Matthew 13:13-17 13This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand, 14and the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled with them saying, “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.15For the heart of this people has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people desired to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Jesus answers why he told parables by quoting from the Old Testament. He came in fulfillment of the prophecy from Isaiah 6:9-10. In this chapter of Isaiah, God commissioned Isaiah to take the message of repentance to the people of Israel. God warned Isaiah that the people would not listen to him. Like Isaiah, Jesus was sent with the message of repentance and renewal. But just like Israel of Isaiah’s day, the people of Jesus’ day did not listen. They hardened their hearts and did not believe in the message of God’s kingdom.
Why do people see and hear the gospel but do not respond by believing in Jesus? The clue is found in verse 15 (Isaiah 6:10). The people’s hearts become calloused so that they cannot hear the message anymore. A calloused heart results from refusing the conviction of the Holy Spirit, turning away from the call of faith, and following one’s own desires. People become set in their ways, form habits in denial of God, resulting in blurred vision and dull senses. Soon, the difference between right and wrong becomes cloudy. Such people no longer see in the light but walk around in spiritual darkness, which leads to moral depravity, relational uncertainty, and emotional pain. The human psyche is creative and resilient and compensates for this emptiness by filling it with things of this world.
This people in verse 15 applies to all who deny Jesus and do not respond to the call of the gospel. The Jewish leaders of the first century, such as the scribes and Pharisees, filled their emptiness with religious activities that lost their meaning in the pursuit of self-righteousness. The call to discipleship sounds in the background of this passage. Jesus will make this call more explicit in his explanation of the parable in verses 18-23. The crucial question all people must answer is, how will you respond to the invitation to follow Jesus? This invitation is given in countless ways. Paul the Apostle explored this question in Romans 1-2 and concluded that everyone, both Jew and Gentile, is given the call of grace (directly in the Bible or indirectly through the conscience), but everyone refuses the call because of sin. The call is made more explicit and clear in the person of Jesus, the incarnated message of grace to lost humanity.
Jesus gives the answer for the problem by continuing the quote from Isaiah 6:10 in verse 15: see, hear, understand, and turn. Seeing and hearing come through the spoken witness of others or the written witness of Scripture. These lead to deeper understanding, which is essential for the decision of faith. Understanding is the foundation for turning. Turn (epistrespōsin) can also be translated as “repentance” and involves a change of mind, thinking, and behavior.
The disciples had made the decision to follow Jesus and put their faith in him. They were growing in their understanding, though deeper insight would come after Jesus’ resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Jesus pronounces another beatitude in verse 16 and personalizes it for the disciples. They were blessed because they were experiencing Jesus in person and hearing the gospel firsthand. The gospel continues to be heard throughout the world today, but sadly, people follow the course of this people ancient Israel and the first century.
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