Matthew 13:10-17

Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b

Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

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.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, help me to hear your voice and understand the message of your Son’s parables. Help me to see all things with the spiritual eyes of faith. Grant me a deeper hope in your promises and the help you offer to attain eternal life.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Original Meaning of Isaiah’s Prophecy: In the Gospel, we find one of the longest citations of the Old Testament. And no doubt it can be discomforting. Why doesn’t God want his people to be converted? Why doesn’t he want them to hear and understand his message? To understand the meaning of the Old Testament passage and how it relates to Jesus, we need to go back to the passage itself in Isaiah 6. The Lord called Isaiah, who was working as a scribe in the royal palace, to become his prophet. God told Isaiah to say to the people: “Listen carefully, but do not understand! Look intently, but do not perceive! Make the heart of this people sluggish, dull their ears and close their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and their heart understand, and they turn and be healed” (Isaiah 6:9-10). In response, Isaiah asked God, “How long, O Lord?” He wanted to know how long the people would refuse to repent. And the Lord responded, “Until the cities are desolate, without inhabitants, Houses, without people, and the land is a desolate waste” (Isaiah 6:11). What God is saying is that only after the exile, when Israel is but an oak tree trunk without leaves, will Israel hear and understand and repent.

2. The Fulfillment of Isaiah’s Prophecy: Jesus applies the passage of Isaiah to his own day. He, like Isaiah, will preach. But the hearts of the people will be slow to understand and will not repent. But the day will come when he is cut down, when he endures his passion and death and rises from the dead. On that day, the people will begin to hear, see, and understand. In fact, in a very deep way, the exile of Israel and Judah ends with the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This is when Jesus sends out his messengers, his angels, his apostles, and his disciples to the ends of the earth to gather in Israel and the nations. The apostles will work to extend the Kingdom of heaven throughout the world. The parables about the mysteries of the Kingdom will not be understood by the proud but only by the humble of heart.

3. The Sinai Covenant: The fundamental goal of the exodus of Israel from Egypt was the covenant at Sinai. The Lord God chose Israel as his firstborn son and brought them into a kinship relationship with himself through the covenant mediated by Moses at the foot of Mount Sinai. God asked that the people sanctify themselves, wash their garments, and be ready for his manifestation (theophany) on the third day. The mention of “the third day” makes us think of Jesus’ Resurrection on the third day. The mention of cloud and fire makes us think of the Spirit’s Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection. In fact, the Jewish feast of Pentecost commemorated the covenant at Sinai fifty days after Passover and the departure from Egypt. The Sinai covenant gave the people the Old Law; the Pentecost of the Spirit gives us the New Law. While the people of Israel were powerless to fulfill the Old Law, we have been granted the gift of grace and the Spirit and have been empowered to fulfill the New Law of Charity.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I need a humble heart to understand the depth of your parables. Allow me to see where I am haughty and prideful and where I need to change my mindset to conform my life to yours.

Living the Word of God: Am I allowing Jesus’ parables to transform my life? Which of Jesus’ over 35 parables speaks to me the most? Why?