Did not see. Did not hear.
Matthew 13: 10-17
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”
Di nakita. Di narinig
Mateo 13: 10-17
Dumating ang mga alagad at sinabi nila sa kaniya: Bakit ka nagsasalita sa kanila sa mga talinghaga?
11 Sumagot siya sa kanila: Ito ay sapagkat ipinagkaloob sa inyo na makaalam ng mga hiwaga ng paghahari ng langit. Ngunit hindi ito ipinagkaloob sa kanila. 12 Ito ay sapagkat ang sinumang mayroon ay bibigyan pa, at magkakaroon ng sagana. Ngunit ang sinumang wala, aalisin pa ang nasa kaniya. 13 Kaya nga, nagsasabi ako sa kanila sa mga talinghaga.
Ito ay sapagkat tumitingin sila at hindi nakakakita.
May pinapakinggan sila ngunit hindi sila totoong
nakikinig at hindi sila nakakaunawa.
14 Natupad sa kanila ang isinulat ni propeta Isaias na sinasabi:
Sa pamamagitan ng pakikinig ay makakarinig
kayo ngunit hindi kayo makakaunawa. Sa
pagtingin ay makakakita kayo, ngunit hindi
kayo makakatalos. 15 Ito ay sapagkat ang mga
puso ng mga taong ito ay matigas na.
Nahihirapan nang makinig ang kanilang tainga.
Ipinikit na nila ang kanilang mga mata. Kung
hindi ay baka makakita pa ang kanilang mga
mata at makarinig ang kanilang mga tainga.
Baka makaunawa pa ang kanilang mga puso at
manumbalik sila, at aking pagagalingin.
Jesus told his disciples that not everyone would understand his parables. Did Jesus mean to say that he was deliberately confusing his listeners? Very likely not.
Jesus was speaking from experience. He was aware that some who heard his parables refused to understand them. It was not that they could not intellectually understand them, but rather, their hearts were closed to what Jesus was saying. They had already made up their minds to not believe.
God can only reveal the secrets of his kingdom to the humble and trusting person who acknowledges the need for God and for his truth. The parables of Jesus will enlighten us if we approach them with an open mind and heart, ready to let them challenge us.
If we approach them with the conviction that we already know the answer, then we, too, may look but not see, listen but not hear or understand. God’s word can only take root in a receptive heart that is ready to believe and willing to submit. If we want to hear and to understand God’s word, we must listen with godly fear and reverence.
Do you believe God’s word and do you submit to it with trust and reverence?
“Holy Spirit, fan the flame of God’s love within me and consume me with your fire, that I may grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and ever seek to do his will. May my heart never grow dull and may my ears never tire of listening to the voice of Christ.”
May God bless us always!