear. This precise contribution belongs inside “Jesus honors John and exposes a resistant generation” because Jesus asks the crowds what they sought in the wilderness, names John more than a prophet and Elijah-like messenger, speaks of kingdom force, and compares the generation's rejection of both John and Jesus.
What Remains True
Jesus asks the crowds what they sought in the wilderness, names John more than a prophet and Elijah-like messenger, speaks of kingdom force, and compares the generation's rejection of both John and Jesus. Matthew 11:15's proportionate contribution is this: Calls the person with ears to hear.
How It Can Shape Life
- Matthew 11:15 contributes this specific claim: Calls the person with ears to hear. Honor a faithful witness without romanticizing austerity, weaponizing difficult kingdom language, or condemning people who respond differently to fasting and celebration.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Matthew 11:7–11:19 — Jesus honors John and exposes a resistant generationSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 11:7–11:19, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 11:7–11:19
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 11:7–11:19
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 11:7–11:19
Open source ↗